Extinct huge animals. The most unusual extinct animals
Walking in the zoo next to the cages of tigers and lions, you feel small and helpless against the background of these predators. What can I say, sometimes even a small spider can cause a panic attack, making you afraid. And while watching the movie “Jaws” you begin to wonder whether it’s worth going on vacation at sea? However, modern animals are not so scary compared to their prehistoric ancestors.
It is not possible to say that these animals are absolutely looking for human contact in order to attack, but you can be sure that if you enter their territory or threaten the young, they will not think twice about whether it will work against you or not .
An encounter with a bear ends fatally every year for five to ten people. From wild forests to move to the open ocean, waves crisscrossing more than 350 species of sharks, we must say that the vast majority are harmless. But if we look at these cartilaginous fish from the opposite end, we come to the great white shark, the infamous star of the film Jaws. To satisfy this marine predator while it is possible on almost any coast. The second most dangerous shark representative from the region is the imaginary tiger shark and the bull shark takes the bronze medal.
Editorial "AWESOME" invites you to get acquainted with 10 extinct predators, against the background of which modern lions will seem like fluffy kittens.
Racoscorpio (eurypterid)
These giant arthropods looked like a terrible hybrid of a lobster and a scorpion. This “charm” could reach 2 meters in length. Cancer scorpions existed during the Paleozoic period. Early species of eurypterids lived in shallow sea waters, and then managed to adapt to fresh water. Scientists suggest that crustacean scorpions were most likely scavengers rather than full-fledged predators, but this fact is not particularly reassuring. If these animals had managed to survive to the present day, it is unlikely that sea holidays and fishing would be so popular.
Sharks are responsible for 75 attacks on people annually, of which up to 10 are fatal. This is a bulky ungulate whose adult weighs up to 1.5 tons, measuring 1.7 m in height and 2.8 m in length. If this herbivore feels that it is in danger it hesitates to work directly against intruders. If we add to the sharp angles of the indicated weight, then it is clear that the influence of this animal on a person is fatal. While other animals avoid conflict with the buffalo, man is the only creature that dares to cross his path.
Helicoprion
The ancestor of modern sharks lived during the Carboniferous and Permian eras. These fish are unique for their dental spiral, which reached a diameter of 90 centimeters. Since the entire skeleton of Helicoprion has not been found, scientists are still wondering how exactly this spiral was located. It is believed that it was equipped with the lower jaw of the fish, which was shaped like a circular saw. Or the spiral was located in the throat area and was invisible from the outside. In any case, helicoprions look terrifying, and even the creepiest photographs of the underwater world pale in comparison.
Statistically speaking, the wild ox is annually responsible for the majority of the lives of all the great African animals. The main jellyfish, sea waves, are regularly visited by millions of people. Poisoning initially manifests itself only as unpleasant itching and pain, but fever does not follow until death. Poisonous jellyfish, but fortunately do not endanger the coast summer beaches all year round. These are seasonal animals and when they occur, lifeguards usually close the beach. Although deer have antlers that could easily pierce a person through, however, because they are not dangerous.
Dunkleosteus
This fossil armored fish lived during the Devonian period and was the largest marine predator of its time. The size of her head exceeded a meter, and the length of her entire body, according to scientists, ranges from 6 to 20 meters. Instead of teeth, Dunkleosteus had bone plates with which it could crush the shells of its victims. The jaw pressure of the dunkleosteus is comparable to the bite of modern crocodiles. It could also open its mouth for only 1/50 of a second, simply sucking prey into its mouth with a stream of water.
Life pays for most drivers who encounter them on the highway, about 120 people every year. These harmless-looking moisture-loving mammals are actually incredibly cunning and evil animals. Their observations can end in disaster and minor provocations, violation of territory or a frightened puppy. For many years, zoologists were convinced that this was a three-ton herbivore, however, the greater their surprise was when they first saw a hippopotamus in the mouth crushing an antelope, the crocodile it had stolen.
After all, even a video of a hippopotamus crocodile eating itself is no exception today. The danger of these predators, growing with an impressive length, can be no doubt. The largest specimen living in captivity, measuring over six meters, is in the past, but can be caught salt water crocodile length exceeding seven meters. What makes them such dangerous hunters? They have great camouflage, are able to move silently underwater and can survive for several hours. All this makes them literally the master of surprise attacks on unsuspecting prey drinking from the river.
Quetzalcoatlus
The largest of the pterosaurs received its name in honor of the Aztec deity of the same name. Since a complete set of Quetzalcoatlus bones has not yet been discovered, estimates of its size and lifestyle vary. The length of this lizard was about 10 meters, the estimated wingspan ranges from 11 to 16 meters, and the body weight is from 65 to 250 kilograms. According to early versions, Quetzalcoatl could fly perfectly and ate fish or small vertebrates and carrion. Perhaps he could have caught a 30-pound dinosaur. Now they are inclined to believe that with such dimensions, Quetzalcoatlus could not rise into the air, but collected food by moving on the ground.
Although on land they only make dangerous sudden, fast attacks, in water they can match any other amphibian. Moreover, none of these 25 toxins are all mortal. Some only cause nausea or fever, others fail to cause complete paralysis or cardiac arrest. If we talk about dangerous animals, we can't forget snakes. While it is quite common in the media to hear about snake bites that are misrepresented by its breeder, most deaths due to snake venom are due to the fact that a person disturbed the snake's normal environment and was struck by them.
Argentavis
Argentavis magnificens literally means "majestic Argentine bird". He is the largest bird to ever exist. The dimensions of the Argentavis are comparable to small aircraft. Its wingspan reached 7 meters, which is twice as much as that of the largest birds today. Scientists suggest that Argentavis hunted large rodents, falling on them from above, stunning and swallowing the prey whole.
At the top of the snake killer pyramid, standing an Indian cobra. His native home, the jungle, hiding under the raids of heavy equipment and where until recently there used to be dense forests, the city now stands. Even though the trees are gone, the snakes are so gone, and therefore are not thought to be in any way exceptional or biting from this area just down the street.
Small, quiet, ubiquitous and deadly. Mosquitoes spray many serious diseases, whose neglect leads to death. Among the best known and most dangerous are malaria or dengue fever. Mosquitoes live all over the world; they can survive in volcanic craters in Arctic regions. There were millions of years before the advent of man, and everything indicates that it will not disappear anytime soon. Every year they transmit a disease responsible for up to a million deaths worldwide.
Fororacos (terrible bird)
These birds lived in the Miocene era in South America and were considered there largest predators. Fororakos did not know how to fly, but they could run perfectly, like modern ostriches. The terrible birds reached 2.5 meters in height and weighed about 300 kilograms. They were armed with large claws and a powerful curved beak, with which they could kill and tear apart prey the size of a sheep!
Rivers and lakes inhabited by crocodiles over 5 meters long and pygmy hippopotamuses. In the woods, a mysterious fossa beast weighing up to 16 pounds has been running out of food. Vegetation grazing on open plains, herds giant turtles- species related to those currently living in the Seychelles archipelago. Galerium Forest was home to giant lemurs, some species reaching a weight of more than 200 kg - that is, the size was similar to a male gorilla! At least 17 species of lemurs have become extinct. With the cutting and burning of forests, the largest species came first.
Maltese elephant birds have contributed significantly to the dispersal of plant seeds in Madagascar in the past. With a height of over 3 meters, it was the largest bird to ever live on Earth. He lived in the south and southwest of Madagascar, where he lived in numerous colonies. They make an extensive discovery of the shells of his eggs, which he carried on the sand along the coast. The eggs were over 40 cm high and had a circumference of up to 1 meter! Today local residents These shells are collected and the eggs are reconstructed very skillfully.
Andrewsarch
This giant predatory mammal lived in the middle and late Eocene era. Now it will seem strange, but Andrewsarchs were primitive ungulates, close to the ancestors of modern whales and artiodactyls. The body length of these creatures was about 4 meters, and the weight could reach a ton. It is believed that Andrewsarchus could have been omnivorous, like today's bears, and fed not only on young brontotheres, but also on carrion or even plant foods. However, many scientists consider Andrewsarchus to be the largest carnivorous mammal.
Madagascar probably existed at the time the first Europeans arrived on the island at the end of the century. The factors that led to the extinction of Madagascar's megagauna are not yet clear. But, of course, these were the people who contributed to the disappearance of these unusual creatures. Additionally, over the past few thousand years, the climate has become drier in Madagascar, which may also have an impact on the local fauna - large animals are more susceptible to such changes than small ones.
Meeting with strange creatures back in the last century, however, say some old residents of Madagascar today. Radiocarbon analysis, although scientists indicate the age of the remains of the animal was found to be more than a thousand years old, however, we can never completely exclude the possibility that currently extinct creatures in Madagascar actually did not exist until relatively recently. Today there are no more large animals on the island. In this article we introduce species that we have not discussed until now. That's why you won't find, for example, a wolf here, because we described it earlier in the section "Endangered Animals".
Megistotherium
Another contender for the title of largest predatory mammal. Megistotherium lived during the early and middle Miocene. These animals could reach 4 meters in length and 2 meters at the withers and weighed more than a ton. The animal's Latin name, Megistotherium osteothlastes, comes from the Greek words for "greatest beast" and "crushing bones." These names speak for themselves.
The practitioner explained the desire to protect other animals, especially breeding animals that were introduced to the settlers. These predatory dogs often attacked defenseless sheep, so it was decided to shoot them. Dangerous animals in Poland. Forest, meadow, hiking trails - great places for spending free time. In summer we are happy to be outdoors, surrounded by nature. When you go for a walk or on a holiday, it is worth remembering that animal world is not always good for us. There are several species in Poland that may pose a danger to us.
The name of the superorder Laurasiatheria is based on the common origin of the mammals belonging to it from somewhere in Laurasia - they all descended from some lucky population of animals that lived on this ancient continent about 95 million years ago, and spread initially, even during the time of dinosaurs, through Northern Hemisphere, and from there they moved on to conquer the rest of the planet.
Zigzag is subject to legal protection. Vader's zigzag snails are a mixture of several toxins with varying effects: damage to the nervous system, leading to tissue necrosis, blood clotting, changes in heart rate. First aid is to prevent skin and muscle from entering the bloodstream. Proper treatment: - Clean the bite area to remove the venom on the skin. Suitable solutions for this are water or potassium permanganate, from which you can also immobilize the patient.
This especially applies to the bodily part. This limits the spread of poison-muscular work, accelerates circulation and facilitates absorption. It is best to place your back on your back to place the compression band over the bite point. Pressure can only be removed at the request of a doctor. - Call emergency or send the patient to the hospital immediately for serum. - Cover the patient with a blanket to keep warm. Observing the patient's heart rate and breathing completely.
[without a number]. Insectivora- hedgehogs, moles, shrews, slittooths - traditionally an order, but in fact paraphyletic, that is, a combined group of animals that have preserved the most archaic structure, which has changed little since the time of dinosaurs. Looking at them, you can imagine the common ancestors of all the animals that will be discussed in this part. There are no giants among them, but as an example I would like to mention Chuchundra - remember, Kipling’s, which could not go into the middle of the room? So this is a real animal, only not a rat, but a giant shrew ( Suncus murinus, chuchundar), it is found in India and Southeast Asia. Well, for a shrew it’s gigantic – 20-23 cm long including the tail.
Therefore, when threatened, he usually chooses to escape, and if he decides to attack, it is always preceded by a warning. If a viper senses a sudden threat, it may bite without warning. Other Polish snakes and lizards are often mistakenly thought to be venomous. Sometimes snakes descend into houses without doing anything bad to people. The attacker catches it, often playing dead, releasing a foul, aromatic liquid that further discourages the would-be predator. It may also sound like a fairly loud hiss to scare the attacker.
18. Chiroptera (Chiroptera)- the only order of mammals whose representatives are capable of active flight. This second largest (after rodents) order includes 1,200 species. The largest of them have long lived not in caves, but in forests, where fossil remains are poorly preserved, and we have only one largest representative, a modern one - the maned Acerodon ( Acerodon jubatus), which can grow up to 2 m in wingspan and weigh more than 1.5 kg. A harmless frugivorous endemic from the Philippines.
Zaskroniec owes its Polish name to the characteristic yellow spots in the area "behind the temples". These spots are very clear - they make it easy to identify this minor and harmless species. It is non-toxic and does not pose any threat to humans. There are many in Poland, although it was once dumb.
It was mistaken for a poisonous viper called copper. Aescupalian serpent. Types of the insatiable serpent. The largest snake living in Poland and Central Europe. Poland is located in the Bieszczady Mountains. Can transmit diseases such as Lyme disease, viral pneumonia, anaplasmosis and tick-borne encephalitis, rarely babesiosis, tularemia and rickettsis. Protection is the right dress and the use of repellents, both in Poland and abroad it is worth having a hat with a mosquito net and special “antique” tents, you can be vaccinated against some diseases transmitted by ticks.
19. Squad Tzimolestov (Cimolesta, which means “white clay stealers”) was considered extinct in the Miocene, having previously given rise as a side branch, but recent genetic studies have shown that modern pangolins, traditionally classified as a separate order, belong to it. The largest of these scaly ant eaters is the giant pangolin ( Manis gigantea), living in Africa. Length 140 cm, weight up to 33 kg. In the old days, cymolests were no less bizarre, and the largest known was barylambda ( Barylambda faberi) from the Paleocene (60-56 million years ago) of North America. The length of this herbivore was about 2.5 m, weight about 650 kg.
If the tick tickles the skin, remove it as follows: - Hold the tick as low as possible in the head itself! You can buy special pliers at the pharmacy for this purpose, but you can also use small tweezers. Be careful not to damage the tick! - Pull slowly and carefully until the tick is released! You cannot pull fast and hard as this may damage the swoosh. Remember, don't press the bloody belly. If a tick is a carrier of Lyme disease, they are in its stomach.
If the mite contents in the nut enter a vein, the lyme bacteria can be transferred into your body. If you are unable to remove the tick yourself, contact your doctor who can help you. Brown Bear The brown bear, as its name suggests, is dark brown, although some of its subspecies may have brighter fur. The bear is muscular and very strong. The weight of individuals ranges from 200 to 800 kg. The bear spends two to three years in peace every two years. Birth usually occurs between December and February.
20. Dinocerata- an extinct order of mammals that lived from the Upper Paleocene to the Middle Eocene (59-41 million years ago) in North America and Asia. One of the first large mammals to appear since the extinction of the dinosaurs. A sort of trial, alpha version of ungulates that left no descendants. The largest of them is the Uintatherium. Uintatherium anceps 1.50 m high at the withers, about 3.3 m long, lived in the Middle Eocene in North America.
21. - another extinct order of mammals, peculiar predators of ungulate origin. The largest of them, and at the same time the largest land mammal predator, was Andrewsarchus Andrewsarchus mongoliensis from the Upper Eocene of Mongolia (45-36 million years ago). 3.4 m in length without a tail (all 5 with a tail), 1.5 m at the withers and 800-900 kg of live weight.
22. Creodonts (Creodonta)- an extinct order of predatory mammals that I talked about. The largest of them was and still remains Megistotherium Megistotherium osteothlastes weighing about 880 kg, more than 3.5 m long and a 65 cm long skull. It lived in the Middle Miocene (12 million years ago) in what is now Egypt, Libya and Kenya.
23. Next comes the squad carnivorous (Carnivora). Family Felidae needs no introduction and contains three champions: the largest modern tiger ( Panthera tigris), the Amur subspecies of which grows up to 3.3 m in length, 1.2 m at the withers and weighs up to 300 kg; extinct American subspecies of lion ( Panthera leo atrox) – 3.7 m in length as the largest and saber-toothed Smilodon populator with 470 kg as the most massive.
24. Hyenas (Hyaenidae)- well-known predators (not to be confused with the cat family!), convergently similar to canines, and genetically close to viverrids. The largest species today is the spotted hyena ( Crocuta crocuta), reaching up to 1.5 - 1.6 m in length, with a shoulder height of 90 cm, and the largest in history was a 190-kilogram short-faced hyena Pachycrocuta brevirostris, which lived in Europe between 1.6 and 0.5 million years ago and performed the same biological role there as its modern spotted sister in Africa.
25. Percrocutidae- hyena-like predators that lived in Asia, Africa and southern Europe from the Miocene to the Pliocene (about 20-2.59 million years ago). However, they were more closely related to the cat-like nimravids than to the much more similar hyenas. They were apparently replaced by real hyenas. Largest sizes reached Dinocrocuta gigantea,
26. In the family canids (Canidae) Domestic dogs compete for the title of largest species ( Canis lupus familiaris) and extinct Epicyon haydeni, who lived between 10 and 13 million years ago in North America. Epicyon was 2.4 m long and weighed over a hundred.
27. The largest representative Ursids (Ursidae) and the largest land predator of our time - polar bear (Ursus maritimus). Its length reaches 3 m, weight up to 1 ton. The largest bear of all time is Arctotherium angustidens- a bear about 3.5 m in length from the Pleistocene (2 million - 10 thousand years ago). South America.
28. Family raccoons (Procyonidae) today it cannot boast of giants. But the ancestors of the bear from the previous section, having come from North America to South America, apparently, competitively wiped out Chapalmalania altaefrontis- a giant (meter at the withers) raccoon that lived there between 5.3 and 1.8 million years ago).
29. Pinnipeds (Pinnipedia) previously they formed one unit together, but today they figured out what it was - true seals (Phocidae), walruses (Odobenidae) And eared seals (Otariidae). The largest representatives of all three families are living today. This is respectively the southern elephant seal ( Mirounga leonina, 6.9 m x 5t), walrus ( Odobenus rosmarus, 4.9 m x 2t) and sea lion ( Eumetopias jubatus, 3.5 m x 1t).
30. That’s all with the predatory animals, let’s move on to the squad equids (Perissodactyla). Brontotheriidae- an extinct family of equids that lived from the Eocene to the beginning of the Oligocene. Despite the similarity with rhinoceroses, they were related closer to horses, and the horns on their nose were not keratin, but outgrowths of the nasal bones of the skull, and served not so much as a weapon, but as a snorkel when feeding on swamp vegetation and a resonating chamber. The largest of them was Embolotherium ( Embolotherium sp.), who lived in the territory of the modern Gobi Desert 50 million years ago. He was about 2.5 m at the withers and weighed about 2000 kg.
31. As for the actual Rhinoceros (Rhinocerotidae), then they are thanks to the white rhinoceros ( Ceratotherium simum) today occupy the place of the second largest land animal on the planet after the elephant. The weight of old males can reach 5 tons, body length - 4.2 m, height at the shoulders - 2 m. The largest rhinoceros in history is Elasmotherium Elasmotherium caucasicum, who lived in Eurasia from the Pliocene to the Pleistocene, up to 6 m long, 2.5 m high.
32. Family close to rhinoceroses - Hyracodontidae. Most of them were small hornless creatures with a light build and resembled small horses, but this family includes the largest land mammal of all time - Indricotherium Paraceratherium tienshanense. This beauty, up to 5.5 m high at the withers, 9 m long and weighing about 15 tons, lived in Asia in the Oligocene between 33 and 23 million years ago.
33. Using the example of a family equidae (Equidae) it is very good to demonstrate consistent evolution - its representatives, over the course of 55 million years, smoothly and consistently lost their extra toes and grew from a 20-centimeter Hyracotherium (a common ancestor with Indricotherium) to the actual life-size horse. Then people intervened in the process, as a result we have a domestic horse ( Equus ferus caballus) as the largest representative of the family. The historical height record belongs to Samson, born in 1850, later renamed Mammoth, whose height reached 218 cm at the withers, and the tallest living horse in the world is considered to be the English draft horse Noddy, 2.05 meters high at the withers and weighing one and a half tons.
34. Another family related to horses - Chalicotheriidae– represented by strange creatures that lived from the Eocene to the Pliocene (40-3.5 million years ago). Their fingers, despite belonging to the order of equids, were not hooves, but thick claws. Some of them extracted roots and tubers from the ground, others ate leaves, bending tree branches with their paws. Their sizes varied from comparable to a sheep to a 2.7-meter chalicotherium at the withers Chalicotherium sp..
35. Let's move on to artiodactyls. To the family bovids (Bovidae) include buffalos, antelopes and other goats - those ruminants whose horns are unbranched, non-replaceable and covered with a horny sheath. Today the largest cow is the Gaur ( Bos frontalis). Its body length is more than three meters, its height at the shoulders reaches 2.3 m, and its weight can in some cases reach 2000 kg. Pleistocene American giant bison ( Bison latifrons) was already 5 m long and weighed the same two tons on average, and not as a record. The distance between the tips of its horns is 2.5 m.
36. Representatives of the family cervidae have branched, regularly shed and regrow horns, usually growing only on males. The most primitive representatives do not have horns, but they do have fangs. Today the largest deer is the elk ( Alces alces) – body length up to 3 m, height at the withers up to 2.3 m, weight up to 600 kg. But Thranduil in Peter Jackson’s film - remember it yourself and tell all your friends! - sat astride not just any elk, but a megaloceros or big-horned deer ( Megaloceros giganteus). This largest representative of the family, exterminated by humans back in the Pleistocene, resembled an elk in size, but weighed about 750 kg, and its antlers reached 3.65 m in width. Its range covered most Eurasia, from Western Europe to western China.
37. Family camelids (Camelidae) today it is not numerous, and its largest representative is the dromedary camel ( Camelus dromedarius) about 2 m in height at the withers and weighing 600 kg. Giant camel ( Titanotylopus nebraskensis), who lived 10.3-1.8 million years ago in North America, was 3.5 m tall at the withers, 5 m long and weighed about 2 tons.
38. Giraffidae- a family of artiodactyls, currently found exclusively in Africa and containing two genera, in which there is one species each: giraffe ( Giraffa camelopardalis) and okapi. The first is the tallest mammal of the present time and the largest representative of the family in history.
39. Treasure Suoidea includes the families Suidae (Pigs), Tayassuidae (Peccaries) and Entelodontidae (Entelodonts). The largest representative of the modern family, as you might guess, is the domestic pig subspecies of wild boar ( Sus scrofa domesticus), individual individuals of which can reach a ton of weight or more. Lived in North America during the Miocene Daeodon shoshonensis- a representative of entelodonts with a height of 3.4 m in length, 2.4 m in height at the withers and a weight of 900 kg.
40. Family hippopotamuses (Hippopotamidae) used to be classified as suborder Porciniformes or non-ruminants, but from a cladistics point of view they are closer to whales and ruminants than to pigs. Today the largest hippopotamus is the common ( Hippopotamus amphibius), reaching 3 m in length, 1.65 m at the withers and sometimes weighing more than 4 tons. But this is not the height of God’s ways - in the Pleistocene it was found in the lakes of Western Sahara Hippopotamus gorgops 4.3 meters long. Well, in appearance - a hippopotamus is a hippopotamus.
Well, we are left with the order of cetaceans (Cetacea), which includes no less than 14 families, to which we will devote a separate part - why are they worse than sauropods, in the end?