10 animals that died out - fortunately for man

Long before the appearance of people who today occupy a dominant position among beings, the planet was inhabited by real monsters. Fortunately or not, but their existence for one reason or another turned impermanent. It should be noted that it is possible, if they have not died, then the person would have no chance to stand up to such animals.

Argentavis

Argentavis lived 5-8 million years ago in Argentina. It weighed about 70 kg and has a size in a height of 1, 26 m, the magnitude of its wings high as 7 m (twice that of the largest wingspan modern birds - albatrosses). Skull Argentavis length was 45 cm and the humerus has a size more than half. All this makes Argentavis the largest known flying bird Science for all history of the Earth. Experts believe that the Argentine majestic birds fly as high-glider. It is close to the size of the airplane "Cessna 152". It was like the establishment of bald eagle with a wingspan of about 8 meters and feathers size of a samurai sword. It was believed that it hovering in the air, as a glider, and may reach speeds of 240 km / h. Experts still do not know exactly how this bird could take off and land.

dunkleosteus

Dunkleosteus was the largest of the prehistoric crustacean fish placoderms. Her head and thorax were covered by articulated armored plate. Instead of teeth, these fish had two pairs of acute bone plates which are formed klyuvnymi structure. Dunkleosteus probably were exterminated placoderms others who have had the same bone plate for protection, their jaws are powerful enough to cut and punch armored extraction. One of the largest known specimens found, was 10 meters long and weighed four tons, making it one of the fish that you definitely would not want to catch a spinning! This fish was not picky eating habits, eating fish, sharks and even the fish of his family. But probably they have suffered from indigestion, provoked poluperevarivavshihsya fossil fish remains. Scientists from the University of Chicago concluded that dunkleosteus had the second strongest bite among fish. These giant armored fish have become extinct during the transition from the Devonian to the Carboniferous period.

merostomes

This giant sea creature looked like a kind of cross between a scorpion and a lobster with a tapered tail and flat fins. Merostomes, though similar to modern scorpions, still belong to another kind: eurypterids. They lived on the earth for millions of years, but still became extinct at the end of the Permian period. Early forms lived in shallow seas. Approximately 325-299 million. Years ago, most of the transferred to life in fresh water. This group included individuals who are considered to be the largest arthropod in the history of the planet. The body length of these creatures reached two and a half meters.

andrewsarchus

Perhaps the largest extinct terrestrial carnivorous mammals living in the epoch of the middle - late Eocene in Central Asia. Andrewsarchus are long-bodied and short-legged animal with a huge head. Skull length 83 cm, width of the zygomatic arch - 56 cm, but the size may be much larger. According to modern reconstructions, assuming the relatively large size of the head and lower leg length, body length could reach up to 3.5 meters (1.5 meter without tail), the height of the shoulders - up to 1.6 meters. Weight could be up to 1 ton. Andrewsarchus - primitive hoofed close to the ancestors of whales and artiodactyls. Andrewsarchus lived 45 to 36 million. Years ago.

Quetzalcoatl

It is being called one of the largest, if not the largest of them all, who ever plied the mighty sky. Its name is connected with the Aztec god Quetzalcoatl, who was known as a feathered serpent. Flying creature lived during the Late Cretaceous period. This was the real king of the sky, with a wingspan of 12 meters and the growth of almost 10. However, the weight was quite small - up quintal due to hollow bones. The creature had a pointed beak, it collects food. Long jaws are not hampered by a lack of teeth, and the main meal could be fish, the corpses of other dinosaurs. First fossils were found in the park of Big Bend in Texas in 1971. It is believed that while on earth, quadruped was so strong that it could take off right away, without a run. Compare this huge animal with the modern, of course, difficult. Since it was a pterosaur, direct descendants he left. But in his time he was most associated with the Pteranodon, which is already comparable to that of modern birds, in particular with marabou stork. Bring them closer to two facts - more than usual wingspan and addicted to fall as food.

Gigantopithecus

His name speaks for itself. It was a huge monkey, orangutan relative who lived in bamboo, jungle and mountains of China, India and Vietnam during the Pleistocene. Gigantopithecus grow up to 3 meters and weigh up to 550 kg! They were so strong, that it was to their advantage to be protected from predators. Gigantopithecus extinct 300,000 years ago, probably due to hunting of early humans, or due to climate change. Of course, all fans of Bigfoot like to think that Gigantopithecus somehow survived in remote parts of the Himalayas and that hope to see him still there.

thylacosmilus

Carnivorous marsupial Sparassodonta detachment, dwells in the Miocene (10 million. Years ago). I reached jaguar sizes. The skull clearly visible upper teeth are constantly growing, with huge roots, continuing in the frontal area and the length of the guard "blade" on the lower jaw. The upper incisors are missing. Hunting, probably on the large herbivores. Tilakosmila often called marsupial tiger, by analogy with another formidable predator - a marsupial lion. Became extinct at the end of the Pliocene, unable to withstand competition from infesting the continent first saber-toothed cats.

helicoprion

This animal is famous for its unusual spiral tooth. It is believed that helicoprion lived in the Carboniferous period. Scientists believe that this fish was one of the few who survived the Permian-Triassic mass extinction. But at the end of the Triassic period creature still died. Although there is not much remains of the fish, the scientists found an unusual spiral tooth and a few jaw bones. With them were recreated possible images of the animal. It is known for sure that it had teeth, similar to a circular saw arranged on the lower jaw. Teeth were so many that older were replaced in the middle of creating a new turn of the spiral. However, the new theory is that the spiral could be located in the area of ​​the throat, while remaining invisible from the outside. This structure of marine life makes it easier to hunt. Thus, the spiral can be cut tentacles hurt fish or clam digging. The length of the creatures such unusual reaches 2-3 meters, on the basis of a typical helix diameter of 25 centimeters. However, there were also dental education in the 90 centimeters, which gives reason to believe helicoprion length of up to 9-12 meters. Although fish and is very similar to modern sharks, but they were primitive cartilaginous close to the ancestors of modern marine predators.

Horrible bird

Known as phorusrhacidae, these birds were the main predators in South America and in some areas of the North during the Miocene, Pliocene and Pleistocene period. Then they were replaced by big cats and other carnivorous mammals. Phorusrhacidae could not fly, but they run very fast (according to some scholars, as fast as a cheetah). They were very large, up to 3 meters in height and weighing up to half a ton! Their main weapon was a head of up to 1 m, which allowed them to swallow whole prey the size of a dog. But the worst thing, because of the terrible curved beak birds to kill and eat animals the size of a horse.

megistotherium

Giant gienodontid, who lived in the Early and Middle Miocene (20-15 million. Years ago). Considered to be one of the largest ever existing terrestrial mammalian predators. Its fossilized remains found in the East and North East Africa and South Asia. The length of the head body was about 4 m + tail length presumably 1, 6 m, the height is up to 2 m. megistotherium estimated weight 880-1400 kg.