570 vanished lives

103Paleozoic

Weight-bearing limbs accompanied a fish-like tail in an animal still deeply tied to water.

212Paleozoic

Each forelimb carried eight digits, yet the animal was still mainly aquatic—digits evolved before true land walking.

213Paleozoic

Its skull spread sideways into a boomerang, perhaps producing lift in current or making it hard to swallow.

214Paleozoic

A broad, heavily sculpted skull and strong limbs carried its massive body through shallow water and onto banks.

215Paleozoic

Its adult skeleton looked reptile-like, yet it belonged just outside the fully land-breeding amniotes.

216Paleozoic

A high bony sail towered above the squat body and may have served display, recognition or heat exchange.

217Paleozoic

A giant Brazilian amphibian with a crocodile-like snout; its famous 9-metre length is a reconstruction from fragmentary fossils.

325Paleozoic

Tiny limbs and strong jaws show an early tetrapod returning almost completely to water.

355Paleozoic

A frog-like head and salamander-like tail combine traits near the origin of living amphibians.

359Paleozoic

An elongated nostril region may reflect life in drier upland settings.

360Paleozoic

More than forty trunk vertebrae formed a long body with extremely small limbs.

361Paleozoic

Adults retained external gills, extending a juvenile condition through life.

362Paleozoic

Forward-facing toes show an early tetrapod using a more effective terrestrial gait.

363Paleozoic

A reinforced skull and fang-like teeth belonged to a powerful river predator.

364Paleozoic

A long trunk and deep tail propelled it through murky water.

365Paleozoic

The ear region and sturdy limbs suggest more terrestrial activity than in many contemporaries.

366Paleozoic

Many individuals were entombed inside hollow tree stumps.

367Paleozoic

A row of bony back plates reinforced this stocky terrestrial amphibian.

368Paleozoic

Its expanded skull margin bears bony projections; their function is unproven.

371Paleozoic

This broad-headed aquatic predator was common in southern Late Permian waters.

373Paleozoic

The limbs vanished entirely while the skull and spine retained tetrapod construction.

376Paleozoic

A long snout, lateral-line grooves and weak limbs show permanent aquatic dependence.

443Paleozoic

Paired backward horns widened the skull of this small diplocaulid.

446Paleozoic

A small light body combined traits near the ancestry of modern amphibians.