Extinct Animals

Have you ever wondered if snakes used to have legs? Believe it or not, snakes didn’t always slither on the ground like they do today. In fact, once upon a time, snakes with legs really did roam Earth, and scientists have found some pretty incredible clues to prove it.

By Zach Taras

It can be fun to imagine what it was like when dinosaurs were alive on Earth, lurking under the water, defending their territories on land and soaring through the sky. But wait, that imaginary scenario is technically inaccurate. As it turns out, there were no flying dinosaurs, only flying reptiles.

By Marie Look

The megalodon shark has intrigued scientists and the public alike with its nearly unfathomable size and power. Once ruling the ancient oceans, this prehistoric predator is often cited as the largest shark to have ever lived and even inspired a Jason Statham movie franchise.

By Clarissa Mitton

Determining the biggest dinosaur is a tricky process. Dinosaurs are extinct, so scientists can't simply go out and measure the world's biggest dinosaurs.

By Sascha Bos

If you like swimming in the ocean, you'll probably be glad to hear that Palaeophis colossaeus, a 40-foot sea snake, has been extinct for millions of years.

By Desiree Bowie

Before the 2003 discovery of Titanoboa cerrejonensis, Gigantophis garstini was known as the largest snake to ever roam the Earth.

By Desiree Bowie

Bringing a species back from extinction might not be the stuff of sci-fi any longer.

By Jesslyn Shields

Utahraptors lived around 135 million years ago in the late Cretaceous Period. So what does salt have to do with these massive dinosaurs whose fossils were first discovered in 1975?

By Mark Mancini

Dimetrodon may look for all the world like a dinosaur, but was actually closer, evolutionarily speaking, to humans. Scientists are still trying to figure what their magnificent sails were used for.

By Mark Mancini

Known by the nickname "Mesozoic Cow," the African dinosaur Nigersaurus taqueti has also had its face compared to a vacuum cleaner.

By Mark Mancini

Fossils of just 12 individual Archaeopteryx, a winged dinosaur that live during the Jurassic, have ever been found. Aside from the rarity, what else makes this unique dinosaur so special?

By Mark Mancini

Tyrannosaurus rex, one of the fiercest meat-eaters ever, is the animal that probably springs to mind when most of us hear the word "dinosaur."

By Mark Mancini

Ankylosaurus was a dinosaur with short, squat legs that allowed it to run at about 6 miles per hour – fast, but not fast enough to outrun a large carnivorous predator like Tyrannosaurus rex.

By Patty Rasmussen & Talon Homer

Stegosaurus, an herbivorous dinosaur from 149 million years ago, walked on four legs, had a long, beak-tipped skull, a row of spikes adorning its tail and a pea-sized brain.

By Mark Mancini

Triceratops — which literally means "three-horned face" — is one of the most spectacular and well-known of all dinosaurs. It shared the Cretaceous landscape with, and probably was preyed upon by, Tyrannosaurus rex.

By Mark Mancini

The extinct Titanoboa snake lived around 66 million to 56 million years ago. These things were massive and could reach 50 feet long and 3 feet wide making them the largest snake ever to have roamed the Earth.

By Mark Mancini & Desiree Bowie

Constantly compared to the Tyrannosaurus rex, the Giganotosaurus was one of a handful of dinosaurs that rivaled, or possibly exceeded, the creature in size.

By Mark Mancini & Talon Homer

On Sept. 7, 1936, Benjamin, the last known Tasmanian tiger, died in captivity at the Hobart Zoo in Tasmania, Australia. But there are those who believe this extinct species still walks the Earth.

By Wendy Bowman

Back in the day, the soupy pre-Amazonian waters were filled with beasts like Stupendemys geographicus, a giant turtle the size of a sensible sedan.

By Jesslyn Shields

These super-frightening entelodonts (aka hell pigs) once patrolled throughout Eurasia, North America and Africa.

By Mark Mancini

The villainous dinosaur from 'Jurassic Park' probably never had an affinity for water.

By Mark Mancini

A 220 million-year-old turtle fossil discovered in China is the first of its kind ever to be found.

By Mark Mancini

Someone just paid $2.36 million to take home an exquisite dinosaur skeleton. The sale has added to the growing scientific anxiety about the commodification of precious, irreplaceable fossils.

By Mark Mancini

Massive mastodons roamed lower Kentucky during the last ice age. Jefferson was so fascinated by the creatures he was convinced they still roamed the plains in the 1800s.

By Mark Mancini

Scientists are at odds about whether Velociraptors worked together to take down their prey.

By Mark Mancini