Ancient animals of the earth. Prehistoric animals (41 photos) Terrestrial prehistoric bird fororakos
Evolution is a serious thing. At each of the stages of the formation of our planet in a certain period of time, there were certain animals that, of course, were the elite of their era. As such for a long time thought to be prehistoric predators. Let's talk about them.
They have inhabited the Earth for more than 500,000,000 years! Almost half of this period on our planet was dominated by prehistoric predators - dinosaurs! Just think about these numbers! No other has been able to hold out in the history of the formation of the Earth for as long as the ancient lizards did. They were real rulers!
Prehistoric predators - the crown of the creation of nature!
At one time they were the pinnacle of development of all terrestrial organisms that inhabited our planet. Dinosaurs have ruled the land for over 100,000,000 years! These were numerous and varied monsters. No other creature could compare with them in strength and perfection! Today, prehistoric reptilian predators do not cease to excite scientists and philistine minds: the process of their existence and the drama of extinction are of interest to man from the moment he learned about the Great Era of Reptiles! Dinosaurs are studied in a very thorough manner, no other is more popular in scientific circles than the ancient lizards!
Prehistoric marine predators
Over time, land became too crowded, and some reptiles began to master the water. Scientists experimentally traced that reptiles throughout the history of their development from time to time returned to the water. This happened when more plentiful food and security of existence awaited them there.
For them, this was not difficult, since life in the seas and oceans does not require absolutely any cardinal changes in the body and physiology from reptiles.
The very first prehistoric predators who mastered the water were anapsids - mesosaurs. Permian. Following them, primitive diapsids - tangosaurus, talattosaurs, claudiosaurs and hovasauruses - went into the water. The most recent group of aquatic reptiles were the well-known ichthyosaurs. These marine predators were simply superbly adapted to life in any waters of our planet. In their form, ichthyosaurs very much resembled the most common fish or dolphins: a triangular head with long jaws extended forward, a body flattened on the sides, a tail fin blade is vertical, and the legs are transformed into four ventral fins.
Lord of the seas and oceans
We often hear that more and more more species animals are on the verge of extinction, and their extinction is only a matter of time. The inexorable expansion of the places of human activity, such as hunting, destruction natural environment Habitat, climate change and other factors are contributing to a species extinction rate that is 1,000 times greater than the natural rate. Even though the extinction of species is a tragedy, sometimes it can be beneficial for a certain kind... of ours! From a 12m mega-snake to giraffe-sized flying creatures, today we bring you 25 stunning extinct creatures that thankfully no longer exist.
25. Pelagornis Sandersi
With a wingspan estimated to exceed 7 meters, Pelargonis Sandersi appears to be the largest flying bird ever discovered. It is quite possible that the bird could fly only by jumping off the rocks and most of her time over the ocean, where she relied on wind currents bouncing off the ocean to keep her flying. Although it is considered the largest of the flying birds, compared to pterosaurs such as Quetzalcoatlus with a wingspan of almost 12 meters, it was rather modest in size.
24. Euphoberia (giant centipede)
Ephoberia, which is similar to modern centipedes in shape and behavior, had a striking difference - its length was almost a full meter. Scientists are not entirely sure what exactly it fed on, we know that some modern centipedes feed on birds, snakes and bats. If a 25 cm centipede feeds on birds, imagine what a centipede almost 1 meter long could eat.
23. Gigantopithecus (Gigantopithecus)
Gigantopithecus lived in the territory of modern Asia from 9 million to 100,000 years ago. They were the largest primates on Earth. Their height was 3 meters, and they weighed up to 550 kilograms. These creatures walked on four legs, like modern gorillas or chimpanzees, but there are those scientists who are of the opinion that they walked on two legs, like people. The features of their teeth and jaws suggest that these animals were adapted to chewing hard, fibrous food, which they cut, crushed and chewed.
22. Andrewsarchus
Andrewsarchus was gigantic predatory mammal who lived in the Eocene epoch 45 - 36 million years ago. Based on the found skull and several bones, paleontologists suggest that the predator could have weighed up to 1,800 kilograms, possibly making it the largest terrestrial predatory mammal ever. However, the creature's behavioral habits are unclear, and according to some theories, Andrewsarchus may have been an omnivore or scavenger.
21. Pulmonoscorpius
Pulmonoscorpius literally means "breathing scorpion". It's extinct giant view a scorpion that lived on Earth during the Visean era of the Carboniferous period (approximately 345 - 330 million years ago). Based on fossils found in Scotland, it is believed that the length of this species was approximately 70 centimeters. It was a terrestrial animal that most likely fed on small arthropods and tetrapods.
20. Megalania
Megalania, endemic to southern Australia, became extinct as recently as about 30,000 years ago, which means that the first Aborigines who settled in Australia may well have encountered it. Scientific estimates vary greatly as to the size of this lizard, but it may have been about 7.5 meters long, making it the most large lizard from ever existing.
19. Helicoprion (Helicoprion)
Helicoprion, one of the longest-lived prehistoric creatures (310 to 250 million years ago), is a shark-like fish from the whole-headed subclass, distinguished by its spiraling clusters of teeth called tooth coils. The length of the helicoprion could reach up to 4 meters, but the body length of its closest living relative, the chimera, reaches only 1.5 meters.
18. Entelodon
Unlike its modern relatives, the entelodon was a pig-like mammal with a wild appetite for meat. Possibly the most monstrous looking of all mammals, the Entelodon walked on all fours and was nearly as tall as a human. Some scientists believe that entelodons were cannibals. And if they could even eat their relatives, they would definitely eat you.
17. Anomalocaris (Anomalocaris)
Anomalocaris (which means "abnormal shrimp"), which lived in almost all the seas of the Cambrian period, was a species of marine animal related to ancient arthropods. Scientific research suggest that it was a predator that fed on sea creatures with hard shells as well as trilobites. They were notable especially for their eyes, which were equipped with 30,000 lenses and were considered the most developed eyes of all the species of that period.
16. Meganeura
Meganeura is a genus of extinct insects from the Carboniferous period that resemble and are related to modern dragonflies. With a wingspan of up to 66 centimeters, it is one of the largest known flying insects that have ever lived on Earth. Meganeura was a predator and its diet consisted mainly of other insects and small amphibians.
15. Attercopus
Attercopus was a type of spider-like animal that had a tail like a scorpion. For a long period of time, Attercopus was considered a prehistoric ancestor modern spiders, but the scientists who discovered the fossils found a few more specimens more recently and rethought their original conclusion. Scientists find it unlikely that Attercopus wove webs, but consider it entirely possible that it used silk to wrap its eggs, build threads for locomotion, or line the walls of its burrows.
14. Deinosuchus (Deinosuchus)
Deinosuchus is an extinct species related to modern crocodiles and alligators that lived on Earth from 80 to 73 million years ago. Even though he was much bigger than any of the modern species, in general, he looked the same. The body length of Deinosuchus was 12 meters. He had big sharp teeth, capable of killing and eating sea turtles, fish, and even large dinosaurs.
13. Dunkleosteus
Dunkleosteus, which lived approximately 380-360 million years ago, in the late Devonian period (Late Devonian), was a large carnivorous fish. Due to its terrifying size, reaching up to 10 meters and weighing almost 4 tons, it was the apex predator of its time. The fish had very thick and hard scales, which made it a rather slow but very powerful swimmer.
12. Spinosaurus (Spinosaurus)
spinosaurus that was larger than a tyrannosaurus rex, is the largest carnivorous dinosaur ever to have existed. The length of his body was 18 meters and he weighed up to 10 tons. Spinosaurus ate tons of fish, turtles and even other dinosaurs. If this horror lived in modern world then we probably wouldn't be there.
11. Smilodon
Smilodon, endemic to North and South America, roamed the earth during the Pleistocene era (2.5 million - 10,000 years ago). He is the very best famous example saber-toothed tiger. It was a heavily built predator with particularly well developed forelimbs and exceptionally long and sharp upper fangs. The largest species could weigh up to 408 kilograms.
10. Quetzalcoatl 
With an incredible wingspan of 12 meters, this giant pterosaur was the largest creature ever to fly on Earth, including modern birds. However, it is very problematic to calculate the size and mass of this creature, since none of the living creatures has a similar size or body structure, as a result, published results vary greatly. One of distinctive characteristics, which was observed in all specimens found, had an unusually long, inflexible neck.
9. Hallucigenia (Hallucigenia)
The name hallucigenia comes from the idea that these creatures are extremely strange and have a fairy-tale appearance, like in a hallucination. The worm-like creature had a body length that varied from 0.5 to 3 centimeters and a head that lacked sensory organs such as eyes and nose. Instead, Hallucigenia had seven pincer-tipped tentacles on each side of its body, and three pairs of tentacles behind them. To say that this creature was strange is like saying nothing.
8. Arthropleura (Arthropleura)
Arthropleura lived on Earth in the late carboniferous period(340 - 280 million years ago) and was endemic to what is now North America and Scotland. It was the largest known terrestrial invertebrate species. Despite its enormous length of up to 2.7 meters and the conclusions made earlier, Arthropleura was not a predator, she was a herbivore that fed on rotting forest plants.
7. short-faced bear(Short-faced bear)
The short-faced bear is an extinct member of the bear family that lived in North America late Pleistocene to 11,000 years ago, making it one of the most recently extinct creatures on the list. However, it was truly prehistoric in size. Standing on its hind legs, it reached a height of 3.6 meters, and if it stretched its front paws up, it could reach 4.2 meters. According to scientists, the short-faced bear weighed more than 1360 kilograms.
6. Megalodon (Megalodon)
Megalodon, whose name translates as "big tooth", is an extinct species of giant shark that lived from 28 to 1.5 million years ago. Due to its incredible length of 18 meters, it is considered one of the largest and most powerful predators that have ever lived on Earth. Megalodon lived all over the world and looked like a much larger and more terrifying version of the modern white shark.
5. Titanoboa (Titanoboa)
Titanoboa, which lived approximately 60–58 million years ago during the Paleocene epoch, is the largest, longest and heavy snake ever discovered. Scientists believe that the largest individuals could reach a length of up to 13 meters and weighed approximately 1133 kilograms. Her diet usually consisted of giant crocodiles and turtles, which shared territory with her in modern times. South America.
4. Fororacos (Phorusrhacid)
These prehistoric creatures, informally known as "terrible birds", are an extinct species of large carnivorous birds that were the most close-up view top predators in South America Cenozoic era, 62–2 million years ago. These are the largest flightless birds that have ever lived on Earth. Terrible birds reached 3 meters in height, weighed half a ton and supposedly could run as fast as a cheetah.
3. Cameroceras (Cameroceras)
Cameroceras, which lived on our planet in the Ordovician period 470 - 440 million years ago, was a giant ancient ancestors of modern cephalopods and octopuses. The most distinctive part of this mollusk was its huge cone-shaped shell and tentacles, which it used to catch fish and other sea creatures. Estimates of the size of this shell vary greatly from 6 to 12 meters.
2. Carbonemys (Carbonemys)
Carbonemys is an extinct species of giant tortoise that lived on Earth approximately 60 million years ago. This means that they survived the mass extinction that killed most of the dinosaurs. Fossils that were found in Colombia suggest that the length of the shell of this turtle was almost 180 centimeters. The turtle was carnivorous with huge jaws that were strong enough to eat large animals such as crocodiles.
1. Jaekelopterus
With a size of 2.5 meters calculated by scientists, Jaekelopterus is one of the two largest arthropods ever found. Although sometimes referred to as " sea scorpion”, in fact, he was more of a giant lobster living in freshwater lakes and rivers in what is modern Western Europe. This terrifying creature lived on Earth approximately 390 million years ago, earlier than most dinosaurs.
In prehistoric times lived some of the largest and terrible predators that have ever existed on earth. Some relied on their incredible strength or speed, while others used the element of surprise to satisfy their hunger. Despite these dissimilar styles of hunting, each of these hunters had an inherent general characteristics They were one of the best hunters of their time. These 25 amazing prehistoric predators had their own special ways of hunting, which kept them at the top of the food chain.
25. Megalania
Megalania on this moment is the largest known land reptile to ever exist. It is believed that she had glands in her mouth that produced toxins, making her relatively poisonous.
24. Titanoboa
Titanoboa, which means "titanic boa (boa)", currently holds the title of the most large snake that ever lived on Earth. It is believed that it reached a length of up to 15 meters. The snake lunged at its prey, wrapping itself around its prey and squeezing it to death.
23. Sarcosuchus (Sarcosuchus)
Sarcosuchus was similar to modern crocodiles in that it spent most of its time waiting, completely submerged. He was not particularly picky about his prey, as he would ambush unsuspecting prey that he could overpower.
22. Smilodon
Smilodon, commonly referred to as the saber-toothed tiger, is known for its two extra-long fangs. It is believed that he mainly relied on ambush hunting, pouncing on large herbivores and digging his fangs into prey in order to hit the vital organs.
21. Pterygotus (Pterygotus)
Despite its small size compared to other prehistoric predators, Pterygotus was one of the best predators in shallow waters. sea waters. He relied on surprise attacks to capture prey. He would bury himself in the sand and wait for an unsuspecting fish to swim past him to grab it with his claws.
20. Cameroceras
Cameroceras relied on his sense of smell to hunt prey in the dark depths of the ocean. Like squids, they firmly grabbed their prey with their tentacles, after which they tore the prey into pieces with a sharp beak.
19. Plesiosaurus (Plesiosaurus)
Plesiosaurus was recognizable by its small head, long neck and stocky body. Despite the fact that he lacked the ideal traits of an apex predator, plesiosaurs ate various kinds fish and cephalopods.
18. Thylacoleo
Despite its name meaning "marsupial lion", the thylacoleo was actually a carnivorous marsupial. It is believed that he killed his prey and lifted the carcasses to the trees with his strength, powerful jaws and sharp claws.
17. Giganotosaurus (Giganotosaurus)
Giganotosaurus was large and fast, but compared to other similar prehistoric animals, it lacked bite power. This, however, did not stop him on the way to the title of one of the best predators of his time.
16. Basilosaurus (Basilosaurus)
Basilosaurus had incredibly small fins compared to the rest of its body, and paleontologists believe it moved through the water like moray eels and eels. Despite its shortcomings, Basilosaurus easily fed on sharks and other fish.
15. Gorgonops (Gorgonops)
Gorgonops was recognizable by its two very large fangs saber-toothed cats. He used these teeth in the same way - piercing the thick skins of his prey. The location of the Gorgonops' legs directly under its body also allowed it to chase prey at high speed.
14. Dacosaurus (Dakosaurus)
Dacosaurus, whose name means "biting reptile", dominated the shallow waters of the seas during the late Jurassic and early Cretaceous period. It is believed that its wide jaw and jagged teeth were used to tear pieces of meat from prey.
13. Tyrannosaurus (Tyrannosaurus)
Probably the most known species dinosaurs, Tyrannosaurus Rex is known for its massive skull and small forelimbs. His acute vision and its sense of smell allowed it to survive both as a scavenger and a predator.
12. Ornithosuchus (Ornithosuchus)
Ornithosuchus, whose name means "bird crocodile", was similar in structure and characteristics to a crocodile. Unlike the crocodile, it was able to run on its hind legs, allowing it to run at a higher speed.
11. Megalodon (Megalodon)
Megalodon, comparable to the great white shark, was one of the most fearsome marine predators ever to swim in the seas of the Earth. Its size, power and speed allowed it to dominate the ancient oceans. His diet consisted mainly of large prehistoric whales, as well as any other creatures that came into his mouth.
10. Kronosaurus
Kronosaurus used its strength and power to swim quickly and easily in ocean waters. It is believed that he quenched his appetite with the help of plesiosaurs and sea turtles.
9. Carnotaurus
Kranotaur got its name, meaning "carnivorous bull", from two distinct horns on its head. He relied on quick, consistent attacks to weaken his prey.
8. Liopleurodon (Liopleurodon)
Liopleurodon, whose name means "smooth-sided tooth", had a body that allowed it to develop speed quickly. This made it possible to quickly attack prey, which did not have time to react to the attack.
7. Utahraptor (Utahraptor)
As you might guess from the name, Utahraptor was discovered in Utah. One of its most distinctive characteristics is the large second thumb on each of its hind legs. Utahraptors used this finger as a weapon for inflicting deep wounds, gutting and tearing their prey.
6. Allosaurus (Allosaurus)
Allosaurus, whose name means "other lizard", had a strong skull but small teeth. This led paleontologists to conclude that allosaurs used their upper jaws to attack their prey like an axe.
5. Quetzalcoatl (Quetzalcoatlus)
Quetzalcoatl, whose wingspan was about 15 meters, was one of the largest flying animals of all time. Most recent finds indicate that it was similar in its feeding habits to storks and herons. Paleontologists believe that he landed in order to hunt land creatures. Now he would not have problems with feeding, because you can buy compound feed quite easily.
4. Tylosaurus (Tylosaurus)
Tylosaurus was a large oceanic predator similar to an aquatic lizard. It is believed that he used his blunt snout to crash and stun his prey, after which the victim remained helpless in the water.
3. Koolasuchus
Kulazukh was a large amphibian with a massive head. The amphibian lived in aquatic environment habitats, preying on fish, mollusks and even small mammals approaching the kulazuh during a watering hole.
2. Spinosaurus (Spinosaurus)
Spinosaurus is mostly recognizable due to its unique combination of physical traits, such as its long, thin skull and "fin" on its back. Paleontologists believe it used its elongated jaw to hunt fish and other small land prey.
1. Dunkleosteus
Dunkleosteus was unique marine predator due to the fact that he had no teeth. Instead, it had bone plates that turned its mouth into what looked like a sea turtle's beak. This allowed him to attack prey, which was protected from predators with a layer of reinforced skin.
Today man is the dominant predator on the planet. However, we took this position for a relatively short period time - the earliest well-known representatives man, 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 those 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 those similar to them, 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 complete opposite. During the Pliocene era, Megatherius was a giant sloth in South America, it weighed up to four tons and reached 6 meters in length from head to tail. 
Although they mostly moved on four legs, the tracks show that he is able to stand up on 2 legs in order to reach the leaves. tall trees. He was the size of modern elephant, and yet was not the largest animal in its habitat!
Archaeologists suggest that Megatherius was a scavenger, stealing the carcasses of dead animals from other carnivores. Megatherium was also one of the last giant mammals. ice age before their complete disappearance. Their remains appear in relatively late fossils, in the Holocene, a period in which the rise of mankind was observed. This makes man the most likely culprit for the disappearance of Megatherium.
2. Gigantopithecus
When we think of a giant ape we usually think of the fictional King Kong, but the giant ape has actually been around for a very long time. Gigantopithecus is a monkey that existed from about 9 million to 100 thousand years ago, about the same period as the rest of the hominin family.
Fossils show that Gigantopithecus were the largest apes that ever lived, reaching nearly 3 meters standing and weighing half a ton. Scientists have not been able to determine the cause of the extinction of this giant ape. However, some crypto-zoologists suggest that Bigfoot and Yeti "sightings" may be related to a lost generation of Gigantopithecus.
3 Armored Fish
Dunkleosteus (lat. Dunkleosteus) was the largest of the prehistoric armored fish placoderms (lat. Placodermi). Her head and chest were covered with an articulated armored plate. Instead of teeth, these fish possessed two pairs of sharp bony plates that formed the beak structure. 
Dunkleosteus were probably extirpated by other placoderms, which had similar bony plates for protection, and their jaws were powerful enough to cut and pierce armored prey. One of the largest specimens known to have been found was 10 meters long and weighed four tons, making it one of the fish you definitely wouldn't want to spin!
This fish was not picky about food at all, eating fish, sharks and even fish of its own family. But they probably suffered from indigestion, provoked by fossils of semi-digested fish remains. Scientists from the University of Chicago concluded that Dunkleosteus had the second most powerful bite among fish. These giant armored fish became extinct during the transition from the Devonian to the Carboniferous.
4 Terror Bird
Most flightless birds today - ostrich or penguin, for example, do not pose a danger to humans, however, there was one flightless bird that terrorized the earth. 
Phorusrhacidae, also known as the "terror bird", is a species of raptor and flightless bird that was the largest raptor species in South America between 62 million and 2 million years ago. They reached about 1-3 meters in height. The prey of the terrorist bird was 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 precision 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 people.
5. Eagle of Haast
Birds of prey have always left an imprint on the human psyche. Fortunately, we are much more than the largest eagle. However, once there were predator birds, which were large enough to prey on a human.
The Haast Eagle lived on south island New Zealand, and was the largest known eagle, weighing up to 16 kg, with a wingspan of 3 meters. The prey was 140 kilogram flightless moa birds who were unable to defend themselves against striking force and the speed of these eagles, which reached speeds of up to 60 km per hour. 
The legends of some of the early Maori settlers say that these eagles could lift and devour small children. But in the beginning, settlers in New Zealand hunted mostly large flightless birds, including all types of moas, which eventually led to their extinction. The loss of natural prey caused the extinction of the Haast's eagle when its natural food source was exhausted.
6. Giant lizard ripper
Today, komodo dragon is a fearsome reptile and the largest lizard on the planet, but it would be insignificant compared to its ancient ancestors. Megalania, also known as " giant lizard ripper" is a very large monitor lizard. The exact proportions of this creature varied, but recent studies have shown that the megalania was about 7 meters long and weighed between 600 and 620 kg, making it the largest land lizard ever. 
His diet consisted of marsupials: giant kangaroos and wombats. Megalania belongs to the toxicofera clan, which has poisonous secreting glands, this lizard is the largest poisonous vertebrate known. Although we couldn't imagine pangolins of this size living in the outback, the first natives of Australia may have encountered live megalanias. The species most likely died out when the first settlers hunted the Megalania for food.
7. Short-faced bear
Bears are one of the largest mammals on earth, polar bear even holds the title of the largest of all predators on land. 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, which makes the short-faced bear largest mammal predator that ever existed. 
Although the short-faced bear was very big predator, archaeologists discovered that he was actually a scavenger. Being a scavenger, however, is not a bad idea at all, especially when you're fighting saber-toothed 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 Cretaceous. Deinosuchus is translated from Greek as "terrible crocodile." 
This crocodile was much larger than any modern crocodile, measuring up to 12 meters and weighing ten tons. His appearance it looked like its smaller relatives, with large, robust teeth built 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 dangers of Deinosuchus comes from Albertosaurus fossils. These are samples of holes from the teeth of Deinosuchus and Tyrannosaurus Rex, which means that there is a good chance that these two cruel predator participated in bloody battles.
9 Titanoboa
No creature causes more fear in the human psyche than a snake. Today the largest snake is the reticulated python, its average length is 7 meters. 
In 2009, archaeologists made a shocking discovery in Colombia by comparing the shapes and sizes of fossilized vertebrae. modern snakes With ancient snake, Titanoboa reached a maximum length of 12 to 15 meters and weighed up to 1100 kg, making it the largest snake ever to crawl the planet. Since this is a recent discovery, little is known about Titanoboa, but one thing is known: a 15-meter snake will scare the whole White light whether you have a phobia or not.
10. Megalodon
Before 1975, most people's phobias were mostly about snakes and spiders. Everything changed when the movie Jaws was released, the antagonist of the movie was a big White shark(non-existent), which led many people into hysterics 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 - means "big tooth" - a shark that lived from 28 to 1.5 million years ago. Everything about Megalodon was mega: its teeth were 18 cm, and fossils show that this giant shark reached a maximum length of 16–20 meters. While great white sharks prey on seals today, the megaladon used to eat whales. Scientists speculate that the species went extinct due to oceanic cooling, falling sea levels, and reduced food sources. If there was a chance that the megaladon existed in our time, then man would have no access to the sea. However, in the giant ocean, there might be a great white shark lurking in the abyss, and there's always a chance that something like a megaladon will return to the world.
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Phororacos, also known as the "terrible bird", first appeared in South America 62 million years ago and existed for 60 million years. It was a frighteningly effective predator - a huge flightless bird up to 3 m in height with a powerful beak and sharp claws, running at a speed of about 70 km / h.
The marsupial lion has no connection with modern lions except for the name. He lived in Australia and died out quite recently - some 30 thousand years ago. A relatively small predator - about 1.5 meters long and weighing 110 kg, he nevertheless skillfully dealt with prey thanks to razor-sharp fangs and claws.
Amphicyon is a bear-sized predator but hunts like a canine. Hence his English nickname grows - "bear dog", " bear dog". There were many types of amphicyons, their largest representatives reached a height of 2.5 meters and a weight of 600 kg. Their jaws easily bit through even the strongest bones.
Archeotherium, also known as the "hell pig" lived 30 million years ago and really resembled modern pigs - only adjusted for height 1.2 meters, length 2 meters and weight up to 300 kg. According to the genes, however, archaeoteria is attributed to the ancestors of hippos. Powerful jaws allowed him both to tear the ground in search of roots, and to hunt small creatures.
The short-faced bear was one of the largest predators of the glaciation, existing from 44 thousand to 12 thousand years ago. Reaching a size of 3.5 meters and weighing up to a ton, he could put to flight even the most massive polar bears. It was a formidable opponent for the first people, although it was fortunately mostly interested in larger prey.
Megalania is an Australian monitor lizard that became extinct about 40 thousand years ago. Up to 9 meters in size and weighing two tons, it looked much more like a real dragon than modern Komodo ones.
Basilosaurus, which translates as "royal lizard" was actually a mammal - a giant predatory whale up to 20 meters in length. At the beginning of the 19th century, his bones were found so often that they were sometimes used as furniture. But about 40 million years ago, the basilosaurus terrified the seas and oceans of the planet, devouring any creatures smaller than itself in size.
Smilodon, also known as " Saber-toothed tiger” is one of the iconic prehistoric predators. To use the huge 30-centimeter teeth, the smilodon could open its mouth 120 degrees. He hunted any representatives of the megafauna - and died out with them about 10 thousand years ago.
Andrewsarch - presumably largest predator among land mammals who lived in Asia about 40 million years ago. Of all the remains, only a skull was found - a huge size, 83 cm. Scientists argue whether Andrewsarchus was a tall and long animal or short and short, but with a hefty head. Most likely he hunted like crocodiles - jumping on the victim from an ambush, perhaps even from the water.
Megalodon is a monstrous shark 16 meters long and about 50 tons in weight with 20 cm teeth. Existed 25 million years, died out 1.5 million years ago. Megalodon was one of the most massive and successful predators the Earth has ever known, eating any prey it could stumble upon.
prehistoric predatory beasts, birds, reptiles and sharks entered the legends along with dinosaurs. Some even hunted our ancestors, who hunted them. Here are ten of the most terrible predators era of mammals.