505Mesozoic
Taeniopteris
Taeniopteris multinervis
Entire strap-shaped leaves with dense side veins define a form genus rather than one secure lineage.
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.
506Paleozoic
Lithoneura
Lithoneura lameerei
Four broad net-veined wings belonged to the completely vanished palaeodictyopterans.
507Paleozoic
Eugeropteron
Eugeropteron lunatum
A basal odonatopteran retained a more primitive wing base than modern dragonflies.
508Paleozoic
Carbotriplura
Carbotriplura kukalovae
A wingless body ended in three tail filaments and combined traits of early silverfish-like insects.
509Paleozoic
Tchirkovaea
Tchirkovaea guttata
Spotted wings and fine venation record Permian palaeodictyopteran diversity.
510Paleozoic
Brodioptera
Brodioptera stricklani
Long transparent net-veined wings record an early radiation of large flying insects.
511Paleozoic
Orthrozanclus
Orthrozanclus reburrus
Scales, long spines and a small front shell combined several Cambrian body plans.
512Paleozoic
Dinomischus
Dinomischus isolatus
A cup-shaped body attached by a long stalk and opened through a petal-ringed top.
513Paleozoic
Habelia
Habelia optata
A spiny head shield and specialized appendages belonged near the chelicerate stem.
514Paleozoic
Tokummia
Tokummia katalepsis
Large pincer-like mandibles projected beneath a bivalved shell on an early mandibulate.
515Paleozoic
Odaraia
Odaraia alata
A broad bivalved shell enclosed most of the body and a three-pronged tail steered it.
516Paleozoic
Mollisonia
Mollisonia symmetrica
A tiny armored body and pincer-like front appendages suggest an early chelicerate relative.
517Paleozoic
Helmetia
Helmetia expansa
A broad flat shield with marginal spines and a leaf-like tail formed an unusual outline.
518Paleozoic
Kerygmachela
Kerygmachela kierkegaardi
Long frontal appendages, side flaps and tail spines record a stem-panarthropod body.
519Paleozoic
Akmonistion
Akmonistion zangerli
Males carried a striking anvil-shaped brush-and-spine complex on the back.
520Paleozoic
Echinochimaera
Echinochimaera meltoni
A short snout, large eyes and pectoral structures belonged to an early chimaera relative.
521Paleozoic
Iniopteryx
Iniopteryx rushlaui
High-set broad pectoral fins made this miniature holocephalan look winged underwater.
522Paleozoic
Doryaspis
Doryaspis nathorsti
A spear-like rostrum and lateral horns projected from this jawless armored fish.
523Paleozoic
Boreaspis
Boreaspis ceratops
A streamlined shield extended into a pointed snout and carried a stabilizing dorsal rise.
524Paleozoic
Pituriaspis
Pituriaspis doylei
A long rostrum, side horns and paired openings belonged to an endemic jawless armored lineage.
525Mesozoic
Aphaneramma
Aphaneramma rostratum
An extremely narrow snout gave this temnospondyl a gharial-like profile on an amphibian skeleton.
526Paleozoic
Melanerpeton
Melanerpeton pusillum
A tiny body and retained gill structures marked a branchiosaurid amphibian.
527Paleozoic
Doleserpeton
Doleserpeton annectens
A short trunk, mobile neck and ear region approach the body plan of modern amphibian ancestors.
528Mesozoic
Trematosaurus
Trematosaurus brauni
A narrow sensory-grooved snout suited an open-water temnospondyl.