Top Results for Extinct

From the early Permian, approximately 290 million years ago, Meganeuropsis permiana represents an extinct group of dragonfly-like insects known as griffinflies. Fossil wing material supports an estimated wingspan of around 71 centimeters, placing it among the largest known flying insects. That measu...

The Rocky Mountain locust, Melanoplus spretus, was a migratory grasshopper of western North America. During the nineteenth century, immense swarms spread across the Great Plains and damaged agriculture, making the insect a major concern for farming communities. Its history shows how a species capabl...

Known from the late Carboniferous, approximately 300 million years ago, Meganeura monyi was a giant flying insect with an estimated wingspan of about 65 centimeters. Its dragonfly-like appearance has led to the familiar label of giant dragonfly, but it belongs to the extinct group commonly called gr...

Waimangu Geyser was an exceptionally powerful geothermal feature in the Rotorua region of New Zealand, active between 1900 and 1904. Its eruptions threw muddy water and debris high into the air, producing some of the largest geyser eruptions ever recorded. It developed within the volcanic terrain re...

The southern gastric-brooding frog, Rheobatrachus silus, was an Australian amphibian with an unusual method of reproduction: the female held developing offspring inside her stomach. Eggs were swallowed, tadpoles developed internally, and young frogs eventually emerged through her mouth. Digestion ha...

Queensland's extinct gastric-brooding frogs belonged to the genus Rheobatrachus, which contained two known species. These stream-associated Australian amphibians had an unusual reproductive method: the female swallowed fertilized eggs and sheltered the developing young in her stomach. Gastric acid p...

Associated with the pine forests of Mexico's Sierra Madre Occidental, the Imperial Woodpecker was an exceptionally large member of the woodpecker family. Its size places it among the largest known woodpeckers and is central to its biological identity. The last confirmed record dates to 1956, so the...

Helicoprion is an extinct genus of shark-like cartilaginous fish that lived during the Permian period, first named in 1899. Belonging to the order Eugeneodontida, this marine predator is famous for its bizarre anatomical feature: a symphyseal tooth whorl arranged in a continuous spiral. Because thei...

Waeringoscorpio westerwaldensis is a Devonian fossil scorpion from Germany, described in 2008 and noted for preserved gill-like structures.

Fossils from Pakistan place Ambulocetus natans among the early whales that combined life in water with an ability to move on land. This extinct Eocene species belonged to the early cetaceans often grouped as archaeocetes. Its substantial limbs and whale-related skeletal features make it an important...

Eramoscorpius brucensis is a Silurian fossil scorpion from Ontario, named in 2015 and interpreted as an early semi-terrestrial form.

Restricted to a small cloud-forest area of Costa Rica, the golden toad is an extinct amphibian formerly known as Bufo periglenes and now generally placed in Incilius. Adult males had the striking golden-orange appearance behind the common name; females were differently colored, with contrasting mark...

Fossils of Sthenurus document an extinct genus of heavily built, short-faced kangaroos from Australia, including species known from the Pleistocene. It belongs to Sthenurinae, a subfamily within Macropodidae, rather than a separate family called Sthenuridae. Some species were large enough for body-m...

A long, slender body distinguishes Basilosaurus, an extinct genus of fully aquatic early whales from the late Eocene, roughly 40 to 34 million years ago. Some individuals reached about 18 meters in length. These archaeocetes were large marine predators with teeth suited to capturing and processing p...

Palaeophonus nuncius is an extinct species of scorpion that lived during the Silurian period. Fossils of this arachnid were discovered in Sweden and described by Thorell and Lindström in 1884. As one of the oldest known scorpion genera, Palaeophonus retains primitive features. Paleontologists classi...

Pakicetus is an extinct genus of early archaeocete whale that lived during the early Eocene epoch, approximately 50 million years ago. Fossils were first discovered in Pakistan, which the genus is named after, and it is considered one of the earliest known cetaceans, representing a transitional phas...

Livyatan melvillei is an extinct species of physeteroid whale, a relative of the modern sperm whale, that lived during the Miocene epoch, approximately 12 to 13 million years ago. Its fossilized remains, including an exceptionally large skull, were discovered in the Pisco Formation of Peru. The whal...

Heliobatis radians is an extinct species of freshwater stingray known from Eocene deposits of western North America, especially the Green River Formation in Wyoming. Fossil specimens preserve the ray's flattened body, broad pectoral fins, tail, and a defensive spine, providing evidence about the ana...

Melanoplus spretus, formerly called the Rocky Mountain locust, was a large grasshopper belonging to the Acrididae family. This species became notable for its massive, synchronized migrations across western North America during the late 19th century. These movements caused significant agricultural da...

Pulmonoscorpius kirktonensis is a remarkably well-preserved fossil scorpion dating back to the Carboniferous period approximately 310 million years ago. It’s notable for possessing lungs, an unusual adaptation among scorpions at this time, suggesting a more active terrestrial lifestyle than previous...

The Rocky Mountain locust (Melanoplus spretus) was a large grasshopper native to western North America, specifically the Rocky Mountains and surrounding areas. It’s notable for having once formed massive swarms, capable of consuming vast quantities of vegetation – particularly sagebrush – and causin...

The Northern Gastric Brooding Frog was an aquatic amphibian native to the rainforest streams of Eungella National Park in Queensland, Australia. Discovered in 1984, it is notable for its unique reproductive method, where females swallowed their fertilized eggs and gave birth to fully formed froglets...

The Beringian Steppe, also called the mammoth steppe, was a cold, productive grassland ecosystem that existed during the Pleistocene epoch across Alaska, eastern Siberia, and the exposed Bering land bridge connecting Asia and North America. It supported large grazing mammals such as mammoths, bison,...

Zygomaturus is an extinct genus of diprotodontid marsupial from the Pleistocene of Australia, closely related to the larger Diprotodon. It was a heavily built herbivore distinguished by a broad skull and prominent cheekbones (zygomatic arches). Fossils have been recovered primarily from sites in sou...

Rodhocetus kasranii is an extinct species of protocetid whale that lived during the middle Eocene epoch, approximately 47 million years ago. Its fossilized remains were discovered in Pakistan and first described by paleontologist Philip Gingerich in 1994. The anatomy of Rodhocetus represents a cruci...

Micraster coranguinum is an extinct species of heart urchin—a type of irregular sea urchin—from the Late Cretaceous period. The species was described by the German naturalist Nathanael Gottfried Leske in 1778. M. coranguinum is one of the most abundant and widely distributed fossils in the Upper Cha...

Cretoxyrhina mantelli, commonly known as the Ginsu shark, was a large mackerel shark that lived during the Late Cretaceous period approximately 82-73 million years ago. Growing up to 7-8 meters in length, it served as an apex predator in the Western Interior Seaway that divided North America. The sp...

Bothriocidaris is an extinct genus of sea urchin known from Ordovician marine rocks. It represents one of the earliest recognized echinoid lineages and provides evidence for the early diversification of the group during the Paleozoic Era. The genus is studied mainly by paleontologists investigating...

The desert rat-kangaroo was a small, nocturnal marsupial native to arid regions of central Australia. Belonging to the potoroid family, it’s notable for its unique adaptations to survive in harsh conditions including large ears for heat dissipation and specialized teeth suited for eating roots and t...