The giant pre-historic insect found by miners

Key Points:

• Fossilised remains of two giant griffinfly species, Whalleyala bolsoveri and Arctotypus diluculum, were discovered 500 meters underground at Bolsover Colliery in Derbyshire in 1979 and are now housed at London's Natural History Museum.
• These griffinflies lived during the Carboniferous period (359-299 million years ago) in a wet, swampy environment with high oxygen levels that allowed insects to grow to enormous sizes, with wingspans up to 71 cm.
• The Bolsover Dragonflies are the only known specimens of their species and are considered irreplaceable; due to their rarity, they are not currently displayed in public galleries.
• A sculpture celebrating the Bolsover Dragonfly, created by local school students learning metalwork skills, is being unveiled in Bolsover, symbolizing local pride and the town's rich prehistoric heritage.
• The fossils were preserved due to the swampy conditions of the Carboniferous period and were later buried under Permian seas and limestone, with coal mining in the region exposing these ancient remains.