Deadpool1986
Cook with a Mouth
10. Megatherium
Today, sloths are tree-climbing, slow, and non-threatening animals that reside in the Amazon. Their ancestors were the complete opposite. During the Pliocene era, Megatherium was a giant ground sloth found in South America; it weighed up to four tons and was twenty feet (6m) in length from head to tail. Although it primarily moved on four legs, footprints show that it was capable of being bipedal, in order to reach leaves from the tallest trees. It was the size of a modern day elephant, and still wasn’t the largest animal in its habitat!Archeologists theorize that Megatherium was a scavenger, and would steal dead carcasses from other carnivores. Megatherium was also one of the last giant Ice Age mammals to disappear. Their remains appear in the fossil record as recently as the Holocene, the period that saw the rise of mankind. This makes man the most likely culprit in the extinction of Megatherium.
9. Gigantopithecus
When we think of a giant ape we generally think of the fictional King Kong—but colossal apes really did exist, long ago. Gigantopithecus was an ape that existed from roughly nine million to a hundred thousand years ago—placing it in the same time period as several hominid species. The fossil record suggests that individuals of the species Gigantopithecus were the largest apes to ever exist, standing at almost ten feet (3m) tall, and weighing twelve hundred pounds (540kg). Scientists have not been able to determine the cause of extinction for this large ape. However, some crypto-zoologists theorize that “sightings” of Big Foot and Yeti may relate to a lost generation of gigantopithecus.
8. Armored Fish
Dunkleosteus was the largest of the prehistoric fish Placodermi. Its head and thorax were covered by articulated armored plates. Instead of teeth, these fish possessed two pairs of sharp bony plates, which formed a beak-like structure. Dunkleosteus likely attacked other related placoderms that had the same kind of bony plates for protection; their jaws had enough driving power to cut and break through armored prey. One of the largest known specimens found was thirty-three feet (10m) long and weighed four tons—making it one fish that you would not want to catch on a reel and rod! This fish was anything but picky with its food; it ate fish, sharks and even its own kind. But it seems to have suffered from indigestion, as its fossils are often associated with regurgitated, semi-digested remains of fish. Scientists at the University of Chicago concluded that dunkleosteus had the second most powerful bite of any fish. These giant armored fish became extinct during the transition from Devonian to the Carboniferous periods.
7. Terror Bird
Most flightless birds today—consider the ostrich or the penguin, for example—are harmless to human beings; however, there was once a flightless bird that terrorized the earth. Phorusrhacidae, also known as “terror birds,” were a species of carnivorous and flightless birds that were the largest species of predators in South America, between sixty-two million and two million years ago. They were roughly three to ten feet (1-3m) tall. The terror bird’s prey of choice were small mammals . . . and, incidentally, horses. They used their massive beaks to kill in two ways; by picking up small prey and slamming it to the ground, or by precision strikes on critical body parts. Although archeologists have not yet fully determined the reason this species went extinct, the last of its fossils appear around the same time as the first humans.
6. Haast’s Eagle
Birds of prey have always left an imprint on the human psyche; luckily, we are far bigger than the largest eagle. That said, birds of prey that were large enough to hunt a human meal once existed. The Haast’s eagle once lived on the South Island of New Zealand, and was the largest eagle known to exist, weighing up to thirty-six pounds (16.5kg) with a ten-foot (3m) wingspan. Its prey consisted of the moa, three-hundred-pound flightless birds unable to defend themselves from the striking force and speed of these eagles, which reached speeds of up to fifty miles (8km) per hour. Legends from early settlers and native Maori had it that these eagles could pick up and devour small children. But early human settlers in New Zealand preyed heavily on large flightless birds, including all moa species—eventually hunting them to extinction. The loss of its natural prey caused the Haast’s eagle to become extinct around fourteen hundred years ago, when its natural food source was depleted.
5. Giant Ripper Lizard
Today, the Komodo dragon is a fearsome reptile and the largest lizard on the planet—but its would have been dwarfed by its ancient ancestors. The megalania, also known as the “Giant Ripper Lizard”, was a very large monitor lizard. The exact proportions of this creature have been debated, but the most recent research revealed that the megalania’s length was around twenty-three feet (7m), and that it weighed approximately thirteen to fourteen hundred pounds (600-620kg), making it the largest terrestrial lizard known to have existed. Its diet consisted of marsupials, such as giant kangaroos and wombats. Megalania belongs to the clade toxicofera, possessing toxin-secreting oral glands—making this lizard the largest venomous vertebrate known to have existed. Although we couldn’t imagine a lizard of this size roaming in the Outback, the first Aboriginal settlers of Australia may have encountered living megalanias. The species most likely went extinct when early settlers hunted the megalania’s food sources.
Today, sloths are tree-climbing, slow, and non-threatening animals that reside in the Amazon. Their ancestors were the complete opposite. During the Pliocene era, Megatherium was a giant ground sloth found in South America; it weighed up to four tons and was twenty feet (6m) in length from head to tail. Although it primarily moved on four legs, footprints show that it was capable of being bipedal, in order to reach leaves from the tallest trees. It was the size of a modern day elephant, and still wasn’t the largest animal in its habitat!Archeologists theorize that Megatherium was a scavenger, and would steal dead carcasses from other carnivores. Megatherium was also one of the last giant Ice Age mammals to disappear. Their remains appear in the fossil record as recently as the Holocene, the period that saw the rise of mankind. This makes man the most likely culprit in the extinction of Megatherium.
9. Gigantopithecus
When we think of a giant ape we generally think of the fictional King Kong—but colossal apes really did exist, long ago. Gigantopithecus was an ape that existed from roughly nine million to a hundred thousand years ago—placing it in the same time period as several hominid species. The fossil record suggests that individuals of the species Gigantopithecus were the largest apes to ever exist, standing at almost ten feet (3m) tall, and weighing twelve hundred pounds (540kg). Scientists have not been able to determine the cause of extinction for this large ape. However, some crypto-zoologists theorize that “sightings” of Big Foot and Yeti may relate to a lost generation of gigantopithecus.
8. Armored Fish
Dunkleosteus was the largest of the prehistoric fish Placodermi. Its head and thorax were covered by articulated armored plates. Instead of teeth, these fish possessed two pairs of sharp bony plates, which formed a beak-like structure. Dunkleosteus likely attacked other related placoderms that had the same kind of bony plates for protection; their jaws had enough driving power to cut and break through armored prey. One of the largest known specimens found was thirty-three feet (10m) long and weighed four tons—making it one fish that you would not want to catch on a reel and rod! This fish was anything but picky with its food; it ate fish, sharks and even its own kind. But it seems to have suffered from indigestion, as its fossils are often associated with regurgitated, semi-digested remains of fish. Scientists at the University of Chicago concluded that dunkleosteus had the second most powerful bite of any fish. These giant armored fish became extinct during the transition from Devonian to the Carboniferous periods.
7. Terror Bird
Most flightless birds today—consider the ostrich or the penguin, for example—are harmless to human beings; however, there was once a flightless bird that terrorized the earth. Phorusrhacidae, also known as “terror birds,” were a species of carnivorous and flightless birds that were the largest species of predators in South America, between sixty-two million and two million years ago. They were roughly three to ten feet (1-3m) tall. The terror bird’s prey of choice were small mammals . . . and, incidentally, horses. They used their massive beaks to kill in two ways; by picking up small prey and slamming it to the ground, or by precision strikes on critical body parts. Although archeologists have not yet fully determined the reason this species went extinct, the last of its fossils appear around the same time as the first humans.
6. Haast’s Eagle
Birds of prey have always left an imprint on the human psyche; luckily, we are far bigger than the largest eagle. That said, birds of prey that were large enough to hunt a human meal once existed. The Haast’s eagle once lived on the South Island of New Zealand, and was the largest eagle known to exist, weighing up to thirty-six pounds (16.5kg) with a ten-foot (3m) wingspan. Its prey consisted of the moa, three-hundred-pound flightless birds unable to defend themselves from the striking force and speed of these eagles, which reached speeds of up to fifty miles (8km) per hour. Legends from early settlers and native Maori had it that these eagles could pick up and devour small children. But early human settlers in New Zealand preyed heavily on large flightless birds, including all moa species—eventually hunting them to extinction. The loss of its natural prey caused the Haast’s eagle to become extinct around fourteen hundred years ago, when its natural food source was depleted.
5. Giant Ripper Lizard
Today, the Komodo dragon is a fearsome reptile and the largest lizard on the planet—but its would have been dwarfed by its ancient ancestors. The megalania, also known as the “Giant Ripper Lizard”, was a very large monitor lizard. The exact proportions of this creature have been debated, but the most recent research revealed that the megalania’s length was around twenty-three feet (7m), and that it weighed approximately thirteen to fourteen hundred pounds (600-620kg), making it the largest terrestrial lizard known to have existed. Its diet consisted of marsupials, such as giant kangaroos and wombats. Megalania belongs to the clade toxicofera, possessing toxin-secreting oral glands—making this lizard the largest venomous vertebrate known to have existed. Although we couldn’t imagine a lizard of this size roaming in the Outback, the first Aboriginal settlers of Australia may have encountered living megalanias. The species most likely went extinct when early settlers hunted the megalania’s food sources.
That big ass ape
Bruh you post so well.
