570 vanished lives

531Mesozoic

A broad shell, toothless beak and crushing plates converged strongly on turtles.

533Mesozoic

An enormous deep skull sat on a relatively low body in this early archosauriform apex predator.

534Mesozoic

A long tail, paddle-like limbs and downturned snout marked a vanished marine-reptile branch.

535Mesozoic

Long three-fingered arms and a light body preceded the giant two-fingered tyrannosaurs.

536Mesozoic

This giant carcharodontosaurid shared plains with enormous sauropods and is known from a multi-individual bone bed.

537Mesozoic

Heavy skull armor, neck rings and a tail club belonged to a large Gobi ankylosaur.

538Mesozoic

Short legs, a broad trunk and giant thumb spike made an unusually low heavy iguanodontian.

539Mesozoic

Rows of armor from neck to tail mark an early split among armored dinosaurs.

551Mesozoic

Thick leathery pinnules and lower-surface stomata helped this seed fern withstand seasonal dryness.

552Mesozoic

Huge, nearly undivided strap leaves opened from a stout cycad-like crown.

553Mesozoic

Tough pinnate leaves crowned cycad-like trunks around compact flower-like reproductive organs.

561Mesozoic

A sickle-shaped hand claw, grasping feet and hooked tail tip formed a highly arboreal reptile.

562Mesozoic

A toothless beak, long neck and bipedal legs made this crocodile relative converge on later bird-like dinosaurs.

563Mesozoic

A single crest running from snout to skull roof gave this medium theropod a distinctive profile.

564Mesozoic

Long hind limbs and a lightly built skeleton indicate a large, fast-moving theropod.

565Mesozoic

A relatively short neck, strong limbs and primitive vertebrae belonged to a large non-neosauropod herbivore.