570 vanished lives

145Paleozoic

Naked axes forked repeatedly, their fertile tips curling inward and carrying paired elongated sporangia.

146Paleozoic

Two rows of kidney-shaped sporangia lined curved branch tips like the teeth of an unfinished botanical zipper.

147Paleozoic

Vertical rows of leaf scars stamped the tall trunk, beneath a crown of sparse branches and grasslike microphylls.

148Paleozoic

Rounded pinnules carried fanlike veins and looked fernlike, yet immense seeds grew among the fronds.

149Paleozoic

Clusters of long strap-shaped leaves crowned woody trees from an extinct gymnosperm lineage near early conifers.

150Paleozoic

Six wedge-shaped leaves encircled each node of a slender stem that trailed across the ground or climbed larger trees.

151Mesozoic

Several separate woody columns occupied one stem beneath clusters of long leaves and unusual male and female organs.

152Mesozoic

A stout barrel-shaped trunk held a pinnate crown and many flower-like bisexual reproductive structures among old leaf bases.

153Mesozoic

Finely pinnate fronds carpeted Jurassic understories, each toothed leaflet crossed by repeatedly branching veins.

154Cenozoic

Fan-shaped leaves and paired ovules continued the ginkgo body plan in a species that did not survive to the present.

155Mesozoic

Tall conifers bore nearly spherical cones whose internal scales and ovules were silicified by volcanic landscapes.

156Recently extinct

Silvery hairy leaves and small pale flowers once covered dry slopes; the last reliable collection was made in 1771.

157Recently extinct

Purple pea flowers grew on one limestone river island, with the final herbarium collection made in 1881.

158Recently extinct

The only scientifically recorded tree bore curved yellow-green tubular flowers probably adapted to Hawaiian honeycreepers.

159Recently extinct

Narrow leaves and hibiscus-like red flowers were confined to southeastern Oʻahu and vanished within decades of discovery.

160Recently extinct

Red-striped yellow-green tubular flowers opened among fleshy paired leaves; the last reliable sighting was in 1954.

161Precambrian

Its flat oval body moved across microbial mats like a rhythmically quilted cushion, leaving feeding traces behind.

162Precambrian

A horseshoe-shaped front led a body of offset leaflike units, giving it the appearance of a flattened soft worm.

163Precambrian

A featherlike body of repeating branches was anchored by a disc in deep water, yet it had neither chlorophyll nor a mouth.

164Precambrian

Its low oval body crawled across microbial mats while a front feeding structure left fan-shaped sets of scratches.

165Paleozoic

Two pairs of curved head spines, long antennae and dozens of fine legs made this two-centimeter arthropod exquisitely elaborate.

166Paleozoic

Its stout body hid in a U-shaped burrow while a spiny, hook-studded throat could turn inside out to seize food.

167Paleozoic

A broad head shield enclosed its front half, with forward-set eyes and a flexible tail behind the armored box.

168Paleozoic

This giant lobe-finned predator used fanglike teeth to ambush prey, while its fin skeleton followed a tetrapod-like pattern.