The Earth has been home to many prehistoric animals that went extinct millions of years
ago.
Most of these animals not only looked terrifying, but they had the ability to tear through our
flesh easily with their razor-sharp teeth or claws.
Thankfully we will never see them in our lifetime...but then again, you never know what the future
can hold.
How's it going Youtube?
I'm Landon and welcome back to another most amazing video.
Before we get started, I want to know, what is the scariest animal that you think ever
existed?
Maybe its on this list.
But there is only one way to find out, so here are the top 10 scary prehistoric sea
monsters.
Basilosaurus makes a splash onto this list in at number 10.
Originally, when the Basilosaurus fossils were first discovered in the 1830's, it was
believed that this animal was some sort of reptilian sea monster.
So, that's why they were named Basliosaurus which literally means King Lizards.
However, it was later revealed that these creatures are no reptilian at all, they are
actually gigantic ancient whales.
But unlike the whales we know today, the Basilosaurus was sleek like an eel and they measured up
to 65 feet long.
Despite its long size, the Basilosaurus had very small flippers and a short head compared
to the rest of its body.
It is believed that they most likely ate whales and fish that were smaller than them but other
predators would not dare to bother or compete for food against this beast.
Tanystropheus jumps into this list in at number 9.
The Tanystropheus lived in shallow waters but it was also able to live and hunt on the
land.
They were not very fast swimmers so they would often walk along the shore and use its long
neck to get within range of prey without being detected.
Similarly, to some lizards who are still alive today, the Tanystropheus had a tail that could
detach if a predator managed to latch on and then it would be able to regenerate.
Their teeth were also very unusual.
The front teeth were similar to a rake and the back teeth were flattened like molars.
They mainly ate fish and other small aquatic animals but they were also able to reach into
bushes and trees with their extremely long necks.
Let's take a look at a reconstruction of what these beasts would look like if they were
still alive today.
If these things still existed today, you would never find me swimming in an ocean, that's
for sure.
Up next in at number 8 we have another terrifying creature that goes by the name Liopleurodon
(LEE-oh-PLOOR-oh-don) This scary looking creature lived about 160 million years ago during the
Middle Jurassic Period.
Just looking at some of these pictures, you are able to tell that these creatures were
very ferocious reptiles.
They were approximately 30 feet long and they weighed around 2.5 tons.
But it wasn't their size that made these reptiles dangerous, they had a five-foot-long skull
that was filled with razor sharp teeth that were designed to easily tear through flesh,
muscle and even bone.
According to paleontologists, the LEE OH PLOOR OH DON had a directional sense of smell, so
they made excellent hunters and because of the position of their flippers, they were
also very fast in the water.
I'm just glad that we don't have to worry about running into these ferocious looking
beasts.
And now in at our number 7 spot we are talking about the Jaekelopterus Rhenaniae or otherwise
known as the giant sea scorpion.
So, if any of you are scared of creepy crawlers, you probably aren't going to like this creature.
And that's because when scientists discovered its giant fossilized claw, they were able
to assume that when it was alive, this giant sea scorpion would measure about two and half
meters long which is much taller than the height of an average man.
Paleontologists believe that this creature existed on Earth when oxygen levels in the
atmosphere where much higher than today.
So due to those elevated oxygen levels, scientists say that this was the reason behind their
enlarged bodies and perhaps many other huge invertebrates existed during the same time
such as monster millipedes, huge cockroaches and ginormous dragonflies.
I would never want to live in a world where a cockroach is the size of my foot.
I don't think I would be able to go about my day knowing that these creatures are out
there.
Next up in at number 6 we have the whale that ate other whales, Livyatan Melvillei.
This evil looking beast was a prehistoric whale that lived approximately 13 million
years ago during the Miocene Period.
Based on its fossils, scientists were able to predict that this whale was approximately
50 feet long and weighed about 50 tons or about 100,000 pounds.
Oh, and did I mention that this beast also had teeth that were 14 inches long.
So, this would mean that the Livyatan Melvillei weighed 6 times more than an elephant and
its teeth were even longer than a Sabre tooth tiger.
But what makes this animal so interesting is that unlike other whales, the Livyatan
Melvillei didn't feast on plankton, it ate meat.
Actually, paleontologists believe that they ate seals, dolphins and maybe even other whales.
Is this real-life right now?
Not only was this whale massive, but he was the whale version of Hannibal Lecter.
Dakosaurus swims onto our list in at number 5.
Prepare yourself for this one, because the Dakosaurus isn't a pretty sight.
Actually, they were pretty terrifying looking creatures.
Their name literally means tearing lizard and even though they were smaller than a saltwater
crocodile, they weren't any less ferocious.
Scientists believe that these creatures were approximately 15 feet long and weight around
2,000 pounds.
Not only did they look like a strange mix between a crocodile and a dinosaur, they had
a powerful jaw and serrated sharp teeth that they used to tear the flesh off of large marine
reptiles.
The scientists who discovered its skull gave this creature the nickname "Godzilla" because
of its unusual snout which was short and deep and extremely long serrated teeth.
It is believed that they had a very powerful bite force and they were likely a top predator
during its time.
The Giant Stingray makes us cringe in at number 4.
This haunting creature can grow up to 17 feet across and it has a 10 foot poison spike in
its tail.
They are also known to pull boats up and down rivers and even underwater.
Oh, I didn't mention that these giant pre-historic stingrays are still alive today?
Yeah, that's right.
If you're not thrilled about meeting one of this gigantic stingrays than I would avoid
travelling to the Mekong river and Australia.
Scientists estimate that these creatures can grow up to five meters in length and weigh
600 kg.
And even though stingrays don't normally attack humans...they pose a real danger to those
who decide to handle them.
I guess we all know that's true when we think about Steve Irwin.
And that's because they have a deadly barb that can easily penetrate human skin and even
bone and once you are penetrated with their poisonous barb, they will most likely inject
their poison.
Haunting us in at number 3 we have a prehistoric ghost shark the Helicoprion.
This deadly looking shark is believed to have been 30-40 feet long which would make this
beast roughly double the size of the largest great white currently on record.
The Helicoprion is mostly known for being the world's only animal with a complete 360-degree
spiral of teeth.
Actually, the purpose and placement of their teeth have been up to debate for more than
a century and it still remains a mystery.
But one thing is for sure, you definitely wouldn't want to see this buzzsaw shark swimming
straight for you.
But thankfully for us, they weren't meant to eat creatures with bones and they went
extinct 230 million years ago.
Here is a video that show's how these sinister looking animals might have hunted.
Crunching down into this list at number 2 we have Kronosaurus.
These beastly looking creatures lived approximately 125 million years ago during the Early Cretaceous
Period.
And as you can probably tell by these pictures, I would exactly call them cute... actually
they looked pretty terrifying.
They were about 33 feet long and weighed around 10 tons.
It had a short neck and tons of teeth with a powerful jaw.
Their teeth aren't the sharpest when compared to other marine animals but that didn't stop
them from brutally killing their prey.
That's because they would bite onto their prey, shake them to death and then crush their
skulls with their powerful jaws.
Their fossils have only been found in Australia and Colombia but because of the extreme distance
between these two countries, scientists have speculated that the Kronosaurus could have
been found worldwide.
And finally chomping into our number 1 spot is the infamous Megalodon.
The Megalodon has the honour of being the largest known predator in the history of Earth.
This beast could grow up to lengths of 60-70 feet and weigh 50-80 tons.
To put that into perspective for you guys, the largest Great White Shark measured in
about 21 feet and weight 3.5 tons.
So if one of your biggest fear is the Great White Shark, I guess you're happy to know
that these sinister beasts are extinct and you won't find them creeping underneath your
boat anytime soon.
But then again, there are skeptics out there that believe that the Megalodon shark is living
at the deepest parts of our oceans.
And considering that our oceans are only 5 percent explored, maybe this theory isn't
that far fetched.
Well there you guys have it...