From razor sharp claws half the size of a grown man to canines big enough to crush a
buffalo's windpipe in one bite, nature has had billions of years of evolution to tinker
with the anatomy of predators with one goal- make the most efficient killer of all time.
But what were some of the most fearsome and lethal predators ever to walk the earth?
Hello and welcome to another episode of The Infographics Show- today we're taking a look
at four of the greatest predators in history.
4.
Smilodon
No animal has impressed, or baffled, scientists more than the legendary sabre-toothed tiger.
With canines up to eight inches long, its massive killing teeth would have permanently
protruded from its mouth as it savored the kill to come.
But how exactly Smilodon did its killing is what confounded scientists for decades, as
the teeth are actually too large and brittle for typical killing bites across a prey's
body.
Those massive chompers may have looked terrifying, but the truth was that if Smilodon sunk those
teeth into the rib cage of a struggling buffalo there was a good chance they would snap off.
Modern forensics and pressure mapping found that the teeth were simply too brittle to
risk in anything but a direct killing blow to an animal's most sensitive area- the jugular
in the neck.
Thus scientists concluded that Smilodon used its massive bulk to actually wrestle its prey
to the ground before sinking those dagger sized teeth into the neck and severing major
arteries, causing its victim to quickly bleed to death.
Long thought to be a solitary animal, scientists recently discovered strong evidence that Smilodon
actually lived in prides similar to African lions.
The discovery of injured bones showing healing scars from wounds that would have been crippling
to the animal show that even severely wounded Smilodons were still able to eat and survive,
indicating a supportive group of pride mates that shared in kills together.
This helps lend credence to the theory that Smilodon wrestled prey to the ground and helps
explain the evolution of such massive long, but ultimately brittle canines.
Those iconic chompers also meant that Smilodons actually couldn't eat much of the carcass
from a kill, as it would have been too risky to bite into bone, and thus left Smilodons
with only the soft parts of the body such as the stomach region to eat from.
This also indicates just how formidable a predator Smilodon really was, as they would
have required far more frequent kills to keep an entire pride fed than today's lions which
devour pretty much every part of a prey's body.
Smilodon survived for millions of years across all of North America, and after the creation
of the isthmus of Panama, spread south of the border to conquer South America.
An apex predator of the New World, Smilodon mysteriously disappeared around 13,000 years
ago along with the rest of the great Ice Age mammals such as the giant sloth and the woolly
mammoth.
This sudden disappearance has left scientists puzzled and though man has been historically
blamed, researchers today have serious doubts about the ability of early man to effectively
hunt so many animals to extinction on his own.
Instead a new theory supported by the discovery of a global layer of iridium dust in the geologic
layers of the earth hints at a large asteroid impact just a few thousands of years before
the rise of mankind's earliest civilizations.
Not big enough to wipe the slate clean for life on earth, the impact may have been large
enough to cause severe weather disruptions that led to the extinction of large land herbivores
and inevitably the predators who relied on them.
3.
Anomalocaris
One of the first predators to evolve on planet earth, Anomalocaris ruled the primitive oceans
500 million years ago.
Though the land back then would have been similar to modern day Mars with continents
covered by nothing but barren rock, life had already conquered the oceans.
But early evolution had moved rather slowly, with little pressure and incentive to innovate
and adapt, so most creatures were at this point simple, soft bodied creatures that drifted
along in the ocean currents.
Then, suddenly, evolution took a sharp and strange turn- the first predators arrived,
and none were stranger than Anomalocaris.
The biggest predator of its time and about a meter long, Anomalocaris was an invertebrate
with a flexible, segmented body not unlike that of a centipede.
It had large, protruding eyes and a circular mouth built form razor sharp bony plates.
The strangest feature however was no doubt the two massive tentacles right in front of
its mouth which it would have used to seize struggling prey before dragging it to its
hungry mouth.
The arrival of the first predators began an arms race between predator and prey, resulting
in the evolution of hard-shelled defenses and the birth of the first arthropods.
These early arthropods were Anomalocaris' prey, and using its powerful tentacles it
overcame bony shells by flexing and twisting a seized animal until the shell cracked.
More impressive than this feat of strength though was Anomalocaris' complex eyes which
would have been a massive evolutionary leap forward and made it one of the first animals
ever to track prey by sight.
A product of one of the first experiments by evolution which resulted in other strange
creatures, Anomalocaris and other early weirdos were ultimately evolutionary dead ends that
eventually went extinct.
Though many subspecies of Anomalocaris are thought to have existed, none of its iconic
features would go on to be passed down to other animals, meaning that no matter how
fearsome, Anomalocaris was ultimately a dead-end branch on the tree of life.
2.
Tyrannosaurus Rex
The king of dinosaurs, Tyrannosaurus Rex was without a doubt one of the most terrifying
predators to ever exist.
Its arsenal of weapons included serrated teeth up to eight inches long, neatly fitted into
a mouth that could be up to 4 feet long and opened up to three feet wide.
Modern forensics have discovered that T-Rex had the greatest bite of any known terrestrial
animal, with a bite force of almost 12,800 pounds (5,806 kilograms), which was six to
seven times greater than that of its cousin Allosaurus.
Yet adolescent T-rexes couldn't match the bite strength of their older peers, topping
out at about a bite force of 880 pounds (399 kilograms).
This meant that young T-rex would have targeted smaller prey, leading to something called
'resource partitioning' and no competition between younger and older T-rexes for prey,
a huge evolutionary advantage for the fearsome predator.
That incredible bite power would have meant that adult T-rex bit down on prey with a vice-like
grasp, likely on the flank of large dinosaurs.
Its teeth would crush bone and puncture arteries while shredding internal organs.
Unlike other specialized killers such as Smilodon or other dinosaurs, its thought that T-rex's
bite was so formidable it didn't target specific areas of a prey item to secure a kill, but
rather simply attacked its prey savagely until it died of blood loss.
Yet despite its incredible biting power, T-rex was actually unable to chew its food which
left it at serious risk of choking.
In fact, scientists have discovered the remains of a large cousin of T-rex that had died from
choking on two bones that had become lodged in its throat.
Fearsome as it was, T-rex can't be talked about without bringing up the elephant in
the room- its two tiny little forearms.
Too short to reach its mouth and far too weak to aid in defense or hunting, the best theory
offered so far is that they may have acted as counter balance for its massive head- or
perhaps used as part of a mating ritual.
One of the last of the large dinosaurs to evolve on Earth, it would ultimately take
an asteroid impact to put an end to T-rex's reign, which in our opinion is kind of bad
ass.
After all, few predators to ever evolve would require an act of God to put their fearsome
reign to an end... but given the size of those terrifying teeth and gigantic jaws, we're
kind of glad it did.
1.
Spinosaurus
One of the few animals to rival T-rex in size and strength, Spinosaurus grew to 50 feet
(15 meters) long, making it just a few feet longer than T-rex, though with a more slender
body build.
It's most iconic features however were the 6.5 foot (2 meter) tall spines that ran the
length of its back giving it an iconic sail, and the massive claws on its forelimbs that
would have easily sliced a man in half.
Living in what was once a tropical river system in northern Africa, Spinosaurus inhabited
swamps filled with sharks, coelacanths, crocodiles, and various close relatives of T-rex.
This hyper-concentration of predators in one area has led paleontologists to call Spinosaurus'
stomping grounds the most “dangerous place in the history of our planet”.
Yet fearsome as Spinosaurus was, this mighty carnivore was primarily a fish eater.
Looking like a cross between a crocodile and a duck, Spinosaurus' long snout sported nostrils
that faced up and were midway down its snout, allowing it to cruise through murky waters
with most of its body submerged.
It also had secondary openings similar to neurovascular slits which today are found
in crocodiles.
Its teeth were cone-shaped and not serrated like T-rex, though perfect for catching fish,
and even its powerful and clawed arms are thought to have been used for catching the
car-sized fish of its primeval home.
Sadly due to a lack of fossil evidence and the rarity of discovered bones, not much is
known about this incredible dinosaur.
Its discovery however completely changed scientist's perceptions of dinosaurs.
While aquatic reptiles existed during the age of the dinosaurs, it was long thought
that dinosaurs themselves were limited to living and hunting on land- but the discovery
of Spinosaurus and its very unique adaptations have led scientists to reconsider this conclusion.
While some scientists theorize that Spinosaurus lived a semi-aquatic lifestyle, others believe
that given its long range of adaptations, Spinosaurus may have been almost completely
aquatic- an absolutely revolutionary discovery for these long-extinct animals.
The earth has been a battleground between predator and prey for hundreds of millions
of years, leading to the evolution of some truly astonishing, and terrifying, animals.
This ongoing arms between predator weapons and prey defenses continues to this day, and
theres no telling what amazing animals may evolve in our future.
Which of these fearsome predators would you have liked to see in real life?
Want to hear about more of history's greatest predators?
Let us know in the comments.
Also, be sure to check out our other video What To Do If You Are Attacked By A Wild Animals.
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