discovery
The Fish That Came Back From Extinction
The coelacanth was thought extinct for 65 million years—until one was caught in 1938! Called a "living fossil," it has barely changed in 400 million years and was like finding a living dinosaur.
Welcome to Prehistoric World
Discover the fascinating creatures that once roamed our planet
Featured Creatures
Featured Creatures
Deinosuchus hatcheri
Cretaceous
Deinosuchus, meaning "terrible crocodile," was one of the largest crocodilians to ever exist! Living during the Late Cretaceous period, about 82-73 million years ago, this monster was a true dinosaur hunter—fossil evidence ...
Learn More
Palaeophis colossaeus
Paleogene
Palaeophis was a giant sea snake that lived approximately 55-50 million years ago during the Eocene epoch. This massive marine predator could grow up to 9-12 meters long—making it one ...
Learn More
Tanystropheus
Triassic
Tanystropheus is one of the strangest reptiles ever discovered! Living during the Middle Triassic, approximately 242-235 million years ago, this bizarre creature had a neck that was longer than its body and tail combined! At up to 6 ...
Learn More New
Latest Discoveries
February 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
February 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
February 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
February 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
February 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
February 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
February 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
Dinosaurs Were Caring Parents
Fossils show dinosaurs brooding their eggs like birds! A 70-million-year-old Oviraptor was found sitting on a nest of 24 eggs, proving dinosaurs were devoted parents who cared for their young.
discovery
SUE: The Most Famous T-Rex
SUE is the largest and most complete T-Rex ever found—90% of the skeleton! The Field Museum paid $8.4 million for SUE in 1997, the most ever paid for a fossil at auction.
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.
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
The Crater That Ended the Dinosaurs
The Chicxulub crater in Mexico is 200 km (124 miles) wide—created by an asteroid 10-15 km across traveling at 20 km/second. The impact released energy equal to 4.5 billion atomic bombs!
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.
dinosaur
Longest Dinosaur: 42 Meters!
Supersaurus may be the longest dinosaur ever at up to 42 meters (138 feet)—longer than three school buses! Its neck alone was over 15 meters, and its tail stretched 18+ meters.
dinosaur
T-Rex Teens Gained 45 lbs Per Week
During their teenage growth spurt, T-Rex gained 35-45 pounds PER WEEK until reaching adult size around age 20! Growth rings in SUE's bones revealed this incredible growth rate.
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.
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.
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!
environment
Oxygen Made Giant Insects Possible
During the Carboniferous period, oxygen levels reached 35% (vs 21% today). This allowed insects to grow huge—millipedes reached 2.5 meters (8 feet) long!
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
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!
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.
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 Traveled in Herds
Trackway evidence proves many dinosaurs traveled in herds! Parallel footprints in Texas and Colorado show sauropods moving together, and the "Dinosaur Freeway" in Colorado stretches 40 miles.
evolution
Crocodiles Outlived the Dinosaurs
Crocodilians have existed for over 200 million years, surviving the asteroid that killed the dinosaurs. They've barely changed because their design is nearly perfect for their lifestyle.
discovery
Dinosaurs Lived on Every Continent
Dinosaur fossils have been found on all seven continents, including Antarctica! When dinosaurs lived, Antarctica was much warmer and connected to other landmasses.
discovery
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.
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!
evolution
Birds Are Living Dinosaurs
Modern birds are actually living theropod dinosaurs, having evolved from a group of dinosaurs called maniraptors.
discovery
Soft Tissue in 68-Million-Year Fossils
In 2005, scientist Mary Schweitzer discovered soft tissue, including flexible blood vessels, inside a 68-million-year-old T-Rex bone—a discovery that shocked the scientific world.