361Paleozoic
Branchiosaurus
Branchiosaurus salamandroides
Adults retained external gills, extending a juvenile condition through life.
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.
362Paleozoic
Pederpes
Pederpes finneyae
Forward-facing toes show an early tetrapod using a more effective terrestrial gait.
363Paleozoic
Whatcheeria
Whatcheeria deltae
A reinforced skull and fang-like teeth belonged to a powerful river predator.
364Paleozoic
Greererpeton
Greererpeton burkemorani
A long trunk and deep tail propelled it through murky water.
365Paleozoic
Balanerpeton
Balanerpeton woodi
The ear region and sturdy limbs suggest more terrestrial activity than in many contemporaries.
366Paleozoic
Dendrerpeton
Dendrerpeton acadianum
Many individuals were entombed inside hollow tree stumps.
367Paleozoic
Cacops
Cacops aspidephorus
A row of bony back plates reinforced this stocky terrestrial amphibian.
368Paleozoic
Zatrachys
Zatrachys serratus
A serrated rear skull margin may have protected the neck or supported soft tissue.
369Mesozoic
Plagiosuchus
Plagiosuchus pustuliferus
Its semicircular skull was extraordinarily broad and flat.
370Mesozoic
Siderops
Siderops kehli
A giant temnospondyl still occupied river ambush niches in the dinosaur era.
371Paleozoic
Rhinesuchus
Rhinesuchus whaitsi
This broad-headed aquatic predator was common in southern Late Permian waters.
372Mesozoic
Trematolestes
Trematolestes hagdorni
A narrow snout was built to snap at fish in water.
373Paleozoic
Adelospondylus
Adelospondylus watsoni
The limbs vanished entirely while the skull and spine retained tetrapod construction.
374Mesozoic
Eocaecilia
Eocaecilia micropodia
It had a caecilian-like body but still retained four tiny legs.
375Mesozoic
Eryosuchus
Eryosuchus garjainovi
A skull more than two meters long belonged to one of the largest freshwater amphibian predators.
376Paleozoic
Archegosaurus
Archegosaurus decheni
A long snout, lateral-line grooves and weak limbs show permanent aquatic dependence.
377Mesozoic
Paracyclotosaurus
Paracyclotosaurus davidi
A near-complete skeleton reveals the full proportions of a giant Triassic amphibian.
378Cenozoic
Andrias scheuchzeri
Andrias scheuchzeri
Its skeleton was once mistaken for a human killed in the biblical flood.
379Cenozoic
Eomortoniellus
Eomortoniellus handlirschi
Tiny ear canals in the forelegs show that it heard ultrasonic calls.
380Mesozoic
Haidomyrmex
Haidomyrmex cerberus
Its sickle mandibles closed upward against the head instead of sideways.
381Mesozoic
Linguamyrmex
Linguamyrmex vladi
A metal-reinforced head horn and rising jaws formed a specialized clamp.
382Mesozoic
Ceratomyrmex
Ceratomyrmex ellenbergeri
A long forehead horn opposed upward-curving mandibles.
383Mesozoic
Camelomecia
Camelomecia janovitzi
An elongated prothorax gave this aculeate relative a neck-like outline.
384Mesozoic
Aptenoperissus
Aptenoperissus burmanicus
Wingless females combined a wasp waist with enlarged jumping hind legs.