A few of the largest extinct animals are ferocious hunters, able to take down prey much larger than themselves. The most notable is the Megalodon, a giant prehistoric shark that could reach 60 feet in length and weigh 50 tons!
Other beasts, both land and sea-dwellers, reached similar size. Read on to learn about The 10 Largest Extinct Animals!
1. Megalodon
The Megalodon was the largest shark to have ever lived. It grew to nearly 21 meters (68 feet) long, and weighed 48 metric tons (53 short tons). Scientists have figured out its size from fossilized vertebrae. Each one has rings of hard tissue that indicate its age, just like tree trunks do. But to get to the rings, scientists would have had to cut into the priceless fossil—a big no-no!
Researchers have also used a technique called micro-CT to estimate the age of a shark vertebra without harming it. This allowed them to figure out that Megalodon sharks were a lot older than previously thought. Researchers have even discovered that Megalodon shark babies ate their siblings in the womb. This probably helped the baby sharks grow to a size that could fend off other ocean predators.
2. Archaeopteryx
The first Archaeopteryx fossil was found in 1861 and despite being headless it looked very birdlike, with delicately preserved feathers, a fan-shaped tail and a wishbone or “furcula” similar to that of a roast chicken. But it also had very reptilian features like a jaw filled with sharp teeth and could run faster than any living bird.
Its wings were very light, and it lacked the keeled sternal bone that supports the large flight muscles of modern birds. Instead it had a flat sternum and its beak possessed teeth like those of carnivorous dinosaurs such as Deinonychus.
It probably lived in forests that lacked big trees for gliding and it had claws on its three fingers that could grip like those of ground-dwelling raptors such as Velociraptors and Ornitholestes. So it likely flew only for short distances, possibly to escape predators or hunt prey.
3. Plesiosaur
Like the other ichthyosaurs (fish lizards) discovered before it, Plesiosaurus was a powerful marine predator that hunted fish and mollusks in the Mesozoic oceans. Its long flippers, short tail and sharp teeth helped it capture prey. Its name is derived from the Greek words ‘plisios’ which means close, and'sauros' meaning lizard.
These carnivorous aquatic reptiles were fancifully said to resemble “a snake threaded through the shell of a turtle”. They lived from the late Triassic Period up until the end of the Cretaceous Period, dying out about 66 million years ago. Fossils of various plesiosaurus species have been found, including the long-necked elasmosaurs and the shorter necked polycotylids. All plesiosaurs were warm-blooded and swam in open water, consuming seafood and ambushing or surprise hunting small sea animals. They may have also laid eggs in beach sand, much like modern-day sea turtles.
4. Moschops
A genus of therapsid (mammal-like reptile) that lived during the Wordian and Capitanian periods (299 million to 251 million years ago). This creature is a bit of a mystery. It looks like a cross between a rhinoceros and a lizard, but it was not a dinosaur.
Moschops was built low to the ground and grazed plants. It occupied the evolutionary niche that would later be filled by the dinosaurs.
It is also interesting to note that this animal was an herbivore, yet it has been portrayed as carnivorous in a kids TV show from the early 1980’s. This is a great example of how media influences public perception. Our figure of this synapsid is part of our Paleo-Creatures range and has been beautifully designed and sculpted by Jesus Toledo. It comes complete with a display base, two plant accessories and a helpful data card.
5. Archosaur
This massive sea creature, which lived during the Pliocene epoch, was one of the top predators of its day. It could grow up to 50 feet long, sported teeth seven inches in length, and fed on whales and dolphins. Fossil whale bones have been found with Megalodon tooth marks etched in them.
This creature sported both crocodilian and dinosaur-like features. It lived 235 to 240 million years ago during the Triassic period, just before true dinosaurs emerged on the scene.
The only thing more impressive than the giant shark Megalodon is the colossal bird of prey Teratornis, which had a wingspan of nearly 20 feet and fed on mammals. It went extinct at the end of the Pleistocene epoch. On land, the largest reptile was the titanoboa cerrejonensis, which lived in Miocene South America and had a lifestyle similar to that of the modern-day anaconda.
6. Crocodile
From snakes that could eat crocodiles to a bird of prey large enough to snatch up a Stegosaurus, these monsters are proof that the Earth was once full of colossal creatures that would dwarf many of our modern species.
On land, there were 2 contenders that paleontologists only know of from fragmentary remains – the elephant Palaeoloxodon namadicus and the hornless rhino Paraceratherium transouralicum. At up to 17 feet tall and 24 tons in weight, these animals easily outweighed living elephants and mammoths.
As for crocodiles, the biggest was Deinosuchus, which reached 40 feet long. These apex predators opportunistically hunted dinosaurs and other prey in riverbeds and lakes. These semiaquatic reptiles are well adapted to the water, with broad bodies and long tails that propel them in the water. They are able to turn quickly and can tuck their feet next to their body when they swim.
7. Quetzalcoatlus
One of the largest flying creatures of all time, Quetzalcoatlus was a giant pterosaur with a wingspan of up to 60 feet. It coexisted with Tyrannosaurus and other dinosaurs, but its biology has remained mysterious.
Fossils of this huge pterosaur were discovered in 1971 in Big Bend National Park by college student Douglas Lawson, who recognized the bones as those of an animal with long wings and a sharp beak – like herons or storks. Skull material suggests it was a piscivorous (fish-eating) creature, but it may also have scavenged the carcasses of other predatory animals.
Its skeletal structure was tailored to support its massive size. Its wings probably resembled those of modern condors and vultures, and it could have soared like them. It landed by slowing down until it was almost out of air, much like a plane.
8. Pterosaur
The pterosaur, or flying reptile, is perhaps one of the best known fossil creatures. It was an order that encompassed dozens of species that existed during the Triassic through Cretaceous periods, some very large and others quite small.
Their fossils, notably the skull of a Cretaceous dsungaripterid called Leedsichthys problematicus, demonstrate that these animals had an exceptionally specialized skull with a hooked beak to prize shellfish from rocks and lever them free for crushing by the broad flat teeth at the back of their jaw.
The largest pterosaurs were almost giraffe-sized and had wingspans of more than 30 feet. They were the earliest and largest airborne vertebrates to date. Their clumsy footed and beak-like wings allowed them to fly long distances while circling the skies for food. They would have used cliffs and islands as nesting sites.
9. Sauropod
Sauropods were gigantic herbivorous (plant-eating) quadruped dinosaurs. They had small heads compared to their enormous bodies, long necks, and pillar-like legs that ended in blunt feet that looked like clubs. Their backs were covered with bony osteoderms.
The largest sauropod was Argentinosaurus, which weighed about 76 metric tons. It lived about 95 million years ago in Argentina. Other giants included Diplodocus, Brachiosaurus, Camarasaurus, and Apatosaurus.
These giants underwent record growth, doubling their body sizes several times. But to reach their extreme sizes, they had to start out small. Consequently, their eggs were cantaloupe- to basketball-sized, smaller than the eggs of modern birds. Fossil remains of sauropods are rare and fragmentary, but some complete skeletons have been found. These are among the best-preserved dinosaur fossils ever discovered.
10. Dinosaur
A group of reptiles that thrived during the Triassic and Jurassic, dinosaurs come in many shapes and sizes. Of the 245 species that lived during this time, some were truly massive.
For example, the mighty Diplodocus may have reached a whopping 171 feet in length. Diplodocus is part of the clade Dinosauria, and it’s known to be herbivorous.
Other animals like the long-necked plesiosaurs may have rivaled the size of Tyrannosaurus Rex. Albertonectes vanderveldei had a neck that stretched 23 feet, which is similar to the size of a grown T-Rex!
On land, 2 contenders with scant remains are the extinct elephant Palaeoloxodon namadicus and the hornless rhino Paraceratherium transouralicum. These 2 monsters easily outsized modern elephants and woolly mammoths.
