Humans are the most dangerous animals on Earth these days.
We’re ruthless, nastly, violent hairless monkeys always looking for a way to leverage
our surroundings.
I’m thoroughly convinced that we will remain atop the food chain until somebody blows us
up, accidentally or not.
It wasn’t always this way, though.
Way back before the invention of automatic firearms and steam-powered machinery, we had
a lot more predators to worry about.
At that point you would have to worry about a bear stumbling through and tearing your
whole family in two, or a poisonous snake slithering along and injecting you with enough
venom to send your brain to a higher plane.
But even further back, before humans were even a twinkle in the eye of an ancient primate,
there were some gigantic, terrifying creatures.
As the Earth turned, and climates changed, these behemoths thrived, waned, and died out.
I’m not one to dance on the grave of an extinct species, especially nowadays when
we’re the cause of a lot of extinctions, but boy oh boy am I glad some of these beasts
aren’t around today.
Hello horror heads, and welcome back to the scariest channel on YouTube: Top5ScaryVideos.
I’m your horror host, Keegan Hughes, and today we’ll be counting down the Top 5 Ancient
Creatures We’re Glad Are Extinct - PART TWO.
Before we get started, make sure to give this video a big thumbs up, and subscribe for more
insane creatures.
Let’s get going.
NUMBER FIVE: MEGAPIRANHA I’m a piranha!
They’re from the Amazon!
Yeah, it’s possible I watched Finding Nemo a few times too many as a kid.
And somehow I think Darla might still be scarier than the boney terror fish I’m about to
introduce.
Something about that headgear still sends shivers down my spine…
Back to the Megapiranha though!
This ancient carnivorous fish is basically a piranha… but MEGA.
They are estimated to have been around a meter long, and weighed over 73 kilograms.
Although some say they could have been as heavy as 484 kilos.
Gigantic aquatic creatures are creepy enough, but that’s not the scariest part my a mile.
A regular piranha one might find today has a jaw that can generate around 72 pounds of
force.
That’s insane for a little fish, right?
Well, the megapiranha might have been able to chomp down with 1068 pounds of force.
If anything EVER generates 1068 pounds of force anywhere on my body, I want to be put
down.
Just, end me.
Pound for pound, this bite force is greater than that of megalodons, alligators, and even
the might T Rex.
And its not like a megapiranha is just gonna gum you, no.
It has TEETH.
Serrated chompers with stout, circular roots arranged in a zig-zag pattern across its front
jaw that are sharp enough to slice flesh, and sturdy enough to crush turtle shells and
bones.
Yeah, this fish will crush your bones.
Be thankful you can hop in the water without worrying about these meat-manglers.
NUMBER FOUR: QUETZALCOATLUS Pterodactyls are pretty scary right?
Giant lizard birds with insane beaks and all.
Well, the Quetzalcoatlus puts those winged freaks to shame.
With a stork neck, bat wings, and four limbs, this is the largest creature to ever fly.
Standing on the ground, the Quetzal would have been as tall as a giraffe.
And with its wings outstretched, its been estimated at having a span of 35 feet.
This thing is basically the size of a Cessna aircraft.
I’d be so down to pilot a giant winged bird.
Although, that would probably lead to my untimely death falling from 10 000 feet.
There are a few hypotheses on how these flyers fed, some saying they skimmed water, while
others claim they scavenged and fed on small terrestrial animals.
I like the idea of a gigantic lizard-bird snatching up a baby dino and flying away with
it.
If they were alive today, you can bet they’d be snacking on family dogs and cats left out
in backyards.
Oof, maybe they’d eat kids.
Not the nicest thing to think about…
These humongous beings were superbly adapted to long-range, extended flight, and could
fly at speeds up to 130 kmph for 7-10 days at altitudes of 4600m.
They could do cross-continental trips like it was nothing.
This was likely made possible thanks to thermal gliding, where it would hit rising columns
of warm air and glide along for ages.
I can only imagine the chaos that would ensue if they were gliding around today.
Crashing into small aircraft, getting sucked into turbines and taking down planes, it would
not be good.
NUMBER THREE - ARTHROPLEURA What is 8 feet long, has enough legs to make
you squirm, and crawls along the floor terrifying anyone who discovers it?
No, I’m not talking about the Human Centipede.
I’m describing the Arthropleura!
The largest known land invertebrate of all time!
This gigantic creepy-crawly lived during the carboniferous era, and likely grew to be so
huge thanks to greater partial pressure of oxygen in the atmosphere.
That and the fact that there were no predators around to eat it.
Even if there were, could you imagine trying to eat an 8-foot millipede?
Crunchy, leggy, gooey, ugh.
These monstrous bugs had hundreds of legs that undulated in rhythm, allowing it to manoeuvre
quickly along the forest floor, swerving to avoid obstacles.
They were likely herbivores, feasting on decomposing plant matter on the ground, which is admittedly
less terrifying than a carnivorous millipede.
But I can just imagine seeing one of these things scuttling around, looking like a giant
moving rug with a hard shell.
These leggy fellas went extinct at the end of the carboniferous period, as the climate
dried out and rainforests grew smaller.
They live on today as much smaller, less horrible millipedes.
NUMBER TWO: SPINOSAURUS Honestly, I wouldn’t mind if this one was
around today.
It’s just so cool, I’d deal with all the death and destruction.
This 60 foot carnivorous lizard is actually the largest of all known carnivorous dinosaurs.
Bigger than even the T-Rex and Gigantosaurus.
Yup, BIGGER than the GIGANTOSAURUS.
They got the names wrong, folks.
Although, this one was actually named quite accurately.
The spine lizard had 7 foot spines growing from its back, creating a sail-like shape,
or possibly a hump.
Like having a bunch of basketball players sprout from your back.
It is thought that these were used to make itself look even bigger, and for heat regulation.
The Spinosaurus was semi-aquatic, meaning you aren’t safe on land or water.
NO ESCAPE.
However, it probably spent a lot of time in the water, and ate a lot of fish.
It had short hind limbs like early whales, dense compact bones like penguins, wide flat
feet for paddling, and an alligator-like snout for catching fish.
Apex predator in the water for sure.
But don’t feel like you’d be safer on land, this sucker could have hit speeds up
to 25kmph.
So unless you’re whipping the Corolla, this guy’s snatching you up.
Originally discovered in Western Egypt, the Spinosaurus likely lived around 100 million
years ago, and might have been the first dinosaur to take to the water.
If you need more reasons as to why it would absolutely SUCK to deal with Spinosauruses
today, go ahead and watch Jurassic Park III.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jT8TUowrkLU 0:15 - 0:25
The lad takes over as the main antagonist, and scraps with the T Rex.
Hmm, maybe it would be cool to host a dinosaur fight club.
Let's place some bets, folks.
NUMBER ONE: TITANOBOA That clip was from the wet and wild creature
feature from 1997, Anaconda.
Yes, we’re talking about titanoboa, but we’ll make that link soon enough.
If I could imagine one way I would never want to go, it would probably be getting suffocated
and crushed to death.
And guess how this 42 foot snake kills?
Oh no.
The Titanoboa, or Titanic Boa, is considered the largest snake going.
Or, at least was during the Paleocene epoch.
No living snake has ever been verified with a length of over 31.5 feet, and it’s highly
doubtful that we’ll ever see one break the record.
They were able to grow so large because way back when the South American rainforests had
higher temperatures.
This meant that cold-blooded reptiles could grow way larger.
A stealthy killer, the Titanoboa probably hunted similar to crocodiles, lurking right
beneath the surface of shallow water.
When a poor, unsuspecting animal came to the edge to drink, it would strike.
The titanoboa would wrap around the prey, and crush it to death.
Then it would swallow the prey whole.
Down the hatch.
This thing could down crocodiles like two-bite brownies.
Giving that mega-slurp action.
Although it had a similar appearance to a boa constrictor, its hunting methods more
closely resembled an anaconda.
I considered making an Niki Minaj joke here, but thought better of it.
You’re welcome.
So there you have it.
Five fearsome creatures that would kill you in a heartbeat given the opportunity.
Thank your lucky stars that you are separated by millions of years of progress.
What do you think is the scariest extinct creature?
Are there any that need to be added to this list?
Let me know what you think down in the comments.
Speaking of comments, lets have a quick look at some of your more fascinating ones from
last time: The Bastard Gift says “There is such thing
as beautiful monsters” Absolutely.
Sometimes the most beautiful can be the most terrifying too.
Like the final form in Shin Godzilla.
Or Lady Gaga.
Homegrowntwinkie says “You think Keegan’s wearing a Taylor Swift shirt so people stopped
asking where he gets his clothes from?
Cuz I suddenly don’t have a desire to know anymore”
It’s pretty obvious that this shirt came from a Taylor Swift concert, but the origins
of the rest of my wardrobe will stay a mystery for now.
Also, I’m wondering if people noticed something odd about Taylor’s eyes.
Let me know.
John Pedroza says “I’m going to have nightmares” Enjoy them!
Find inspiration in them!
Make something from your nightmares! Amon Giger says “Not a scary channel and
you are not an horror host you look more like a madonna fan club host”
Who says I can’t be both?
Get it together dude!
RedValkyrie 84 says “BOOOOOOOOO” Hey!
Another ghost!
Love to see the undead watching the channel!
And that’s all the time we have for today!
Thanks for watching, and I’ll see you next time!