570 vanished lives

517Paleozoic

A broad flat shield with marginal spines and a leaf-like tail formed an unusual outline.

518Paleozoic

Long frontal appendages, side flaps and tail spines record a stem-panarthropod body.

519Paleozoic

Males carried a striking anvil-shaped brush-and-spine complex on the back.

520Paleozoic

A short snout, large eyes and pectoral structures belonged to an early chimaera relative.

521Paleozoic

High-set broad pectoral fins made this miniature holocephalan look winged underwater.

522Paleozoic

A spear-like rostrum and lateral horns projected from this jawless armored fish.

523Paleozoic

A streamlined shield extended into a pointed snout and carried a stabilizing dorsal rise.

524Paleozoic

A long rostrum, side horns and paired openings belonged to an endemic jawless armored lineage.

526Paleozoic

A tiny body and retained gill structures marked a branchiosaurid amphibian.

527Paleozoic

A short trunk, mobile neck and ear region approach the body plan of modern amphibian ancestors.

529Paleozoic

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

530Paleozoic

A long neck, tail and webbed feet show an early diapsid frequently entering water.

532Paleozoic

Long independent bony rods supported one of the earliest vertebrate gliding membranes.

554Paleozoic

Carbonized cell sheets and tangled tubes came from an enigmatic early terrestrial organism.

555Paleozoic

Two pairs of net-veined wings could not fold, and some species carried thoracic winglets and piercing mouthparts.

556Paleozoic

Large frontal appendages, rows of swimming flaps and an annulated soft body link lobopodians with true arthropods.

557Paleozoic

A pair of curved lower-jaw tusks and a kinetic skull helped this lobe-finned fish restrain prey.

558Paleozoic

A streamlined head shield extended into a rostrum, while a dorsal spine and lateral horns stabilized the jawless fish.

559Paleozoic

Tiny rhomboid scales, a deeply forked tail and broad gape marked an early ray-finned fish radiation.

560Paleozoic

A broad flat skull and dense pointed teeth belonged to a large aquatic temnospondyl.