environment
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!
Welcome to Prehistoric World
Discover the fascinating creatures that once roamed our planet
Featured Creatures
Featured Creatures
Sarcosuchus imperator
Cretaceous
Sarcosuchus, nicknamed the "SuperCroc," was one of the largest crocodile-like reptiles to ever live! Swimming through African and South American rivers about 112 million years ago during the Early Cretaceous period, this ...
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Spinosaurus aegyptiacus
Cretaceous
Spinosaurus, meaning "spine lizard," was the largest carnivorous dinosaur ever known—even bigger than T. rex! Living approximately 100 to 94 million years ago during the Late Cretaceous ...
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Morganucodon watsoni
Jurassic
Morganucodon is one of the earliest mammal-like creatures ever discovered, living during the Late Triassic to Early Jurassic period, approximately 205-195 million years ago. This tiny, shrew-like animal is a crucial ...
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Latest Discoveries
April 26, 2026
Charnia
Proterozoic
Charnia is one of the most important fossils ever discovered! This mysterious frond-shaped organism lived during the Ediacaran period, approximately 575 to 555 million years ago, making it one of Earth's oldest known complex life forms. Charnia was the...
Location: England, Canada, Australia, Russia
Scientific Name: Charnia masoni
April 26, 2026
Tribrachidium
Proterozoic
Tribrachidium is one of the strangest creatures to ever exist! Living during the Ediacaran period about 558-555 million years ago, this bizarre disc-shaped organism had three-fold symmetry — a body plan found in no living animal today. It...
Location: Australia, Russia, Ukraine
Scientific Name: Tribrachidium heraldicum
April 26, 2026
Spriggina
Proterozoic
Spriggina is one of the most intriguing fossils from the Ediacaran period, living approximately 550-560 million years ago. With its distinctive horseshoe-shaped head and segmented body, it has sparked decades of debate about whether it represents...
Location: Australia
Scientific Name: Spriggina floundersi
April 26, 2026
Wiwaxia
Cambrian
Wiwaxia is one of the strangest creatures from the Cambrian Explosion, living approximately 508 million years ago. This bizarre armored slug-like animal was covered in overlapping scales and tall defensive spines, making...
Location: Canada (Burgess Shale), China
Scientific Name: Wiwaxia corrugata
April 26, 2026
Pikaia
Cambrian
Pikaia is one of the most important fossils ever discovered—it may be one of our earliest ancestors! This small, leaf-shaped swimmer lived approximately 508 million years ago during the Middle Cambrian period....
Location: Canada (Burgess Shale)
Scientific Name: Pikaia gracilens
April 26, 2026
Olenoides
Cambrian
Olenoides serratus is one of the most famous and scientifically important trilobites ever discovered! Living approximately 508 million years ago during the Middle Cambrian, this trilobite is celebrated for its exceptional...
Location: Canada (Burgess Shale), USA
Scientific Name: Olenoides serratus
April 26, 2026
Ottoia
Cambrian
Ottoia was a fearsome predatory worm that terrorized the Cambrian seafloor approximately 508 million years ago. As the most abundant worm in the famous Burgess Shale, this priapulid (penis worm) used its...
Location: Canada (Burgess Shale), USA (Utah)
Scientific Name: Ottoia prolifica
February 2, 2026
Dickinsonia
Proterozoic
Dickinsonia is one of the most mysterious and ancient creatures ever found! Living during the Ediacaran period about 558-555 million years ago, it was one of Earth's earliest complex life forms. This bizarre oval-shaped organism lived...
Location: Australia, Russia, Ukraine
Scientific Name: Dickinsonia costata
February 2, 2026
Orthoceras
Ordovician
Orthoceras was an ancient straight-shelled nautiloid—an early relative of today's squids and octopuses! Living from the Ordovician to Triassic periods (around 485-200 million years ago), these jet-propelled hunters had long, cone-shaped shells and were among the...
Location: Worldwide (Morocco, Sweden, North America)
Scientific Name: Orthoceras regulare
February 2, 2026
Birkenia
Silurian
Birkenia was a tiny jawless fish that swam in ancient Silurian seas about 430 million years ago! At only 10 cm (4 inches) long, this small but important fish was an anaspid—one of the early vertebrates that...
Location: Scotland, Norway
Scientific Name: Birkenia elegans
February 2, 2026
Tiktaalik
Devonian
Tiktaalik is one of the most important fossils ever discovered—a 375-million-year-old "fishapod" that shows the transition from fish to land animals! Found in the Canadian Arctic in 2004,...
Location: Arctic Canada (Ellesmere Island)
Scientific Name: Tiktaalik roseae
February 2, 2026
Phorusrhacos
Neogene
Phorusrhacos was one of the most terrifying "terror birds"—giant flightless predatory birds that ruled South America for millions of years! Standing 2.5 meters (8 feet) tall with a massive hooked beak, this apex...
Location: South America (Argentina)
Scientific Name: Phorusrhacos longissimus
February 2, 2026
Smilodon
Quaternary
Smilodon, the famous "saber-toothed cat," was one of the most iconic predators of the Ice Age! Living from about 2.5 million to 10,000 years ago, this powerful cat had enormous canine teeth that could...
Location: North and South America
Scientific Name: Smilodon fatalis
February 2, 2026
Woolly Rhinoceros
Quaternary
The Woolly Rhinoceros was a massive, shaggy beast that roamed the frozen steppes of Ice Age Europe and Asia! Living from about 350,000 to 10,000 years ago, this incredible animal was perfectly...
Location: Europe, Asia
Scientific Name: Coelodonta antiquitatis
February 2, 2026
Gorgonops
Permian
Gorgonops was one of the most fearsome predators of the Late Permian period, approximately 260-252 million years ago! Named after the Gorgons of Greek mythology (monsters with snakes for hair), this...
Location: South Africa
Scientific Name: Gorgonops torvus
Did You Know?
discovery
Mammoths Met the Pyramids
Woolly mammoths were still alive when the Egyptian pyramids were built! The last mammoths survived on Wrangel Island until about 1650 BCE—over 1,000 years after the Great Pyramid.
evolution
The First Flower
The first flowering plants appeared around 130 million years ago, during the Cretaceous period, revolutionizing plant evolution.
dinosaur
T-Rex vs Triceratops: Real Rivals
T-Rex and Triceratops actually lived at the same time and place! The Hell Creek Formation contains both—Triceratops makes up 40% of fossils there, T-Rex 24%. They definitely encountered each other.
dinosaur
Fastest Dinosaurs Hit 70 km/h
Ornithomimus and Gallimimus were the speed champions, reaching up to 70 km/h (43 mph)—faster than a horse! Their ostrich-like build was perfect for running.
evolution
Blue Whales: Bigger Than Any Dinosaur
The blue whale is the largest animal EVER—bigger than any dinosaur! At 200 tons, it weighs twice as much as the largest dinosaurs. Some dinosaurs were longer, but none were heavier.
dinosaur
The Largest Land Animal Ever
Argentinosaurus may have weighed up to 100 tons—as heavy as 14 elephants! Its thigh bone alone was taller than an adult human.
discovery
Dinosaur Herding Started 193 Million Years Ago
The earliest evidence of herd behavior dates to 193 million years ago! Over 100 Mussaurus eggs and 80 skeletons were found together in Patagonia, showing complex social behavior.
environment
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.
environment
Snowball Earth
Around 700 million years ago, Earth was almost completely covered in ice during the "Snowball Earth" period, with temperatures as low as -50°C.
discovery
Dinosaurs Lived in Polar Regions
Dinosaur fossils have been found in Alaska and Antarctica! These polar dinosaurs survived months of darkness and near-freezing temperatures, possibly having feathers for warmth.
dinosaur
Velociraptors Were Turkey-Sized
Real Velociraptors were only about 0.5 meters tall and weighed 15 kg—roughly the size of a turkey! The "raptors" in Jurassic Park were actually based on the larger Deinonychus.
environment
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.
discovery
The "Dueling Dinosaurs" Fossil
A T-Rex and Triceratops were found fossilized together, possibly killed while fighting! The Triceratops has a T-Rex tooth embedded in its body—evidence of a real prehistoric battle.
evolution
Pterosaurs Were Not Dinosaurs
Despite flying alongside dinosaurs for 150 million years, pterosaurs were NOT dinosaurs—they were flying reptiles in a completely separate group. Some had fur-like covering called pycnofibers!
discovery
Dinosaur Footprints Everywhere
Thousands of dinosaur trackways have been found on every continent! Some tracks in Colorado show dinosaurs walking together in herds, and some footprints are over a meter wide.
evolution
Saber-Toothed Cats Ruled Americas
Smilodon, the famous saber-toothed cat, had 28 cm (11-inch) fangs and lived throughout North and South America. Over 1,200 specimens have been found in the La Brea Tar Pits alone!
discovery
Dinosaurs May Have Been Colorful
By studying fossilized melanosomes (pigment cells), scientists discovered some dinosaurs had bright colors! Sinosauropteryx had a striped tail like a raccoon.
evolution
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.
evolution
Horses Started Dog-Sized
The first horses (Eohippus) were only 30 cm tall—about the size of a fox! They had four toes and lived 55 million years ago. Horse evolution is one of the best-documented in paleontology.
evolution
Birds Are Living Dinosaurs
Modern birds are actually living theropod dinosaurs, having evolved from a group of dinosaurs called maniraptors.
evolution
Horseshoe Crabs: 450 Million Years Old
Horseshoe crabs have remained virtually unchanged for 450 million years—they existed before dinosaurs, survived all mass extinctions, and still live today! They're older than trees and sharks.
environment
Earth's Oxygen Revolution
About 2.4 billion years ago, the "Great Oxidation Event" dramatically increased Earth's oxygen levels, making complex life possible.
environment
Pangaea: When All Land Was One
About 335 million years ago, all continents were joined into one supercontinent called Pangaea. You could have walked from Antarctica to the Arctic!