From carnivorous turtles the size of a car, to giant humanoids, here are 10 awesome extinct
animals that people don't talk about….
10.
Carbonemys
The Carbonemys was a turtle that grew to be the size of a small car, that lived around
60 million years ago during the Paleocene Period.
The first evidence of this species was found in a coal mine in Colombia in 2005, which
is why it was given this name, which means ‘coal turtle’.
They lived in South America during a time where many animals grew to gigantic sizes
so, despite being 10 feet long and weighing more than 1,000 pounds, it would still have
faced up against some mighty adversaries.
A turtle this large, which was also cold-blooded, would have been very slow moving, but it was
equipped with something not seen in turtles today- extremely powerful jaws!
They were so strong, in fact, that paleontologists are certain that they were carnivores… they
would have been able to crush bones with ease, and maybe even preyed on crocodiles!
9.
Arctotherium angustidens
Standing at up to eleven feet tall, and weighing up to 4,500 pounds- the Arctotherium angustidens
was, as far as we know, the largest species of bear to have ever lived.
Living across South America, it was at least 1,000 pounds heavier than the largest bears
that live today, and 9 times heavier than its closest relative that’s still around-
the spectacled bear.
It was so big, in fact, that its humerus, the bone in the upper arm, was a similar size
to those seen in elephants.
The giant bear had a varied diet, similar to that of grizzly bears, which leaves somewhat
of a mystery about why it died out about 800,000 years ago.
Presumably, it would have been able to adapt to the changing availability of food where
it lived, so it's thought that it was an increased competition for meat with other carnivores
that led the species to rely more on vegetation and, therefore, evolve to be smaller as a
result.
8.
Quagga
The Quagga was a type of zebra from South Africa, but unlike those that you see today,
the Quagga’s stripes faded below its neck.
It was once thought to be a completely different species, but recent analysis has shown it
to be a subspecies of the plains zebra.
Increased hunting by humans in the 1800s was responsible for the extinction and near extinction
of a number of animals and, unfortunately for the Quagga, they were all completely gone
by the end of the century.
They were particularly sought after for their meat and their hides, and farmers started
taking over their grazing habitat for growing crops.
The last wild Quagga was killed in the 1870s, and the last one in captivity, in an Amsterdam
zoo, died in 1883.
That’s not the end of the Quagga story, though, because scientists have been working
to selectively breed zebras to bring back the traits of the Quagga that are hidden within
their genetic code.
Whether this counts as the re-introduction of a true Quagga, or simply a zebra that closely
resembles one, is up for debate- but it could well be one of those extremely rare cases
of an extinct animal being brought back to life.
Do you think we should bring back the Quagga??
Let me know in the comments below!!
And be sure that you are subscribed before you go, we'd love to have you around here!!
7.
Cygnus Falconeri
Swans are found in temperate environments around the world, and while they are certainly
one of the largest birds you’ll see on a river, they used to be a whole lot bigger!
The Cygnus Falconeri lived around Malta and Sicily at some time between 800 and 150 thousand
years ago.
Remains have shown them to have been about a third larger than the mute swans of today,
which means their bill to tail length would have been up to seven feet.
This would have made them taller (but not heavier) than the region’s dwarf elephants,
and it’s thought to have been too large to be able to fly.
Cygnus Falconeri died out before major human activity began in the area, and it's thought
that they fell victim to mass changes in the environment or the arrival of new predators
and competitors for the limited resources.
6.
Steller’s Sea Cow
Sailing the oceans you might expect to encounter various large creatures, but there was one
that sailors would often come across- that was until, of course, they were hunted to
extinction.
Known as Steller’s sea cow, they were a relative of manatees and dugongs, just much
much bigger.
While manatees may grow to up to 13 feet long, Steller’s sea cows could grow to up to 33
feet- with estimates of their weight ranging between 9000 and 24,000 pounds.
These giant beasts had no teeth, and would rely on horny pads in their mouths to chew
on kelp.
The first sighting of one was in 1741 near Bering island in the Bering Sea.
A group of sailors had been marooned there, so they hunted the sea cow to survive and
took notes on their behaviors and numbers- suggesting there were as many as 1500 in the
surrounding waters.
They were slow moving, so very easy to catch, it was said that one animal could feed 33
sailors for a month.
Their blubber tasted similar to almond oil, so was very popular.
Eventually, the sailors were able to return to the mainland, where they told stories of
the massive sea cows.
People returned in droves, and within 27 years of their first discovery, they had all been
killed.
They are one of the few large mammals known to have been driven to extinction by humans
in the modern age, but are unlikely to be the last!
5.
Meganeura
The Meganeura was the largest of many species of giant dragonfly-looking creatures that
lived about 300 million years ago.
They were the biggest known flying insect to have ever lived, with a wingspan of up
to 26 inches.
The first fossil specimen was found in France in 1880, and since then many more have been
found.
While they resembled dragonflies, they are actually quite different and are classified
as griffinflies.
Their behavior is thought to have been similar to that of dragonflies, but their much larger
size meant that they would have moved slower, and they had a number of extra appendages
on their abdomens that aren’t seen in insects today.
Before you wish you could have seen one of these creatures in the wild, it’s worth
knowing that they were actually carnivorous.
They had sharp teeth that would allow them to eat invertebrates and insects, and be able
to fend off any attackers.
They also had an unusual vein structure within their wings that made them far more resilient
than the flying insects of today.
It's thought that the higher oxygen levels in the air back then were what enabled such
large flying insects to thrive.
Today oxygen makes up about 21 percent of the air, but in the Carboniferous period,
it was about 35 percent.
The changing atmosphere would have made it impossible for them to absorb enough oxygen
from the air, so appears to be the reason why they eventually died out.
4.
Elasmotherium
While you might think unicorns are simply animals of legend, there was a creature that
used to walk the lands across Eurasia that looked very similar to one.
The Elasmotherium, also known as the Giant Rhinoceros, or the Siberian Unicorn, lived
between around 3 million years ago to 29,000 years ago.
They were 6 and a half feet tall, almost 15 feet long, and could weigh up to 4 and a half
US tons!
The most striking feature, of course, was the large single horn that protruded from
the front of their skulls.
We know that they lived between the Don River in Russia and Kazakhstan, but it's believed
that they traveled much further than that.
It’s generally thought that they were hairy in a similar way to woolly mammoths, and were
herbivores.
There are many theories about what their massive single horns were for, ranging from defense
and attracting mates, to sweeping snow or digging for water and food.
It’s not entirely clear why the Elasmotherium went extinct, but images in cave paintings
found in France are very similar to the structure of these animals- which means they could very
well be the inspiration for beliefs about the unicorns we hear of today.
3.
Ledumahadi mafube
The Ledumahadi mafube, was a dinosaur that lived around South Africa about 200 million
years ago.
Its name means ‘a giant thunderclap at dawn' in Sesotho, the language that's spoken in
the region where the remains of this giant were found, and it's clear to see why.
It's thought to have been the largest animal to be alive at the time and was related to
the brontosaurus.
It weighed as much as 26,000 pounds and was twice the size of an African elephant.
The scientifically interesting thing about this dinosaur is that it appears to have been
a transitional species.
Its ancestors were smaller, and moved around on two legs, while its descendants, such as
the brontosaurus, were increasingly larger, and moved around on four.
The Ledumahadi, is thought to have mainly walked on 4 legs, but was able to stand up
on 2 to reach high up food or to lift itself up to difficult to reach places.
This dinosaur is also one of the reasons scientists believe the continents used to be part of
one large landmass- Pangea.
It’s very closely related to dinosaurs that lived at the same time in Argentina, which
would only seem possible if there wasn’t such a large ocean separating the two countries!
2.
Titanoboa
If you’re not too keen on snakes, then this next one is probably going to be a problem
for you.
58 million years ago, just a few million years after the fall of the dinosaurs, northern
Colombia was a massive swampy jungle, where it was much hotter and wetter than it is today.
These conditions allowed giant creatures to thrive- huge turtles, giant crocodiles, and
the biggest of them all… the Titanoboa.
This mega snake could grow to up to 40 feet long and weighed as much as a ton.
It looked a lot like a boa constrictor but behaved more like an anaconda- swimming through
the dense waters of the swamp and feasting on whatever it wanted.
At its thickest, the Titanoboa was as tall as a human’s waist, and they would have
had no problem with eating us if we had been around at that time.
This was, by far, the largest snake (that we know of) to have ever lived on earth- and
I think we can all be thankful that they are much much smaller these days!
1.
Gigantopithecus
There have been a large number of different species of primates, with some estimates claiming
there are as many as 448 on the earth today, but there's a debate between researchers as
to the true number.
One thing that is certain, though, is that the largest primate species have long been
extinct, and the biggest to have ever walked the earth is known as the Gigantopithecus
blacki.
This distant ancestor of orangutans could grow to up to 10 feet tall and weighed up
to 595 pounds.
They lived almost exclusively in the forests in Southeast Asia, but beyond this very little
is known of them.
Remains are few and far between, and they appear to have been around for about a million
years before dying off about 100,000 years ago.
Their large molar teeth, which look similar to those of panda bears, suggest that they
fed on tough branches and plants, such as bamboo, along with fruit and leaves.
Their reliance on this type of food is likely what caused their demise because, at the time
they died out, the world was getting cooler and drier.
Food supplies would have drastically dwindled, and these wonderful creatures would have had
no way to find the sustenance they needed to survive.
Thanks for watching!