Extinction. Creatures all through time have faced it. With fossil records, we are able to look back in time and see the animals and even how they lived. It doesn’t take long to realize that most animals throughout history were pretty terrifying! Here are the 20 most terrifying animals that we can thankfully say are no longer around anymore!
1. Phoberomys Pattersoni
Don’t like rats? Be thankful this guy isn’t around anymore. They weighed 1,500 lbs and would stand up on their hind legs to intimidate. That’s the stuff of nightmares.
2. Megatherium
We normally think of sloths as cute, but this guy is huge. He lived millions of years ago but only died out 11k years ago. He’s basically a sloth that is the height of an elephant.
3. Anomalocaris
This fish lived around 500 million years ago and looks like something from a legit video game. It had big square mouths that it used to eat lots of types of prey.
4. Meganeura
These dragonflies lived around 300 million years ago and made the dragonflies of today look like playthings. They grew to 1 foot long with a wingspan of around double that. It probably sounded like a helicopter.
5. Pelagornis Sandersi
If you were alive 25 million years ago, seeing the shadow of a bird was a lot scarier. This one, in fact, had a wingspan of 24 feet and could soar miles with a single flap of its wings.
6. Gigantopithecus
This real-life bigfoot lived 100k years ago and literally ate itself to death. Well, it ate so much it ran out of food. They were 10 feet tall and pure muscle.
7. Edestus
Seeing a fin in the water today means something similar to what it did 300 million years ago. This prehistoric shark had scissor-like jaws that thrashed its prey instead of just chomping down.
8. Phorusrhacidae
This is probably a lot closer to what velociraptors looked like. Still, this ancient bird reminds us of an ostrich only they were heavier and hunted like their reptilian ancestors.
9. Pentecopterus
This is literally a sea-scorpion. They lived almost 500 million years ago in the ocean and would use their claws to grab food. It didn’t have a stinger, thankfully.
10. Liopleurodon
These fish-shark-nightmare hybrids lived 150 million years ago. They had mouths that were 1/5th of its length and were filled with thick teeth that were nearly 2 feet long.
11. Andrewsarchus
Although this animal has “Andrew” in its name, it’s not normal looking at all. It’s an ancient pig that had huge teeth that could tear flesh if it needed to.
12. Euphoberia Armigera
These millipedes lived 250 million years ago and were WAY bigger than the ones we have today. These ones were 3 feet long and some of the biggest arthropods to ever wiggle across the earth.
13. Helicoprion
These sharks from 270 million years ago had jaws shaped like a literal buzzsaw. Maybe that’s where they got the “helicopter” in their name from?
14. Megapiranha
Imagine a piranha, but Mega. That’s the Megapirhana (creative, right?). They were around 20-30 pounds and would bite chunks of flesh from unsuspecting animals.
15. Arctodus
Known as the short-faced bear, its name can give you the wrong idea. When standing up they were as tall as a basketball hoop and was the biggest bear in history. Funny enough they lived in California!
16. Dunkleosteus
These were some of the most dominant species of fish to ever live (around 350 million years ago). They hunted with their huge teeth and had boney heads that made them nearly impossible to kill.
17. Sarcosuchus
These crocodiles lived 110 million years ago and grew to over 40 feet long. They also had 132 teeth designed to grip their prey in a way they would never be able to escape from.
18. Deinosuchus
Similar to the Sarcosuchus, this reptile grew to around 36 feet long and literally ate other dinosaurs as its food. They weighed 7 tons and are directly related to today’s alligators.
19. Titanoboa
With words like “titan” and “boa” in your name, it’s not hard to imagine with this animal is. It’s a massive snake that lived 58 million years ago. They grew to around 40 feet long and weighed over 2,000 pounds.
20. Megalodon
One of the most famous animals to ever live, this prehistoric shark has literal movies made about it. It grew to 50 feet long and could weigh up to 50 tons. Now THAT’S terrifying.
We saved the best for last! While many of these animals are really cool to imagine, it’s a good thing they don’t exist anymore so we can sleep at night without dreaming of giant rats or sharks.
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