Welcome to Prehistoric World
Discover the fascinating creatures that once roamed our planet
Featured Creatures
Featured Creatures
Triceratops horridus
Cretaceous
Triceratops, meaning “three-horned face,” is a genus of large, herbivorous ceratopsid dinosaurs that roamed North America during the late Cretaceous ...
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Bajadasaurus pronuspinax
Cretaceous
Bajadasaurus, a unique and enigmatic sauropodomorph from the Cretaceous period, roamed what is now the region of Patagonia, Argentina, around ...
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Stegosaurus stenops
Jurassic
Stegosaurus stenops, meaning “narrow-faced roof lizard,” is a species of stegosaurid dinosaur that lived during the Late Jurassic period, approximately ...
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Updated: February 14, 2025 at 6:47 PM
Dimetrodon limbatus
Period: Permian
Dimetrodon, an extinct genus of non-mammalian synapsids belonging to the family Sphenacodontidae, lived during the Cisuralian age of the Early ...
Did You Know?
Walking Whales
Early whales like Ambulocetus had legs and could walk on land, showing the remarkable transition of mammals back to marine life.
The Great Dying
The Permian-Triassic extinction event, known as "The Great Dying," wiped out about 95% of marine species and 70% of land species.
First Land Animals
Tiktaalik, living 375 million years ago, was one of the first vertebrates to venture onto land, with primitive lungs and leg-like fins.
Hangenberg event
The Hangenberg event, about 359 million years ago, was a mass extinction at the Devonian-Carboniferous boundary, caused by global cooling and anoxic oceans, wiping out many marine species.
Earth's Oxygen Revolution
About 2.4 billion years ago, the "Great Oxidation Event" dramatically increased Earth's oxygen levels, making complex life possible.
Not All Dinosaurs Were Giants
While many famous dinosaurs were enormous, the smallest known dinosaur was the Compsognathus, only about the size of a chicken!
Prehistoric Super-Sized Insects
During the Carboniferous period, insects grew to enormous sizes due to higher oxygen levels. Dragonflies had wingspans up to 65 cm!
Birds Are Living Dinosaurs
Modern birds are actually living theropod dinosaurs, having evolved from a group of dinosaurs called maniraptors.
The K-Pg extinction
The K-Pg extinction, caused by an asteroid impact 66 million years ago, wiped out 75% of species, including non-avian dinosaurs, due to climate shifts, wildfires, and tsunamis.
Ordovician-Silurian extinction
The Ordovician-Silurian extinction, around 445 million years ago, was caused by a rapid ice age and fluctuating sea levels, eliminating nearly 85% of marine species.