Ancient carnivorous mammals and modern ones. Incredible monsters of the past that lived on earth

We often hear that now more and more animal species are becoming extinct or on the verge of extinction, and their complete disappearance is only a matter of time. Hunting, destruction of natural habitats, climate change and other factors have led to the fact that the rate of loss of animal species is 1000 times greater than the rate of restoration of the natural background. And although the extinction of animals is always sad, sometimes for us humans, it can even be beneficial.

From 12-metre-long megasnakes to giraffe-sized flying creatures, check out this list of 25 animals you wouldn't want to see next to.

1. Pelagornis sandersi

With a wingspan of about 7 meters, Pelargonis sandersi was apparently the largest flying bird to ever exist on Earth. She seemed to be able to fly only by pushing off a cliff, and spent most of her life above the ocean, relying on the winds rising off the ocean to keep her afloat. Although compared to pterosaurs, whose wingspan was almost 12 meters, this bird was still quite “moderate” in size.

Similar to modern centipedes in shape and behavior, Euphoberia still had one significant difference - it was more than 90 cm in length! Although scientists aren't entirely sure what exactly it ate, we do know that some modern centipedes feed on birds, snakes and bats. If a 25-centimeter centipede could hunt birds, imagine what a nearly meter-long one could hunt!

3. Gigantopithecus

Gigantopithecus lived between 9 million and 100,000 years ago in modern Asia. It was the largest species of monkey on Earth. It is believed that this creature, up to 3 meters tall and weighing up to 540 kg, walked on four legs, like gorillas and chimpanzees, but some believe that it could walk on two limbs, like humans. The properties of their teeth and jaws suggest that these animals were able to chew coarse, fibrous food by cutting into it and grinding it.

4. Andrewsarchus

This cutie lived during the Eocene era, about 45-30 million years ago. Andrewsarchus was a huge carnivorous mammal. Given the skull and several bones found, paleontologists estimate that this predator could weigh up to 1,800 kg, making it the largest land mammal predator in history. However, the feeding behavior of this animal is not entirely understood, and some theories suggest that Andrewsarchus may have been omnivores or even scavengers.

5. Pulmonoscorpius

The scientific name of this creature translates to “breathing scorpion.” He lived during the Visean era (c. 345-330 million years ago) of the Carboniferous period. Relying on fossils found in Scotland, scientists believe that this species reached 76 cm in length. It lived on land and probably fed on small arthropods.

6. Megalania

Megalania lived in South Australia. It was a huge lizard that went extinct about 30,000 years ago, which means it may well have been encountered by the first Aborigines of Australia. Scientists disagree on the size of this lizard - it may have reached 7 meters in length, making Megalania the largest land lizard in history.

7. Helicoprion

One of the prehistoric centenarians (310-250 million years ago) - Helicoprion - is a genus of extinct shark-like creatures with an interesting jaw. Reached 4 m in length, but its closest living relatives - the chimaeras - can reach only 1.5 m in length.

8. Entelodons

Unlike their modern relatives, entelodons were boar-like mammals with a particular gourmet taste for meat. Probably one of the most fearsome-looking creatures in history, entelodons walked on four legs and were almost as tall as a man. Some scientists believe that entelodons were even cannibals. Well, if they ate each other, do you think they wouldn't want to eat a human?

9. Anomalocaris

Probably lived in all seas of the Cambrian period. Translated, its name means “abnormal shrimp.” This is a genus of marine animals, close relatives of arthropods. Scientists believe it hunted hard-bodied sea creatures, including trilobites. They had unique eyes with 30,000 lenses - it is believed that these were one of the most “advanced” eyes in the history of the species.

10. Meganeura

Meganeura is a genus of extinct insects from the Carboniferous period. Resembles modern dragonflies (and is related to them). With a wingspan of up to 66 cm, it is one of the largest flying insects in the history of our planet. Meganeura was a predator, and its diet consisted mainly of other insects and small amphibians.

Attercopus was a genus of arachnid animal with a scorpion-like tail. For a long time, Attercopus was considered the prehistoric ancestor of modern spiders, but scientists who discovered its traces soon came to a different opinion. It is unlikely that Attercopus spun webs, although it may have been used to wrap eggs, lay frame thread, or build the walls of its burrow.

12. Deinosuchus

Deinosuchus is an extinct relative of modern alligator crocodiles that lived 80-73 million years ago. Although it was larger than any of the modern species, it looked almost the same. It reached 12 meters in length and had sharp large teeth capable of killing and devouring sea turtles, fish and even large dinosaurs.

13. Dunkleosteus

Living at the end of the Devonian period about 380-360 million years ago, Dunkleosteus was a huge super-predatory fish. Due to its terrifying size (up to 10 m in length and weighing almost 4 tons), it was the apex predator of its time. This fish had strong armor, which made it a relatively slow but very powerful swimmer.

14. Spinosaurus

Larger than Tyrannosaurus Rex, Spinosaurus is the largest carnivorous dinosaur of all time. It reached 18 m in length and weighed up to 10 tons. They ate tons of fish, turtles, and even other dinosaurs. If this horror were alive today, we most likely would not be alive.

15. Smilodon

Smilodon lived in North and South America during the Pleistocene era (2.5 million - 10,000 years ago). This is the best example of a saber-toothed cat. An excellent predator with particularly well-developed forelimbs and incredibly long, sharp fangs. The largest individual could weigh up to 408 kg.

16. Quetzalcoatlus

The wingspan of these creatures could reach an incredible 12 meters. This pterosaur was the largest creature ever to fly, including modern birds. However, it is very difficult to estimate the size and weight of these huge animals, because... No existing animal has the same body plan, so published results vary widely. One of the characteristic features of these animals was that they all had unusually long and rigid necks.

17. Hallucigenia

The name comes from the idea that these creatures are very strange, almost like a hallucination. These worm-like creatures were 0.5-3 cm in length and lacked some sensory organs on their heads, such as eyes and nose. Instead, Hallucigenia had seven tentacles on each side of its body, as well as three pairs of tentacles behind them. To say that this is a strange creature is an understatement.

18. Arthropleura

Inhabitant of the Upper Carboniferous period (340-280 million years ago). Lived in the territory of modern North America and Scotland. It was the largest species of terrestrial invertebrate in history. Despite their enormous length, up to almost 2.7 meters, Arthropleura were not predators; they fed on rotting forest plants.

19. Short-faced bear

The short-faced bear is an extinct species of bear that lived in North America during the Pleistocene era until 11,000 years ago, making it the "most recent" extinct creature on our list. However, its size is truly prehistoric. Standing on its two hind legs, the bear reached 3.6 m in height and 4.2 meters if it raised its front paw up. It is believed that these giants weighed more than 1360 kg.

20. Megalodon

The name of this toothy monster translates as “big tooth.” This is an extinct species of huge shark that lived about 28-1.5 million years ago. With an incredible length of up to 18 meters, it is considered one of the largest and most powerful predators to ever live on Earth. Lived almost all over the world and looked like a larger and more terrifying version of the modern great white shark.

21. Titanoboa

Living approximately 60-58 million years ago during the Paleocene era, Titanoboa was the largest, longest, and heaviest snake in history. Scientists believe that individual representatives of the species reached 12 meters in length and weighed about 1133 kg. Their diet consisted of giant crocodiles and turtles, with which they shared the territory of modern South America.

22. Fororacoaceae

Also called "terror birds", these prehistoric creatures are an extinct genus of large birds of prey that were the largest species in South America during the Cenozoic period, approximately 60 million years ago. The largest flightless bird of prey to ever roam the Earth. They reached 3 meters in height, weighed up to half a ton and supposedly could run as fast as a cheetah.

23. Cameroceras

Lived during the Ordovician period 470-460 million years ago. This is the giant ancestor of modern squids and octopuses. The most characteristic feature of this mollusk was its huge cone-shaped shell and tentacles, which it used to catch fish and other marine life. It is believed that the size of its shell varied from 6 to 12 meters.

Carbonemys is an extinct genus of huge turtles that lived about 60 million years ago, i.e. they survived the mass extinction of the dinosaurs. Fossils found in Colombia suggest they had a shell that reached almost 1.8 meters. Turtles were carnivores, with huge jaws powerful enough to eat large animals such as crocodiles.

25. Jaekelopterus

Jaekelopterus, without a doubt, can be called one of the largest arthropods in the world - its length reached 2.5 meters. It is sometimes called the "sea scorpion", but in fact it is more closely related to the lobsters that live in the freshwater lakes and rivers of modern Western Europe. This terrible creature lived about 390 million years ago, earlier than most dinosaurs.

The division of living beings into those who hunt and those who are hunted is perhaps the most ancient classification. Predators existed thousands, hundreds of thousands, millions and hundreds of millions of years ago - that is, throughout the existence of life itself. Therefore, it should not be a revelation to anyone that predators hunted under water, on land and in the air long before humans appeared on our planet. These are prehistoric predators.

Orthocons

Orthocones are cephalopods that lived in the seas of the Earth 450 million years ago and were the largest predators of their time. These were creatures measuring up to ten meters and weighing 200 kilograms, which hunted thanks to two main devices. Firstly, these were long tentacles with which the orthocons captured their victims; secondly, it was a long cone-shaped shell into which they collected water and then pushed it out with muscle force. Thanks to this jet engine, they could reach high speeds.

Armored fish

Armored fish of the genus Dunkleostea, who lived between 415 and 360 million years ago. These fish reached a length of ten meters and had massive, developed jaws equipped with bone plates. This adaptation allowed them to grind the shells of other armored fish. Scientists calculated that the jaws of fish of the genus Dunkleostea were comparable in pressure to the jaws of crocodiles, and the speed of closing the mouth was 20 milliseconds.

Ichthyosaurs

Ichthyosaurs are marine reptiles that lived between 250 and 90 million years ago, with an average size of four meters, but specimens measuring 23 meters have also been found. They were night hunters, so they had huge eyes (the diameter of one eye is 20 centimeters) for better vision in the dark. In addition, the teeth of ichthyosaurs were constantly replaced throughout their lives.

Liopleurodons

Liopleurodon is a reptile from the pliosaur genus that lived in the seas of the Earth 160-155 million years ago, one of the largest predators on the planet in history. The average size was up to seven meters, but there are confirmed cases of discovering the remains of individuals whose length exceeded 20 meters. Liopleurodon had teeth 7 to 10 centimeters long and had the ability to dive deep into water for a long time, occasionally rising to the surface to breathe.

Eryops

Eryops is a giant amphibian of the temnospondyl order that lived 360-300 million years ago. It was a large animal, whose body length was about two meters, and the length of the skull, shaped like the skull of a modern alligator, reached about half a meter. He had a powerful build, a wide chest and short, strong legs. According to scientists, it led a semi-aquatic lifestyle, that is, it was adapted for hunting in shallow waters and on the banks of reservoirs.

Allosaurus

Allosaurus is the most famous member of the family of predatory lizard-hipped dinosaurs, the allosaurids, that lived on Earth 155-145 million years ago. It was a bipedal predator whose body length on average reached nine meters, height was approximately 3.5-4 meters, and weight was around a ton. The front legs were much shorter and weaker than the hind legs, on which the Allosaurus moved. Currently, the main hypothesis in the scientific community is that allosaurs could not hunt very large herbivorous dinosaurs alone. , so they united in flocks.

Megalosaurs

Megalosaurus is a genus of predatory bipedal lizard-hipped dinosaurs that lived on the territory of modern Europe 180-169 million years ago (in any case, so far the remains of megalosaurs have been found only on the European continent). Notable for being the first dinosaur found and documented in the history of modern science. In its appearance and structural features, Megalosaurus resembles Allosaurus and Tyrannosaurus, which lived about a hundred million years later. - a large (body length about nine meters and weight about a ton) dinosaur with short forelimbs and sharp teeth. There is also an assumption regarding him that he obtained food not only by hunting, but also as a scavenger.

Alexander Babitsky

Long before the appearance of people, who today occupy a dominant position among creatures, the planet was inhabited by real monsters. Fortunately or not, their existence for one reason or another turned out to be impermanent. It is worth noting that, perhaps, if they had not died out, then a person would not have had a chance to withstand such animals.

Argentavis lived 5-8 million years ago in Argentina. It weighed about 70 kg, had a height of 1.26 m, and its wingspan reached 7 m (which is twice the wingspan of the largest modern birds - albatrosses). The Argentavis skull was 45 cm long, and the humerus was more than half a meter long. All this makes Argentavis the largest flying bird known to science in the entire history of the Earth. It is close in size to the Cessna 152 airplane. This creature resembled a bald eagle with a wingspan of about 8 meters and feathers the size of a samurai sword. It was believed to float in the air like a glider and could reach speeds of 240 km/h. Experts still don't know exactly how this bird could take off and land.

Dunkleosteus was the largest of the prehistoric armored placoderm fish. Its head and chest were covered with an articulated armor plate. Instead of teeth, these fish had two pairs of sharp bony plates that formed a beak structure. Dunkleosteus was probably extirpated by other placoderms that had similar bony plates for protection, their jaws powerful enough to cut and pierce armored prey. One of the largest known specimens found was 10 meters long and weighed four tons, making it one of the fish you definitely don't want to catch on a spinning rod! This fish was completely indiscriminate in food; it ate fish, sharks, and even fish of its own family. But they probably suffered from indigestion caused by the fossilized remains of half-digested fish. Scientists from the University of Chicago concluded that Dunkleosteus had the second-strongest bite among fish. These giant armored fish became extinct during the transition from the Devonian to the Carboniferous period.

3. Cancerscorpio

This giant sea creature looked like a cross between a scorpion and a lobster, with a tapering tail and flat fins. Racoscorpions, although similar to modern scorpions, still belong to a different species - eurypterids. They lived on earth for many millions of years, but became extinct at the end of the Permian period. Early forms lived in shallow seas. About 325-299 million years ago, most of them switched to life in fresh water. This group included individuals that are considered the largest arthropods in the history of the planet. The body length of such creatures reached two and a half meters.

4. Andrewsarchus

Possibly the largest extinct terrestrial predatory mammal that lived during the Middle-Late Eocene era in Central Asia. Andrewsarchus is represented as a long-bodied, short-legged beast with a huge head. The length of the skull is 83 cm, the width of the zygomatic arches is 56 cm, but the dimensions can be much larger. According to modern reconstructions, if we assume relatively large head sizes and shorter leg lengths, then the body length could reach up to 3.5 meters (without the 1.5-meter tail), the height at the shoulders could be up to 1.6 meters. Weight could reach 1 ton. Andrewsarchus is a primitive ungulate, close to the ancestors of whales and artiodactyls. Andrewsarchus lived from 45 to 36 million years ago.

5. Quetzalcoatlus

This creature is called one of the largest, if not the largest, of all who have ever roamed the heavens. Its name is associated with the Aztec god Quetzalcoatl, who was known in the form of a feathered serpent. The flying creature lived in the late Cretaceous period. It was a real king of the sky, with a wingspan of 12 meters and a height of almost 10. However, its weight was quite small - up to a hundredweight, thanks to its hollow bones. The creature had a pointed beak with which it collected food. The long jaws were not hampered by the lack of teeth, and the main food could be fish and the corpses of other dinosaurs. Fossils were first discovered in Big Bend Park, Texas, in 1971. It is believed that while on the ground, the four-legged animal was so strong that it could take off straight from its spot, without a run-up. It is, of course, difficult to compare this huge animal with modern ones. Since it was a pterosaur, it had no direct descendants. But at one time it was most associated with Pteranodon, which is already comparable to modern birds, in particular the marabou stork. Two facts bring them together - a larger than usual wingspan and a predilection for carrion as food.

His name speaks for itself. It was a huge ape, related to the orangutan, that lived in the bamboo thickets, jungles and mountains of China, India and Vietnam during the Pleistocene. Gigantopithecus grew up to 3 m and weighed up to 550 kg! They were very strong, which helped them protect themselves from predators. Gigantopithecus went extinct 300,000 years ago, most likely due to hunting by early humans or climate change. Of course, all Bigfoot lovers like to think that Gigantopithecus somehow survived in remote parts of the Himalayas and that there is still hope of seeing them.

A predatory marsupial of the order Sparassodonta that lived in the Miocene (10 million years ago). Reached the size of a jaguar. The upper canines are clearly visible on the skull, constantly growing, with huge roots continuing into the frontal region, and long protective “blades” on the lower jaw. The upper incisors are missing. He probably hunted large herbivores. Thylacosmila is often called a marsupial tiger, by analogy with another formidable predator - the marsupial lion. It died out at the end of the Pliocene, unable to withstand competition with the first saber-toothed cats that settled the continent.

8. Helicoprion

This animal is famous for its unusual dental spiral. Helicoprion is believed to have lived during the Carboniferous period. Scientists believe that this fish was one of the few that survived the Permo-Triassic mass extinction. But at the end of the Triassic period the creature finally became extinct. Although few fish remains remain, scientists discovered an unusual dental helix and several jaw bones. With their help, possible images of the animal were recreated. What is certain is that he had teeth similar to a circular saw located on his lower jaw. There were so many teeth that the older ones were pushed into the middle, creating a new turn of the spiral. However, new theories say that the spiral could be located in the pharynx area, remaining invisible from the outside. This structure of the sea creature made it possible to hunt better. Thus, a spiral could be used to cut tentacles, injure fish, or dig up shellfish. The length of such unusual creatures reached 2-3 meters, based on the diameter of a typical spiral of 25 centimeters. True, there were also dental formations of 90 centimeters, which gives reason to believe that the length of helicoprions is up to 9-12 meters. Although the fish are very similar to the modern shark, they were primitive cartilaginous fish, close to the ancestors of modern marine predators.

Known as fororacotes, these birds were the top predators in South America and parts of North America during the Miocene, Pliocene and Pleistocene periods. They were then replaced by big cats and other carnivorous mammals. Fororacos could not fly, but they ran very fast (according to some scientists, as fast as a cheetah). They were very large, up to 3 m in height and weighing up to half a ton! Their main weapon was a head up to 1 m long, which allowed them to swallow whole prey the size of a dog. But the worst thing is that thanks to their curved beak, the terrible birds could kill and eat an animal the size of a horse.

A giant hyaenodontid that lived in the early and middle Miocene (20-15 million years ago). It is considered one of the largest land mammal predators to ever exist. Its fossilized remains are found in East and Northeast Africa and South Asia. The length of the body with the head was about 4 m, the length of the tail is presumably 1.6 m, the height at the withers is up to 2 m. The weight of Megistotherium is estimated at 880-1400 kg.

Today, humans are the dominant predator on the planet. However, we have occupied this position within a relatively short period of time—the earliest known human, Homo Habilis, first appeared about 2.3 million years ago.
Even though we dominate animals to this day, many of these animals have extinct ancestors that were much larger and stronger than the ones we are familiar with. The ancestors of these animals looked like creatures from our worst nightmares. The frightening thing is that if humanity disappears or simply loses its dominance, these creatures, or similar ones, could potentially regain the right to exist.

1. Megatherium

Today, sloths climb trees slowly and do not pose a threat to animals that live in the Amazon. Their ancestors were the complete opposite. During the Pliocene era, Megatherium was a giant sloth in South America, weighing up to four tons and reaching 6 meters in length from head to tail.
Although it primarily walked on four legs, tracks show that it was able to stand on two legs to reach the leaves of tall trees. It was the size of a modern elephant, and yet it was not the largest animal in its habitat!
Archaeologists suggest that Megatherium was a scavenger, and stole the carcasses of dead animals from other carnivores. Megatherium was also one of the last giant Ice Age mammals before their extinction. Their remains appear in the relatively late fossil record of the Holocene, a period that saw the rise of humankind. This makes humans the most likely culprit in Megatherium's extinction.

2. Gigantopithecus

When we think of a giant ape we usually think of the fictional King Kong, but the giant ape actually existed a long time ago. Gigantopithecus is an ape that existed approximately 9 million to 100 thousand years ago, approximately the same period as the rest of the hominid family.
Fossil evidence shows that Gigantopithecus was the largest ape that ever lived, standing almost 3 meters tall and weighing half a ton. Scientists have been unable to determine the cause of the extinction of this giant ape. However, some crypto-zoologists have suggested that Bigfoot and Yeti "sightings" may be related to the lost generation of Gigantopithecus.

3. Armored fish

Dunkleosteus (lat. Dunkleosteus) was the largest of the prehistoric armored placoderm fish (lat. Placodermi). Her head and chest were covered with an articulated armor plate. Instead of teeth, these fish possessed two pairs of sharp bony plates that formed a beak structure.
Dunkleosteus was probably extirpated by other placoderms that had the same bony plates for protection, their jaws powerful enough to cut and pierce armored prey. One of the largest known specimens found, it was 10 meters long and weighed four tons, making it one of the fish you definitely don't want to catch on a spinning rod!
This fish was not at all picky about food; it ate fish, sharks, and even fish of its own family. But they probably suffered from indigestion caused by the fossilized remains of half-digested fish. Scientists from the University of Chicago concluded that Dunkleosteus had the second-strongest bite among fish. These giant armored fish became extinct during the transition from the Devonian to the Carboniferous period.

4. Terrorist Bird

Most flightless birds today - the ostrich or penguin, for example, pose no danger to humans, however, there was one flightless bird that terrorized the earth.

Phorusrhacidae, also known as the "terrorist bird", is a species of birds of prey and flightless birds that were the largest raptor species in South America between 62 million and 2 million years ago. They reached approximately 1-3 meters in height. The prey of the terrorist bird were small mammals... and, by the way, horses. They used their massive beaks to kill in two ways: by picking up small prey and throwing it to the ground, or by delivering targeted strikes to important parts of the body.
Although archaeologists have not yet fully determined the reasons for the extinction of this species, the last of its fossils appear around the same time as the first humans.

5. Haast's Eagle

Birds of prey have always left their mark on the human psyche. Fortunately, we are much larger than the largest eagle. However, there were once birds of prey that were large enough to hunt humans.
Haast's eagle lived on the South Island of New Zealand, and was the largest known eagle, weighing up to 16 kg, with a wingspan of 3 meters. The prey were 140 kg flightless moa birds, which were unable to protect themselves from the striking force and speed of these eagles, which reached speeds of up to 60 km per hour.

Legends from early Maori settlers say that these eagles could lift and devour small children. But early on, settlers in New Zealand hunted mainly large flightless birds, including all species of moa, which eventually led to their extinction. The loss of natural prey caused the Haast's eagle to become extinct when its natural food source was exhausted.

6. Giant Lizard Ripper

Today, the Komodo dragon is a fearsome reptile and the largest lizard on the planet, but it would be dwarfed by its ancient ancestors. Megalania, also known as the Giant Ripper Lizard, is a very large monitor lizard. The exact proportions of this creature have varied, but recent studies have shown that Megalania was about 7 meters long and weighed between 600 and 620 kg, making it the largest land lizard ever known.

Its diet consisted of marsupials: giant kangaroos and wombats. Megalania belongs to the clan toxicofera, which has poisonous secreting glands, this lizard is the largest poisonous vertebrate of all known. Although we couldn't imagine lizards of this size living in the outback, the first Aboriginal people of Australia may have encountered living Megalania. The species most likely became extinct when the first settlers hunted megalanias for food.

7. Short-faced bear

Bears are among the largest mammals on Earth, with the polar bear even holding the title of the largest of all land predators. Arctodus - also known as the Short-faced Bear, lived in North America during the Pleistocene. The Short-faced Bear weighed about one ton, and standing on its hind legs reached a height of 4.6 meters, making the Short-faced Bear the largest mammalian predator that ever existed.

Although the short-faced bear was a very large predator, archaeologists have discovered that it was actually a scavenger. Being a scavenger, however, isn't a bad idea at all, especially when you're fighting saber-tooth tigers and wolves for food. Like most other large animals of the Pleistocene era, the short-faced bear lost most of its food sources with the arrival of humans.

8. Deinosuchus

Modern crocodiles are the living remains of dinosaurs, but there was a time when crocodiles hunted and ate the above dinosaurs. Deinosuchus (lat. Deinosuchus) is an extinct species related to the alligator and crocodile that lived during the Cretaceous period. Deinosuchus is translated from Greek as “terrible crocodile.”

This crocodile was much larger than any modern one, measuring up to 12 meters and weighing ten tons. It was similar in appearance to its smaller relatives, with large, robust teeth designed for crushing, and a back covered in armored plates of bone.
The main prey of Deinosuchus were large dinosaurs (who else can boast of this?), and in addition to them sea turtles, fish and other unfortunate victims. Potential evidence for the danger of Deinosuchus comes from Albertosaurus fossils. These are samples of the teeth of Deinosuchus and Tyrannosaurus rex, which means there is a good chance that these two brutal predators engaged in bloody fights.

9. Titanoboa

No creature evokes more fear in the human psyche than a snake. Today, the largest snake is the reticulated python, with an average length of 7 meters.

In 2009, archaeologists made a shocking discovery in Colombia by comparing the shapes and sizes of fossilized vertebrae of modern snakes with an ancient snake Titanoboa reached a maximum length of 12 to 15 meters and weighed up to 1,100 kg, making it the largest snake to ever crawl the planet. Since this is a recent discovery, little is known about Titanoboa, but one thing is known: the whole world will be afraid of a 15-meter snake, no matter if there is a phobia or not.

10. Megalodon

Before 1975, most people's phobias centered around snakes and spiders. Everything changed when the movie Jaws was released, the antagonist of the film was a great white shark (non-existent), which made many people hysterical and prevented them from entering the ocean. Today, the largest great white sharks typically reach 6 meters in length and weigh 2,200 kg. However, there was once a shark that was twice the size of the largest modern great white sharks.

Megalodon - meaning "big tooth" - is a shark that lived from 28 to 1.5 million years ago. Megalodon was all about the prefix "mega": its teeth were 18 cm long, and fossil remains show that this giant shark reached a maximum length of 16–20 meters. While today great white sharks hunt seals, Megaladon consumed whales as food. Scientists speculate that the species became extinct due to ocean cooling, falling sea levels and declining food sources. If there was a chance that megaladon existed in modern times, then man would be landlocked. However, in the giant ocean, there could be a great white shark lurking in the abyss, and there is always the chance that something like a megaladon will return to the world.

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The law of nature “Survival of the fittest” and human activity have led to the extinction of very amazing species of animals, which, unfortunately, we will never be able to see with our own eyes again.

1. Megaladapis (koala lemurs)

Koala lemurs (lat. Megaladapis Edwarsi) were identified as a species only in 1894. They lived on the island of Madagascar from the end of the Pleistocene to the Holocene era. Some scientists considered Megaladapis to be the closest relatives of modern lemurs. However, according to the results of the studies, there is absolutely no connection between the small lepilemurs and the extinct koala lemurs, which had a skull the size of a gorilla.

The height of adult megaladapis reached 1.5 meters, and the weight was approximately 75 kilograms. Their front legs were longer than their hind legs. They were too heavy to jump well and probably spent most of their lives on the ground.

The first people appeared on the island of Madagascar about two thousand years ago. During this period of time, seventeen species of lemurs became extinct, the most notable of which - due to their enormous size - were Megaladapis. Radiocarbon dating shows that koala lemurs went extinct almost 500 years ago.

2. Wonambi

Wonambi (lat. Wonambi Naracoortensis) lived in Australia during the Pliocene era. "Wonambi" is translated from the local Aboriginal language as "rainbow snake". Unlike more developed snakes, the wonambi's jaw was inactive. Some scientists believe that wonambis were, from an evolutionary point of view, a cross between lizards and modern snakes.

The body length of the wonambi reached more than 4.5 meters. They had recurved teeth but no fangs. Most scientists agree that the Wonambi went extinct 40 thousand years ago.

3. Great auk

Great auks (lat. Pinguinus impennis) are bizarre black and white birds that could not fly. Great auks, nicknamed the “original penguins,” grew to about one meter in height. They had tiny wings about 15 centimeters long. Great auks lived in the northern waters of the Atlantic Ocean near countries such as Scotland, Norway, Canada, the USA and France. They came to land only to reproduce.

Great auks became highly prized in the early 18th century. Their expensive feathers, leather, meat, oil and thirteen-centimeter eggs attracted hunters and collectors. Ultimately, great auks were threatened with extinction, but this only increased their demand.

On July 3, 1844, Sigurdur Isleifsson and two comrades went to the Icelandic island of Elday, where at that time the last colony of great auks lived. They found a male and a female there who were hatching an egg. The men, hired by a rich merchant, killed the birds and crushed the egg. This was the only pair of great auks in the world.

The last representative of the great auk species was seen in 1852 in the waters of the Great Bank of Newfoundland (Canada).

4. Schomburgk's deer

Once upon a time, hundreds of thousands of Schomburgk's deer (Latin Rucervus Schomburgki) lived in Thailand. The animals were described and identified as a species in 1863. They were named after the then British Consul in Bangkok, Sir Robert Schomburgk. According to scientists, they became extinct in the 1930s. Some believe that Schomburgk's deer still exist, but scientific observations, unfortunately, have not confirmed this assumption.

The Thais believed that the antlers of Schomburgk's deer had magical and healing powers, so these animals were often the prey of hunters who then sold them to people practicing traditional medicine. During floods, Schomburgk's deer congregated on higher ground; for this reason, killing them was not particularly difficult: they, in fact, had nowhere to run.

The last wild Schomburgk's deer was killed in 1932, and the last domesticated one was killed in 1938.

The last time representatives of the Jamaican giant (or drowning) gallivasp (lat. Celestus Occiduus) were seen was in 1840. The body length of Jamaican giant gallisps reached 60 centimeters. With their appearance, they instilled fear and horror in the local residents. Their disappearance is likely due to the appearance of predators in Jamaica, such as mongooses, for example, as well as human factors.

Jamaicans believe that Gallivasps are poisonous animals. According to legend, whoever gets to the water first - the Gallivasp or the person it bit - will live. However, the island's inhabitants don't have to worry about the giant gallispap now, as they went extinct over a century ago. Very little is known about this species. Jamaican giant galliwasps, according to available information, lived in swamps and ate fish and fruits.

6. Argentavis

The skeleton of Argentavis Magnificens was discovered in Miocene rocks in Argentina; this suggests that representatives of this species lived in South America six million years ago. They are believed to be the largest flying birds that have ever existed on Earth. Argentavis's height reached 1.8 meters, and its weight reached 70 kilograms; its wingspan was 6-8 meters.

Argentavis belonged to the order Accipitridae. This also includes hawks and vultures. Judging by the size of the Argentavis skull, they swallowed their prey whole. Their life expectancy, according to various estimates, ranged from 50 to 100 years.

7. Barbary lion

Barbary lions (lat. Panthera Leo Leo) lived in North Africa. They did not roam in packs, but in pairs or small family groups. The Barbary lion was quite easy to recognize by its characteristic head shape and mane.

The last wild Barbary lion was killed in Morocco in 1927. The Moroccan Sultan had several domesticated Barbary lions in captivity. They were transferred to local and European zoos for further breeding.

It is known that during the Roman Empire, Barbary lions took part in gladiator fights.

8. Laughing Owl

Laughing owls (lat. Sceloglaux Albifacies) lived in New Zealand. They became endangered in the mid-19th century. The last laughing owl was seen on the island in 1914. According to unconfirmed reports, this species existed until the early 1930s. The cry of a laughing owl sounded like an eerie laugh or the laughter of a distraught man. The volume was comparable to the barking of a dog.

Laughing owls nested on rocks within the tree line or in open areas. There were people who tried to domesticate these birds, and in principle they did a good job. Laughing owls, even in captivity, laid eggs without stimulation. Habitat destruction has forced laughing owls to change their diet. They switched from birds of fairly decent size (for example, ducks) and lizards to mammals. Apparently, this, along with factors such as grazing and slash-and-burn agriculture, led to their extinction.

9. Blue Antelope

This antelope got its name from the bluish tint of its black and yellow coat. Blue antelopes (lat. Hippotragus Leucophaeus) once lived in South Africa. They ate grass, as well as the bark of trees and shrubs. Blue antelopes were social and most likely nomadic animals. Before humans appeared, they were hunted by African lions, hyenas and leopards.

The blue antelope population began to decline markedly about 2,000 years ago. In the 18th century they were already considered an endangered species. Predators, climate change, hunters, disease and even proximity to animals such as sheep are the main factors leading to the extinction of blue antelopes. The last representative of the species was killed by hunters in 1799.

10. Woolly rhinoceros

The remains of the woolly rhinoceros (lat. Coelodonta Antiquitatis), who lived 3.6 million years ago, were found in Asia, Europe and North Africa. Scientists initially mistook the huge horn of one woolly rhinoceros for the claw of a prehistoric bird.

Woolly rhinoceroses lived in the same territory as woolly mammoths. In France, archaeologists have discovered caves on the walls of which were depicted drawings of woolly rhinoceroses made 30 thousand years ago. Primitive people hunted woolly mammoths, which is why these animals became the subject of cave art. In 2014, a spear was found in Siberia, created from the horn of an adult woolly rhinoceros more than 13 thousand years ago. Woolly rhinoceroses are believed to have gone extinct at the end of the last Ice Age about 11,000 years ago.

11. Quagga - half zebra and half horse, completely extinct in 1883

The quagga is one of South Africa's most famous extinct animals and was a subspecies of zebra. Quaggas were very trusting and amenable to training, which means they were instantly tamed by humans and got their name from the word “Koi-Koi,” with which the owner called his animal.

In addition to being extremely friendly, Quaggas were also very tasty, and their skin was worth its weight in gold. It was these reasons that caused the complete extermination of these animals. By 1880, there was only one Quagga in the world, which died in captivity on August 12, 1883 at the Artis Magistra Zoo in Amsterdam. Due to much confusion between the different zebra species, the quagga became extinct before it was clear that it was a separate species. By the way, Quagga became the first extinct animal whose DNA was studied.

12. Steller's cow, completely extinct in 1768

This species of sea cow lived near the Asian coast of the Bering Sea. These unusual animals were discovered by traveler and naturalist Georg Steller in 1741. The gigantic creatures immediately amazed Steller with their size: adult specimens reached 10 meters in length and weighed up to 4 tons. The animals looked like huge seals and had massive forelimbs and a tail. According to Steller, the animal never came out of the water onto the shore.

These animals had dark, almost black skin, which resembled the bark of a cracked oak trunk, the neck was completely absent, and the head, set directly on the torso, was very small in size compared to the rest of the body. Steller's cow mainly fed on plankton and small fish, which it swallowed whole, due to the fact that it had no teeth.

People valued this animal for its fat. Because of him, the entire population of this unusual animal was exterminated.

13. Irish Deer - a giant deer that went extinct 7,700 years ago

The Irish Deer is the largest artiodactyl that has ever existed on planet Earth. These animals lived in huge numbers in Eurasia. The last discovered remains of a giant deer date back to 5700 BC.

These deer reached 2.1 meters in length and had huge antlers, which in adult males reached 3.65 meters in width. These animals lived in the forest, where, due to the size of their horns, they were easy prey for both any small predator and humans.

14. Dodo, completely extinct in the 17th century

The Dodo (or Dodo) was a species of flightless bird that lived on the island of Mauritius. The dodo belonged to the pigeon-like species, but was distinguished by its enormous size: adult individuals reached up to 1.2 meters in height and weighed up to 50 kg. Dodos ate mostly fruit that fell from trees and built nests on the ground, and given that their meat was tender and juicy from a fruit diet, they became a real treat for anyone who could get their hands on them. But, fortunately for the Dodos, there were absolutely no predators on the island of Mauritius. This idyll continued until the 17th century, when Europeans landed on the island. Hunting for Dodo became the main source of replenishment of ship supplies. Dogs, cats and rats were brought to the island with people, who happily ate the eggs of helpless birds.

The dodos were helpless in the literal sense of the word: they could not fly, they ran slowly, and hunting for them came down to slowly catching up with the fleeing bird and hitting it on the head with a stick. In addition to everything, Dodo was as trusting as a child, and as soon as people lured him with a piece of fruit, the bird itself approached the most dangerous predator on planet Earth.

15. Thylacine - Marsupial Wolf, completely extinct in 1936

The thylacine was the largest carnivorous marsupial. It is commonly known as the Tasmanian Tiger (due to its striped rear part) and also as the Wolf of Tasmania. The marsupial wolf was extirpated from the Australian mainland thousands of years before European settlement of the continent, but survived in Tasmania, along with other marsupials (such as like the well-known Tasmanian Devil).

Thylacines had disgusting meat, but excellent skin. Clothing made from the skin of this animal could warm a person in the most severe frost, so the hunt for this wolf did not stop until 1936, when it turned out that all individuals had already been exterminated.

16.Passenger pigeon

One example of human-caused disappearance is passenger pigeon. Once upon a time, multi-million-strong flocks of these birds flew in the skies of North America. Seeing food, the pigeons rushed down like huge locusts, and when they were full, they flew away, completely destroying fruits, berries, nuts, and insects. Such gluttony irritated the colonists. Moreover, the pigeons tasted very good. One of Fenimore Cooper’s novels describes how, when a flock of pigeons approached, the entire population of cities and towns poured out into the streets, armed with slingshots, guns, and sometimes even cannons. They killed as many pigeons as they could kill. The pigeons were placed in ice cellars, cooked immediately, fed to dogs, or simply thrown away. There were even pigeon shooting competitions, and towards the end of the 19th century, machine guns began to be used.

The last passenger pigeon, named Martha, died at the zoo in 1914.

16.Tour

It was a powerful beast with a muscular, slender body, about 170-180 cm high at the withers and weighing up to 800 kg. The high-set head was crowned with long, sharp horns. The color of adult males was black, with a narrow white “strap” along the back, while females and young animals were reddish-brown. Although the last aurochs lived out their days in the forests, previously these bulls stayed mainly in the forest-steppe, and often entered the steppe. They probably migrated to the forests only in winter. They ate grass, shoots and leaves of trees and shrubs. Their rut occurred in the fall, and the calves appeared in the spring. They lived in small groups or alone, and for the winter they united in larger herds. The aurochs had few natural enemies: these strong and aggressive animals could easily cope with any predator.

In historical times, the tour was found throughout almost all of Europe, as well as in North Africa, Asia Minor and the Caucasus. In Africa, this animal was exterminated in the third millennium BC. e., in Mesopotamia - around 600 BC. e. In Central Europe, tours survived much longer. Their disappearance here coincided with intensive deforestation in the 9th-11th centuries. In the 12th century, aurochs were still found in the Dnieper basin. At that time they were actively exterminated. Records of the difficult and dangerous hunt for wild bulls were left by Vladimir Monomakh.

By 1400, aurochs lived only in relatively sparsely populated and inaccessible forests in the territory of modern Poland, Belarus and Lithuania. Here they were taken under the protection of the law and lived as park animals on royal lands. In 1599, a small herd of aurochs - 24 individuals - still lived in the royal forest 50 km from Warsaw. By 1602, only 4 animals remained in this herd, and in 1627 the last aurochs on Earth died

17.Moa

Moa is a flightless bird similar to an ostrich. Lived on the islands of New Zealand. It reached a height of 3.6 m. After the first Polynesian settlers arrived on the islands, the number of Moas began to decline rapidly. The birds were too large and slow to hide from hunters, and by about the 18th century, Moas had completely disappeared from the face of the earth.

18.Epiornis

Epiornis were birds very similar to Moa, with only one difference - they lived in Madagascar. Over 3 meters tall and weighing over 500 kilograms, they were real giants. Epiornis lived quite prosperously in Madagascar until the moment when people began to populate it. Before humans, they had only one natural enemy - the crocodile. Around the 16th century, Epiornis, also known as Elephant Birds, were completely exterminated.

19.Tarpan

Tarpan was the ancestor of the modern horse. It’s hard to believe, but back in the 18th and 19th centuries it was widespread in the steppes of the European part of Russia, a number of European countries and in Western Kazakhstan. Unfortunately, tarpan meat was very tasty and people exterminated them for this very reason. The main culprits for the disappearance of tarpans are Catholic monks, who, being horse eaters, exterminated them in huge quantities. Eyewitnesses of these events wrote that the monks mounted fast horses and simply drove herds of horses. As a result, only foals that could not endure a long race were caught.

20.Japanese Hondo Wolf

The Japanese wolf was common on the islands of Honshu, Shikoku and Kyushu of the Japanese archipelago. He was the smallest among all wolves. The rabies epidemic and extermination by humans brought the wolf to complete extinction. The last Hondos wolf died in 1905.

21.Falkland fox (Falkland wolf)

The Falkland fox was tan in color with black ears, a black tip of the tail and a white belly. The fox barked like a dog and was the only predator on the Falkland Islands. There was no sign of her disappearance, since she had plenty of food. Even then, in 1833, Charles Darwin, describing this wonderful animal, predicted its disappearance, since it was uncontrollably shot by hunters because of its thick and valuable fur. In addition, the fox was poisoned, allegedly posing a great threat to sheep and other domestic animals.

The Falkland wolf had no natural enemies and he naively trusted people, not even imagining that they were his worst enemy. As a result, the last fox was killed in 1876.

22.Baiji- Chinese river dolphin.

People did not hunt the Chinese river dolphin, which lived in the Yangtze rivers of Asia, but were indirectly involved in its extinction. The waters of the river were overflowing with merchant and cargo ships, which simply polluted the river. In 2006, a special expedition confirmed the fact that Baiji no longer exists on earth as a species.

Reminded me of a penguin. Sailors hunted them because their meat was tasty, and catching this bird was not difficult. As a result, in 1912 the latest information about the Steller Cormorant was received.