>>2842000Actually the Carboniferous period was a time of high atmospheric oxygen. This is why insects were able to grow so massive. Also the higher oxygen content allowed wildfires to reach continental scale (hence your pic related). This allowed the formation of all the oil and coal beds, hence the massive carbon deposits we have today. Hence, "Carboniferous".
You'll notice in geology and paleontology things tend to get named for what they left behind and not so much what was actually going on back then.
