The largest animals are extinct. Incredible monsters of the past that lived on earth

The science-fiction film “Jurassic Park,” which tells about the resurrection of dinosaurs, may in fact turn out to be not so unrealistic. Genetics and bioengineering are rapidly mastering cloning, and the day is not far off when prehistoric animals will be recreated. We will tell you who is lucky enough to get a second life in our article.

10 Prehistoric Animals That Could Be Resurrected

The situation with the resurrection of animals that lived before our era has already been modeled by Steven Spielberg in his Oscar-winning film “Jurassic Park.” There, scientists brought dinosaurs back to life using genetic material obtained from the blood of ancient mosquitoes frozen in amber.

Modern science cannot yet completely recreate a living creature using DNA, but many researchers are confident that this will soon become possible. And then they will need intact genetic material, which can be extracted from the remains of skin, wool, etc. Therefore, the most likely candidates for resurrection are the following prehistoric animals.

Moa

Moa is the name of flightless birds that closely resemble ostriches in appearance and were once the largest species of birds on Earth. Although calling them birds can only be a stretch, because they were deprived of even the semblance of wings. Moa DNA has already been isolated from an ancient shell, and scientists are working on the problem of reviving these amazing birds.

Giant sloth

The ancestor of today's three-toed sloths roamed the planet relatively recently - in the sixth millennium BC. Researchers were able to find the remains of its fur and freeze the animal's DNA. Finding a surrogate mother to carry such a huge baby among representatives of its species will be difficult, but scientists are not losing hope of raising it artificially.

Giant deer

The giant deer that lived during the Ice Age fully lived up to its name. He was truly huge. The width of its horns reached 3.5 meters. The wool of this giant is still found in the north, in the ice of permafrost.

Saber-toothed tiger

Extinct in the eighth millennium BC, these prehistoric animals are among the first candidates to come back to life. By the way, saber-toothed tigers are not quite the correct name, since the bones found give reason to believe that these predators were simply large cats. Particles of their fur are preserved in tree resin, and therefore scientists are confident that over time it will be possible to clone these creatures.

Neanderthal

Neanderthals did not live long - on average, 22.5 years. Scientists suggest that these homos could speak, were short (only 165 cm), fair-skinned and red-haired. Since they are considered the progenitors of modern man, the likelihood of their revival to life is somewhat doubtful, because human cloning is officially prohibited.

You will learn about the remaining five candidates for resurrection from the video:

What prehistoric animals still live on Earth?

Unlike those listed above, some representatives of the animal world of prehistoric times were much luckier. They survived, despite natural disasters, adapted to new conditions of existence and took their place in the environment of modern fauna. We will list some of them.

Horseshoe crabs

During its existence, this inhabitant of the seas has remained virtually unchanged. Covered with a shell reminiscent of a soldier's helmet, the adult specimen reaches a length of 90 cm. Their closest relatives - spiders and scorpions - have long settled on land, and swordtails decided not to change their native element - water. These animals live in shallow water, move along the bottom like crabs, and swim with their shell down.

Lampreys

This fish, whose age has exceeded 360 million years, can be called a vampire. It bears little resemblance to ordinary crucian carp and perch, since it does not have jaws. They are replaced by a suction mouth, with the help of which they attach to other fish, suck their blood and eat their muscle mass.

Chinese salamander

This amphibian is called gigantic because its length can reach 1.8 meters. Appearing 170 million years ago, today it is on the verge of extinction. The number of these salamanders has decreased due to the fault of people polluting their habitat and catching amphibians for medical needs.

Brownie shark

A creepy creature that lives at great depths and reaches 4 meters in length. Although in this case, appearances are deceptive: this shark does not attack humans, feeding on squid, fish and crabs. By the way, this terrible creature of the ocean has a pleasant pink color. This is a paradox of nature.

Echidna

The echidna is one of the few egg-laying mammals on Earth. The ancient Greeks called her the “mother of monsters,” although, in our opinion, this animal bears little resemblance to a monster. He doesn't even have teeth. Catching ants and termites with her long sticky tongue, she simply crushes them in her mouth and then swallows them.

Jellyfish

The well-known translucent sea beauty is an old-timer of the planet - it is 700 million years old. In our seas and oceans there are specimens whose weight is several centners, and the radius of the umbrella exceeds 1 meter. However, this does not prevent scientists from classifying jellyfish as a type of plankton.

These are not all prehistoric animals that have preserved their population to this day. It is a pity that people today destroy what nature gave a chance to survive. The sturgeon is gradually disappearing from the face of the Earth, crocodiles are becoming less and less numerous, and the number of dwarf whales has dropped to a few. Maybe we should try to forget consumer habits and remember the main purpose of humanity - creation?

Take it for yourself and tell your friends!

Shchiten

A freshwater crustacean similar to a small horseshoe crab. Over the past 70 million years, its prehistoric morphology has undergone almost no changes, almost no different from the ancestors of the shieldfish, which inhabited the earth about 220 million years ago.

24. Lamprey

Jawless fish. It has a funnel-like suction cup mouth. Occasionally they burrow their teeth into the bodies of other fish, sucking blood, but the majority of the 38 species of this fish do not do this.

The most ancient remains of this fish date back to 360 million years ago.

23. Sandhill crane

Endemic to North-Eastern Siberia and North America, it is a heavy and large bird, weighing up to 4.5 kilograms. Presumably the oldest representative of this species, the fossils of which have been found, lived 10 million years ago in Nebraska.

22. Sturgeon

Living in lakes, rivers and coastal waters, subarctic, temperate and subtropical sturgeon are sometimes called “primitive fish”. The reason for this is that the morphological characteristics of the sturgeon have remained virtually unchanged. In any case, the oldest fossils of the sturgeon are practically no different from its modern descendants, despite the passage of 220 million years.

True, as sad as it may be, environmental pollution and overfishing have put these unique fish on the verge of complete extinction, and some species of sturgeon are practically beyond recovery.

21. Giant Chinese salamander

The largest amphibian, the length of which can reach 1.8 m. It represents the family of cryptobranchs that appeared 170 million years ago. Like the sturgeon, it is on the verge of extinction.

The cause is habitat loss, overfishing and pollution. Like many other rare species, it is used by the Chinese for food and used for the dubious needs of Chinese medicine.

20. Martian Ant

It lives in the tropical forests of Brazil and the Amazon. It belongs to the oldest genus of ants and is about 120 million years old.

19. Brownie Shark

The body length of this fish can reach 4 meters. A very rare and poorly studied species of deep-sea shark. The eerie and unusual appearance indicates prehistoric roots. Apparently, its first ancestors lived on Earth already 125 million years ago. Despite its terrifying appearance and size, it is absolutely safe for people.

18. Horseshoe crab

A marine arthropod that lives primarily in shallow ocean waters on soft muddy or sandy bottoms. Considered the closest relative of the trilobite, it is one of the best-known living fossils, remaining virtually unchanged in 450 million years.

17. Echidna

Like the platypus, the echidna remains the only oviparous mammal. Its ancestors separated from the platypus about 48-19 million years ago. The common ancestor of both led an aquatic lifestyle, but echidnas adapted to life on land. Due to her appearance, she was named after the "Mother of Monsters" from ancient Greek mythology.

16. Hatteria

The endemic tuataria from New Zealand can reach a length of 80 cm, distinguished by a spiny crest along the back, which is especially pronounced in males. However, despite the obvious similarities with modern reptiles and lizards, the body structure of the hatteria has remained unchanged for two hundred million years. In this regard, hatteria are extremely important for science, since they can help in the study of the evolution of both snakes and lizards.

15. Frilled shark

Frilled sharks live in the Pacific and Atlantic oceans at depths of fifty to two hundred meters. Like the goblin shark, the frilled shark has an extremely fearsome appearance.

This lineage has existed for at least 95 million years (since the end of the Cretaceous period). It is possible that frilled sharks may be 150 million years old (late Jurassic).

The frilled shark is a living fossil that belongs to one of the oldest surviving lineages of sharks.

14. Vulture turtle

The snapping turtle lives mostly in the waters adjacent to the southeastern United States. Belongs to one of two surviving families of Cayman turtles.

This prehistoric turtle family has a centuries-old fossil history that dates back to the Maastrichtian Stage of the Late Cretaceous period (72-66 million years ago). The snapping turtle can weigh up to 180 kilograms, making it the heaviest freshwater turtle in the world.

13. Coelacanth

A genus of fish endemic to the coastal waters of Indonesia, which includes two living species of the coelacanth family. Until 1938, coelacanths were considered extinct until they were rediscovered.

Oddly enough, coelacanths are more closely related to mammals, reptiles and lungfishes than to other ray-finned fish. Presumably, the coelacanth acquired its current form about 400 million years ago.

The coelacanth is endemic to Indonesian waters.

12. Giant freshwater stingray

The giant freshwater stingray is one of the largest freshwater fish in the world, growing in diameter to almost two meters. Its weight can reach up to six hundred kilograms. According to research, its oval pectoral fin disc formed about 100 million years ago.

Like most of the animal kingdom mentioned in this article, the giant freshwater stingray is on the verge of complete extinction due to over-capture for display in aquariums, sale for meat, and due to pollution of the animal’s habitat.

11. Nautilus

A pelagic mollusk that lives in the central-west region of the Pacific and Indian Ocean.

Prefers deep slopes of coral reefs. Judging by the fossil remains, nautiluses managed to survive five hundred million years, during which several eras changed on earth and several mass extinctions occurred. Of course, nautiluses, too, having existed for half a billion years and survived the most severe cataclysms, may not be able to withstand the most terrible (and this is not an exaggeration) of the evils that our planet has ever encountered - man. It is on the verge of extinction due to overfishing and human pollution of the environment.

10. Medusa

They live in all oceans from the depths of the sea to the surface. Presumably, they appeared in the seas about 700 million years ago. In view of this, jellyfish can be called the most ancient multi-organ animals. This is probably the only animal on this list whose numbers could increase significantly due to overfishing of natural enemies of jellyfish. At the same time, some species of jellyfish are also on the verge of extinction.

9. Platypus

An oviparous mammal with the feet of an otter, the tail of a beaver and a duck's beak. Very often it is called the most bizarre animal in the world. In light of this, it is not surprising that the roots of the platypus go back to prehistoric wilds.

On the one hand, the oldest platypus fossil is only 100,000 years old, but the first platypus ancestor roamed the supercontinent Gondwanaland about 170 million years ago.

8. Long-eared jumper

This small four-legged mammal is widespread throughout the African continent and resembles possums or some small rodents in appearance. However, oddly enough, they are much closer to elephants than to possums. The first ancestors of the long-eared jumper lived on earth already during the Paleogene period (about 66-23 million years ago).

7. Pelican

Oddly enough, this large waterfowl with a long, heavy beak is one of the living fossils that has undergone virtually no changes since the prehistoric period. The genus of these birds has existed for at least 30 million years.

The oldest fossilized skeleton of a pelican was found in France in early Oligocene deposits. Outwardly, it is almost indistinguishable from modern pelicans, and its beak is morphologically identical to the beaks of modern birds of this genus.

Pelicans are one of the few birds that have not changed since prehistoric times.

6. Mississippi Shellfish

One of the largest North American freshwater fish. Often called a living fossil or "primitive fish" due to the preservation of a number of morphological characteristics of its most ancient ancestors. In particular, these characteristics include the ability to breathe in both water and air, as well as a spiral valve. Paleontologists trace the existence of the carapace back 100 million years.

The Mississippi shellfish is a primitive fish.

5. Sponge

The lifespan of sea sponges on our planet is difficult to trace because estimates of their age vary widely, but the oldest fossil to date is approximately 60 million years old.

4. Slithertooth

A poisonous, burrowing, nocturnal mammal. It is endemic to several Caribbean countries and is often called a living fossil, which is not at all surprising, since over the past 76 million years it has undergone virtually no changes.

3. Crocodiles

Unlike most of the animals on this list, the crocodile actually looks like a dinosaur. In addition to crocodiles, mention should be made of gharial crocodiles, gharials, caimans and alligators. This group appeared on our planet about 250 million years ago. This happened in the early Triassic period, and the descendants of these creatures to this day carry a lot of morphological characteristics that were formed in their distant ancestors.

2. Dwarf whale

Until 2012, the dwarf whale was considered an extinct animal, but since it still survived, it is still considered the smallest representative of the baleen whales. Because this animal is very rare, extremely little is known about both its population and its social behavior. But it is known for sure that the dwarf whale is a descendant of the cetotherium family, which is part of the suborder of baleen whales and which existed from the late Oligocene to the late Pleistocene (28-1 million years ago).

1.Black-bellied disc-tongue frog

As it turns out, living fossils can also be found among such a seemingly completely prosaic creature as a frog. Like the aforementioned pygmy whale, this black-bellied frog was thought to be extinct, but was rediscovered in 2011.

It was initially believed that the black-bellied disc-tongue frog had existed for only 15 thousand years, but using phylogenetic analysis, scientists were able to calculate that the last direct ancestor of this unique animal hopped across the earth's surface about 32 million years ago. This makes the black-bellied disc-tongue frog not just a living fossil, but also the only representative of its genus to survive to this day.

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Ancient animals of the Earth are animals that became extinct for some natural reasons before the appearance of humans. They are sometimes called prehistoric animals. Some of them continued to exist even after the advent of humanity and became extinct through our fault.

The dodo or dodo is a large flightless bird. Its modern relatives are birds of the order Pigeonidae. At one time, dodos densely populated the island of Mauritius, ate plant foods, and the female dodo laid a single egg directly on the ground. The dodo disappeared only in the 17th century due to the fault of people and the animals they brought to the island.

The most famous ancient animals on Earth are mammoths. This species of elephant lived on our planet about 1.5 million years ago. Judging by the fossil remains, mammoths were larger than their modern relatives and their bodies were covered with wool. Mammoths ate exclusively plant foods and were desirable prey for primitive hunters. There is no consensus on why mammoths became extinct.

Smilodon, or the saber-toothed tiger, disappeared from the surface of our planet more than 2 million years ago. Smilodon was larger than modern tigers, and the long saber-shaped fangs on the upper jaw allowed it to hunt thick-skinned rhinoceroses and elephants.

The giant ground sloth Megatherium lived about 2 million years ago on the American continent. The length of his body was 6 meters. Megatherium fed on the shoots of young trees, bending them to the ground with long front paws equipped with curved claws.

Another large flightless bird of antiquity with strong three-meter hind limbs is the moa. Moa lived in New Zealand until the 17th century and were completely destroyed by people.

The bird apiornis, also not flying, weighed up to 450 kilograms, and its height reached 3 meters. According to assumptions, the eggs of these birds could weigh up to 10 kilograms. Back in the 19th century, apiornis could be seen in Madagascar, but due to deforestation of tropical forests and ruthless extermination, today these ancient birds have become completely extinct.

Chalicotherium is an ancient animal of the Earth with a horse's head and claws instead of hooves. Scientists attribute it to the order of equids. In attempts to reach high-lying plant food, Chalicotherium could reach a height of 5 meters on its powerful hind limbs.

An ancient animal of the Earth that is probably lucky to survive to this day is the marsupial wolf. The body length of this ancient mammal is up to 1 meter, plus the length of its half-meter tail. He lived in Australia, but by the time the continent was discovered by Europeans, it survived only on the island of Tasmania (sometimes the wolf is called Tasmanian). Since the beginning of the 20th century, no one has seen a marsupial wolf alive, but it is nevertheless listed in the Red Book.

And the most mysterious and numerous ancient animals of the Earth are dinosaurs. Their name is translated as “terrible lizards.” For 200 million years they almost everywhere inhabited the earth's land and mysteriously died 60 million years ago. The most likely reason for the extinction of dinosaurs is the collision of our planet with an asteroid, as a result of which the Earth's climate changed in a way that was detrimental to dinosaurs.

Once upon a time we walked the Earth.

Looking at these creatures, ranging from giant snakes to incredible centipedes, one can only be glad that we live in the 21st century and will not meet them face to face.

Here are the most amazing giant extinct animals you might not know about.

Extinct animals

1. Large elephants with duck mouths (Platybelodons)

Platybelodon grangeri

Platybelodons are extinct herbivores related to elephants (proboscis) that roamed the earth about 4 million years ago.

They lived mainly in Africa, Europe, Asia and North America. Platybelodon reached up to 6 meters long and 2.8 meters high. Luckily, they used their terrifying jaws as shovels to dig up plants.

2. Huge snakes (Titanoboa)

Titanoboa cerrejonesis

Titanoboa, which was discovered in Colombia, was a species of snake that lived about 60 million years ago. The largest representatives reached almost 13 meters long and they weighed more than a ton.

These giant snakes were related to boa constrictors and anacondas, which kill victims with their suffocating coils.

Titanoboa were not only the largest snakes in history, but also largest terrestrial vertebrates after the dinosaurs.

3. Super dragonflies (Meganeurs)

Meganeura monyi

These flying monsters are extinct insect relatives of dragonflies. They lived about 300 million years ago during the Carboniferous period.

Meganeura's wingspan reached 65 centimeters. They were the largest flying insects that once lived on Earth.

4. Giant sea scorpion (Eurypterid)

Jaekelopterus rhenaniae

This creature 2.5 meters long was recently opened in Germany. The giant eurypterid is an extinct animal that lived approximately 390 million years ago.

This crocodile-sized scorpion had a 46-centimeter mouth cavity with claws. In addition, they did not disdain to feed on their own kind.

Ancient animals

5. Huge birds (Moas)

Dinornis robustus

Giant moas were the biggest birds ever existed. Representatives Dinornis robustus lived on the South Island of New Zealand and reached up to 3.6 meters in height and 250 kg in weight.

One can only breathe a sigh of relief that these birds with long tearing claws, sharp beaks and long legs no longer exist.

6. The largest lizard (Megalania)

Megalania prisca

This monster was often called the “dragon-devil.” At 7 meters long and 400-700 kg in weight, they were the largest land lizards that ever lived.

Although megalanians were thought to be extinct, bones discovered in Australia indicate they are only 300 years old, and some scientists suggest they are still living in Australia.

7. Huge centipede (Arthropleura)

Arthropleura

Arthropleura were largest terrestrial invertebrates on Earth, growing to 2.6 meters long. They are related to modern centipedes, but lived 340-280 million years ago.

In addition, they could stand up using the lower half of their body. It's time to look fear in the eye.

8. Giant sloth (Megatherium)

Megatherium americanum

Although these giant versions of the cute, furry sloths are thought to be herbivores, experts believe their long forearms and sharp claws were designed for eating meat.

Megatherium became extinct about 2000 years ago. They reached 6 meters high, weighed almost 4 tons and walked on their hind legs. Interestingly, they are relatives of modern armadillos.

9. Giant fish (Dunkleosteus)

Dunkleosteus terrelli

This giant fish reached 9 meters in length and was known as one of the most ferocious and terrible creatures that ever lived. Dunkleosteus lived during the late Devonian period 360 million years ago.

This fish did not need teeth, as its razor-sharp jaws could bite any prehistoric shark in two. And when Dunkleosteus did not feed, he rubbed his jaws against each other like self-sharpening scissors.

Huge animals

10. Giant turtle (Protostega)

Protostega gigas

This super turtle reached up to 3 meters long. Its sharp beak and powerful jaws helped chew slow-moving fish, including sharks. However, they themselves were not much faster, so they often found themselves prey to sharks.

11. The largest bear (Giant short-faced bear)

Arctodus Simus

The giant short-faced bear was one of the largest carnivorous mammals on Earth. Straightened up, he could reach 3.5 meters high and up to 900 kg weight.

The powerful jaw, 20-centimeter claws and enormous size undoubtedly inspired fear in smaller predators.

12. Huge crocodile (Sarcosuchus)

Sarcosuchus imperator

Sarcosuchus is an extinct species of crocodile that lived 112 million years ago. It was one of the largest crocodile-like reptiles that ever lived on Earth.

Modern crocodiles look pretty scary, but they don't compare to this one. 12 meters a monster. In addition, they ate dinosaurs.

13. Giant shark (Megalodon)

C. megalodon

Megalodon lived 28 -1.5 million years ago. This is the older brother of the great white shark, whose teeth reached 18 centimeters in length. This shark reached 15 meters in length and 50 tons of weight, being the largest predatory fish ever to exist. Megalodon could swallow a bus whole.