Meganulon

Meganulon (メガヌロン, Meganuron), also known as Meganula (メガニューラ, Meganyūra) are giant Paleozoic insect created by Toho, that first appeared in the 1956 Toho film, Rodan.

Name
The Meganulons' name comes from Meganeura, a species of extinct dragonflies from the Carboniferous period approximately 300 million years ago.

Origins
Presumably, the Meganulons, like Rodan, are from the Cretaceous Period. They were awakened by mining operations in Kitamatsu village, Kumamoto Prefecture.

Rodan
The Meganulon were the race of prehistoric insects in the movie Rodan. They're escaped from the extinction by burrowing themselves deep into the Earth's crust and locked beneath the Earth's surface for millions of years. By the mid-20th century, Meganulons were first awakened by the nuclear weapon tests during the coal mining operation, and attacked first two miners, Yoshi and Goro, who were mercilessly killed by the giant dragonfly nymphs' pincers before Yoshi's body was recovered by colliery engineer Shigeru Kawamura and his fellow miners while Goro's body still missing. An investigation was immediately set into place by the authorities, trying to resolve both the murder weapon and the murderer. The authorities returned to the mine shaft where Yoshi's body was uncovered, dispatching a police officer and two miners, to try and locate Goro. However, the three meet a untimely demise at the claws of another Meganulon that is hiding below the water which has leaked into the area. The death toll of a police officer and two miners and still missing whereabouts of Goro prompt suspicion that the missing miner is in fact behind the series of killings. A hunch which is quickly dismissed as one of the Meganulons ventures out of the mine and enter the local mining village of Kitamatsu and attack Goro's survived sister, Kiyo and her fiance, Shigeru, who flee to get help. Shortly after, the police arrive on the scene and ineffectively try to shot the giant insect down while it bids a hasty retreat back to its lair. The police are quick to pursue towards the mountain and open fire at one of Meganulon with their handguns with no effect against the thick carapace of the ravenous insect, until Meganulon pounced and killed two officers who advance too close before returns to the mine shaft, killing more innocents along the way.

With the killer finally revealed, and the seriousness of the situation grasped, the self defense force is quickly dispatched to the area to exterminate the threats. Armed with mountable machine guns, a few regiments of soldiers, along with Shigeru, march into the mine to hunt down the creatures. While searching for the Meganulon, Shigeru enter the deepest part of the mine shaft and finally found the butchered Goro's corpsed body that was laying on the floor of the mine as one of Meganulons start to emerge to fend off the intruders. The military open fire at the creature with the machine gun fire, but still ineffective as the carapace, once again, deflects the bullets. Meganulon chases after the humans back to the mine shaft before Shigeru manage to killed one of the Meganulon by releasing a mine cart loaded with coal, which rolls down the shaft and collides with the insect, crushing its exoskeleton and killing it. But another Meganulon emerges and attacks Shigeru, who had been trying to retrieve Goro's corpse. An earthquake then strikes causing the tunnel to begin caving in, killing another Meganulon, but trapping Shigeru in the mine.

Shigeru able to regain conscious after he survived the cave-in and only realize that he is now trapped inside the Meganulon's lair, surrounded by hundreds of Meganulons, where he discovered that the Meganulon weren't the only creatures that are awakened by the atomic weapon test, but also a giant egg that was sitting right in the middle of the cave as the egg sudden began to stir and hatches into the gigantic ancient winged monster known as Rodan. Rodan proceeds to eat the entire group of Meganulons in the cave until it has enough strength to break through the ground and fly away.

Godzilla vs. Megaguirus
The Meganulon were prehistoric insects that were released into the modern world through a black hole experiment. A giant dragonfly flew through a black hole and laid an egg in the forest, which was discovered and taken home by a young boy. The boy dumped the egg into the sewers of Tokyo when it started to ooze. The egg hatched into several Meganulons, which flooded the city and attacked and killed several citizens before molting into Meganula.

Meganula
The Meganula (メガニューラ, Meganyūra) were the second form of the Meganulon. They attacked Godzilla to steal his energy for their queen. Godzilla managed to kill most of the Meganula, but some escaped with his energy. They flew to Tokyo and gave the energy to Megaguirus, dying in the process.

Godzilla: Rulers of Earth
In Rulers of Earth #17, Lucy Casprell and her team travel to Brazil, where a large number of Meganulon eggs have been uncovered in a nearby rainforest. As Lucy and her team investigate the eggs, the Meganulons hatch and attack all of the humans in the area. As the Meganulons move into Sao Paulo, Godzilla and Ebirah suddenly surface and continue their battle. The Meganulons climb onto Ebirah and pierce through his shell while Megaguirus arrives and enters the battle. After Ebirah retreats and Megaguirus captures Godzilla, she brings him to her nest, where hundreds of Meganulons and Meganula surround him. The Meganulons and Meganula climb onto Godzilla and bite into his flesh, drawing blood. Godzilla releases a nuclear pulse, incinerating the insects and destroying the nest.

Godzilla: Cataclysm
In Godzilla: Cataclysm #3, the Meganula arrive in the refugees' village along with Megaguirus in order to feed on Biollante, who is still regenerating from her battle with Godzilla. Mothra arrives to protect Biollante and battles Megaguirus. The Meganula attempt to swarm and bite Mothra, but are knocked away by her wings.

Roar
Meganulon's chirps were erroneously used for Mothra Larva's cry in the Japanese Mothra vs. Godzilla trailer.

In Other Languages

 * Russian: Меганулон

Trivia

 * The Meganulon is an actual species of giant dragonfly that lived during the Carboniferous Period nearly 300 million years ago. Of course, the real Meganulon never reached the size of the monsters that appeared in Rodan and Godzilla vs. Megaguirus.

Poll
Do you like Meganulon? Yes! No. Kind of.