570 vanished lives

483Paleozoic

A long piercing mouthpart and four patterned wings belonged to the vanished palaeodictyopterans.

484Paleozoic

Two broad valves enclosed a segmented body while antennae, limbs and a tail fan projected outside.

485Paleozoic

Its nervous, circulatory and limb anatomy makes it central to studies of early arthropod organization.

486Paleozoic

Paired fins, a funnel and tentacle-like appendages form one of the Cambrian's most puzzling swimmers.

487Paleozoic

A coiled gut lay inside a soft circular disc that may have drifted or lived near the bottom.

488Paleozoic

A broad flat placoderm independently converged on the body shape of a ray.

489Paleozoic

Crescent-shaped lateral horns widened the head armor of a small bottom-dwelling placoderm.

490Paleozoic

External gills and a long body show a temnospondyl that remained aquatic throughout life.

491Paleozoic

A broad head, strong trunk and compressed tail belonged to a large freshwater predator.

493Paleozoic

Needle teeth and a flattened tail mark one of the earliest amniotes to return to water.

501Paleozoic

Diamond leaf cushions and a repeatedly forked crown marked a tall tree-sized lycopsid.

502Paleozoic

Narrow leaves repeatedly forked at their tips on an extinct seed-plant relative.

503Paleozoic

Needle-like leaves crowded the shoots of an early conifer-like tree.

506Paleozoic

Four broad net-veined wings belonged to the completely vanished palaeodictyopterans.

507Paleozoic

A basal odonatopteran retained a more primitive wing base than modern dragonflies.

508Paleozoic

A wingless body ended in three tail filaments and combined traits of early silverfish-like insects.

509Paleozoic

Spotted wings and fine venation record Permian palaeodictyopteran diversity.

510Paleozoic

Long transparent net-veined wings record an early radiation of large flying insects.

511Paleozoic

Scales, long spines and a small front shell combined several Cambrian body plans.

512Paleozoic

A cup-shaped body attached by a long stalk and opened through a petal-ringed top.

513Paleozoic

A spiny head shield and specialized appendages belonged near the chelicerate stem.

514Paleozoic

Large pincer-like mandibles projected beneath a bivalved shell on an early mandibulate.

515Paleozoic

A broad bivalved shell enclosed most of the body and a three-pronged tail steered it.

516Paleozoic

A tiny armored body and pincer-like front appendages suggest an early chelicerate relative.