You are in the swamplands of Europe, 330 million years ago.

The air in the Carboniferous swamp was thick, hot, and smelled intensely of sulfur and rotting vegetation. You were crouched behind the massive, buttressed roots of a sigillaria tree, trying to stay out of sight.

Below you, in the shallow, murky water, a 2.5-meter long Proterogyrinus was lurking, its crocodilian-like head barely breaking the surface. It was a terrifyingly efficient predator, a mix of fish and amphibian, with sharp teeth designed for tearing.

Just then, a large griffinfly—an extinct relative of the dragonfly—flutters just a meter above the water’s edge, likely escaping a smaller predator or seeking a mate. The giant amphibian suddenly surged out of the surface of the marsh with shocking speed, its wet skin glistening in the dim light.

It catches the unsuspecting giant insect with a vicious snap of its jaws mid-air, as you watched with astonishment. Shaking the insect to crush it, the predator swallows it whole, before sliding back into the murky depths to wait of the next hunt.