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oldshitnewshit78 t1_iy8nxtw wrote

Actually spiders never really got that big, as far as we are aware.

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baumpop t1_iy8ooif wrote

Interesting. We know for sure that scorpions, dragonflies, and certain worm types were hundreds of times larger than today's species.

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Arstanishe t1_iy9i0uz wrote

Well, that was maybe 250 mln years ago, and mammals only appeared maybe 80-100 mil years ago, when insects were already closer to today in size

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baumpop t1_iy9l5uj wrote

Weren't they micro fauna initially? Like prey to pretty much anything?

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Arstanishe t1_iy9lwgt wrote

Afaik, the first proto-mammals were therapsids, which were not that small. However, most mammals (or all?) I can't remember - came from rodent-like creatures after the cretaceous extinction event 65 mil ago. But that time insects were definitely even smaller...

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