251Paleozoic
Olenoides
Olenoides serratus
Its antennae, gills and clawed legs reveal far more than a mineralized trilobite shell.
LIFE ARCHIVE
570 vanished lives
Browse extinct life from traces nearly 1.9 billion years old to historically recorded extinctions.
Explore geological time
Paleozoic
- Cambrian538.8–486.85 million years ago34 records ↗
- Ordovician486.85–443.1 million years ago12 records ↗
- Silurian443.1–419.62 million years ago14 records ↗
- Devonian419.62–358.86 million years ago41 records ↗
- Carboniferous358.86–298.9 million years ago60 records ↗
- Permian298.9–251.902 million years ago51 records ↗
Geography
Explore the atlas by continent, country and state. Follow fossil localities into regional guides, compare animals across time and return to the evidence in each species profile.
Dinosaurs by continent
Countries and states
- Dinosaurs of the United States13 atlas records ↗
- Dinosaurs of Canada7 atlas records ↗
- Dinosaurs of the United Kingdom5 atlas records ↗
- Dinosaurs Found in Texas1 atlas records ↗
- Dinosaurs Found in Montana4 atlas records ↗
- Dinosaurs Found in Argentina11 atlas records ↗
- Dinosaurs Found in China10 atlas records ↗
FIELD GUIDES
Field guides
Giants, strange body plans and lives within human memory. Follow a question into the atlas, then explore the animals behind it.
252Paleozoic
Sidneyia
Sidneyia inexpectans
Robust leg bases formed crushing jaws for small trilobites and other shelled prey.
253Paleozoic
Naraoia
Naraoia compacta
Two large shields covered a soft body equipped with fully segmented trilobite-like limbs.
254Paleozoic
Waptia
Waptia fieldensis
A bivalved carapace, paddle-like tail and brooded eggs reveal an early crustacean relative in detail.
255Paleozoic
Giant Isotelus
Isotelus rex
At nearly seventy centimeters, it is among the largest complete trilobites ever found.
256Paleozoic
Acutiramus
Acutiramus cummingsi
Its long pincers carried slanting blades suited to holding or slicing soft prey.
257Paleozoic
Climatius
Climatius reticulatus
Rows of paired ventral spines formed a defensive fence beneath this small early jawed fish.
258Paleozoic
Drepanaspis
Drepanaspis gemuendenensis
Its body was a flattened shield with upward-facing eyes and a mouth beneath the front edge.
259Paleozoic
Orthacanthus
Orthacanthus senckenbergianus
An eel-like body, continuous fin and spine behind the head made it unlike any modern shark.
260Paleozoic
Xenacanthus
Xenacanthus decheni
A single head spine, forked teeth and continuous dorsal fin defined this freshwater shark.
261Paleozoic
Ophiacodon
Ophiacodon mirus
Its long skull and deep tail suggest a waterside animal that was still a capable walker.
262Paleozoic
Sphenacodon
Sphenacodon ferox
Low vertebral ridges accompanied a deep skull and strongly differentiated teeth.
263Paleozoic
Biarmosuchus
Biarmosuchus tener
A light build, long limbs and small skull bosses combine primitive and therapsid features.
264Paleozoic
Anteosaurus
Anteosaurus magnificus
A huge skull combined thickened impact surfaces with long canines in a formidable predator.
265Paleozoic
Tapinocephalus
Tapinocephalus atherstonei
A domed, massively thick skull crowned the barrel body of this giant herbivore.
306Paleozoic
Tortotubus
Tortotubus protuberans
Branching microscopic hyphae show fungi helping to build the earliest soils.
308Paleozoic
Pentremites
Pentremites godoni
A flower-bud body carried five feeding and respiratory grooves.
309Paleozoic
Heliophyllum
Heliophyllum halli
Radiating septa inside a horn-shaped skeleton resemble a stone sun.
310Paleozoic
Chain coral
Halysites catenularius
Linked tubes formed honeycomb chains across Paleozoic reefs.
311Paleozoic
Atrypa
Atrypa reticularis
Fine radial ribs covered rounded shells that once crowded ancient seabeds.
312Paleozoic
Paraspirifer
Paraspirifer bownockeri
A broad hinge line formed stone wings that stabilized the shell on soft mud.
320Paleozoic
Materpiscis
Materpiscis attenboroughi
An embryo with an umbilical connection records some of the earliest live birth.
321Paleozoic
Titanichthys
Titanichthys agassizi
This giant placoderm lacked sharp jaw blades and may have filtered plankton.
325Paleozoic
Crassigyrinus
Crassigyrinus scoticus
Tiny limbs and strong jaws show an early tetrapod returning almost completely to water.