Best Apex Predator
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Orcinus orca, commonly known as the killer whale, is the largest member of the dolphin family. It’s notable for its intelligence, complex social behavior within tightly-knit pods, and role as an apex predator in marine ecosystems globally. Orcas are found in all oceans and are primarily studied by b...
Anomalocaris canadensis was a large marine animal of the Cambrian Period known from fossils in Canada's Burgess Shale and related deposits. It had stalked compound eyes, a circular mouth structure, paired frontal appendages for handling prey, and lateral swimming flaps along its body. Classified amo...
Orcinus orca, commonly known as the killer whale, represents the largest species within the delphinidae family – specifically, a type of dolphin. It’s notable for its status as an apex predator found worldwide and recognized by scientists since 1758. These intelligent marine mammals are characterize...
Allosaurus fragilis is a large theropod dinosaur from the Late Jurassic Morrison Formation of western North America. Othniel Charles Marsh named the species in 1877, and numerous skeletons have since made Allosaurus one of the better documented large Jurassic predators. USNM 4734 is a historically i...
Dunkleosteus terrelli was a large predatory placoderm fish that lived during the Late Devonian Period and is known especially from fossils found in Ohio. Its head and forward trunk were protected by articulated bony plates, while sharpened edges on its jaw plates functioned as cutting surfaces inste...
Haast's Eagle (Harpagornis moorei), the largest eagle known to science, was endemic to New Zealand and hunted giant moa before going extinct around 1400 CE following Polynesian arrival and rapid prey depletion.
Giganotosaurus carolinii is a large carcharodontosaurid theropod dinosaur from Late Cretaceous rocks in Patagonia, Argentina. The species was formally described in 1995 from a partial skeleton discovered by Rubén Carolini, whose surname supplied the species name. Its long, low skull and blade-like s...
Mosasaurus hoffmannii was a very large marine squamate that lived during the latest Cretaceous and belonged to the mosasaurs, a group related to modern lizards and snakes. Fossils associated with the species were discovered near Maastricht in the Netherlands, and the taxon received its formal name i...
Carcharodontosaurus saharicus was a large theropod dinosaur that lived in North Africa during the Late Cretaceous. Named for teeth resembling those of the great white shark, it belonged to Carcharodontosauridae, a group of large-bodied predators with deep skulls and blade-like, serrated teeth. Much...
Deinosuchus riograndensis was a giant alligatoroid crocodilian that lived in western North America during the Late Cretaceous. Fossil skull material indicates a broad, powerful snout, and large individuals may have approached about 10 meters in length, although size estimates remain uncertain. Tooth...
Phorusrhacus longissimus, a Miocene terror bird from Argentina standing roughly 2.5 meters tall, was the apex terrestrial predator of its South American ecosystem and is the type genus of the family Phorusrhacidae.
Temnodontosaurus platyodon was a large marine reptile belonging to the ichthyosaurs and lived during the Early Jurassic. Fossils are particularly associated with marine rocks of southern England, including the Lyme Regis area of Dorset, where Mary Anning collected important early specimens. Its elon...
Liopleurodon ferox was a large marine reptile belonging to Pliosauridae, a group of short-necked plesiosaurs with powerful skulls and four flippers. It lived in European seas during the Middle to Late Jurassic and was named by Henri Emile Sauvage in 1873 from distinctive teeth found in France. Fossi...
