570 vanished lives

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.

531Mesozoic

A broad shell, toothless beak and crushing plates converged strongly on turtles.

532Paleozoic

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

533Mesozoic

An enormous deep skull sat on a relatively low body in this early archosauriform apex predator.

534Mesozoic

A long tail, paddle-like limbs and downturned snout marked a vanished marine-reptile branch.

535Mesozoic

Long three-fingered arms and a light body preceded the giant two-fingered tyrannosaurs.

536Mesozoic

This giant carcharodontosaurid shared plains with enormous sauropods and is known from a multi-individual bone bed.

537Mesozoic

Heavy skull armor, neck rings and a tail club belonged to a large Gobi ankylosaur.

538Mesozoic

Short legs, a broad trunk and giant thumb spike made an unusually low heavy iguanodontian.

539Mesozoic

Rows of armor from neck to tail mark an early split among armored dinosaurs.

540Cenozoic

Long legs and a strong beak belonged to a terrestrial bird with little or no flight.

541Cenozoic

A deep beak and massive legs made a heavyweight South American terror bird.

542Cenozoic

A lighter terror bird had long toes suited to rapid pursuit.

543Cenozoic

Its complete inner ear reveals sensitivity to relatively low-frequency sound.

544Cenozoic

Robust leg bones belonged to a giant flightless African bird whose skull remains unknown.

545Cenozoic

Five-toed feet and generalized teeth record an early radiation of hoofed-mammal relatives.

546Cenozoic

A short trunk and upper and lower tusks mark an early stage of proboscidean evolution.

547Cenozoic

A bear-sized heavy body and five-toed feet belonged to a pantodont herbivore.

548Cenozoic

A hornless, long-limbed rhinoceros was built for travel across open woodland.

549Cenozoic

A small hornless body combined traits near the early split of rhinos and tapirs.

550Cenozoic

A barrel body, short legs and large canines marked one of the first widespread large mammals.

551Mesozoic

Thick leathery pinnules and lower-surface stomata helped this seed fern withstand seasonal dryness.

552Mesozoic

Huge, nearly undivided strap leaves opened from a stout cycad-like crown.