570 vanished lives

13Mesozoic

One of the largest known flying animals stood as tall as a giraffe on the ground.

14Mesozoic

A giant marine lizard propelled by a deep tail fin patrolled Late Cretaceous seas.

56Mesozoic

Pteranodon was a toothless pterosaur above the Late Cretaceous seas of North America. It was a flying reptile, not a bird or a dinosaur.

57Mesozoic

Elasmosaurus platyurus was a long-necked marine reptile from Late Cretaceous Kansas. A 2013 reassessment counted 72 preserved neck vertebrae in its holotype.

58Mesozoic

A streamlined reptile converged on the body plan of dolphins while retaining enormous eyes.

59Mesozoic

Liopleurodon was a Jurassic pliosaur: a marine reptile with a large skull, short neck and four flippers. Its teeth and bones should be distinguished from television size reconstructions.

89Mesozoic

A long-necked coastal reptile paddled through shallow Triassic seas.

90Mesozoic

A massive pliosaur skull powered attacks on large marine prey.

91Mesozoic

A giant pterosaur with a robust neck stalked an island populated by dwarf dinosaurs.

110Mesozoic

This long-snouted armored crocodyliform was not a direct ancestor of living crocodiles.

139Mesozoic

This roughly fifteen-meter ichthyosaur had a long narrow snout and four flippers.

170Mesozoic

Thirteen extremely elongated vertebrae formed a neck as long as half the body, while the skull snapped at fish and cephalopods.

173Mesozoic

Needle teeth lined long jaws while a diamond-shaped membrane at the stiff tail tip helped control flight above island seas.

175Mesozoic

A short deep skull carried serrated blades, while this marine crocodile's body had transformed into four flippers and a fishlike tail.

236Mesozoic

An enormous crest rose above a short toothless beak, with soft tissue extending the bony sail still farther.

237Mesozoic

Four long flippers flew through water while a long flexible neck carried the small head toward prey.

238Mesozoic

A solid snout projected beyond the teeth as this giant mosasaur hunted fish, turtles and other reptiles.

239Mesozoic

Front flippers spanned several meters, and a leathery covering stretched over a reduced bony shell.

240Mesozoic

Huge bony eye rings supported vision under pressure and may have helped track soft prey in dim water.

268Mesozoic

A deep skull, serrated teeth and powerful hind limbs placed it atop food webs before dinosaur dominance.

269Mesozoic

Two huge backward-curving shoulder spikes reinforced rows of protective armor.

270Mesozoic

Paired forward-curving brow horns occur only in some individuals, suggesting maturity or sexual display.

281Mesozoic

Two distinct tooth shapes gave this early pterosaur its name.

282Mesozoic

A toothed beak with matching crests helped seize slippery fish near the water surface.