User blog:Rora Raro/10 Extinct Animals That Aren't Dinosaurs

So, before I begin I this blog. Let me just say that list will not include dinosaurs (obviously), but there will be one bird (which are considered dinosaurs). What I mean is there will be no creatures that are part of the clade Dinosauria. Now let's begin, shall we?

1. Anomalocaris ("abnormal shrimp")

Anomalocaris was part of the extinct genus of anomalocaridid, they were believed to be a close part of arthropods. It grew up to a meter in length or 3.3 feet, it was a predator feeding on hard-bodied critters like Trilobites. It lived during the Middle Cambrian or around 505 million years ago. It was first described around 1892 by Joseph Frederick Whiteaves.







'''2. Tiktaalik ("fishapod")'''

Tiktaalik is a stepping stone in evolution, it looks like a lizard, but in reality, it's technically a fish, having both scales and gills like any other. Its fins have thin ray bones for paddling, but it also had sturdy interior bones to propel itself in shallow water and use them as limbs like most four-legged animals. It shows the evolutionary transition from fish to their descendants. Believe it or not, it could be the ancestor of all terrestrial vertebrates (animals with backbones) from dinosaurs to humans. It was discovered in 2004. It lived around 375 million years ago or the Late Devonian.

3. Meganeura ("large nerved")

A dragonfly that had a wingspan from 65 cm (25.6 in) to over 70 cm (28 in). Try to imagine a dragonfly with a wingspan of a seagull. They were predators, feeding on other insects or even reptiles. There are theories explaining how Meganeura and other insects grew. One is due to oxygen levels along with a very different atmospheric density, during the Carboniferous Period (359.2 to 299 Milion Years Ago) the atmosphere levels were about 35% compared to the 20% today. There are other theories like a lack of predators, or how insects developed in water before becoming terrestrial. The adults grew bigger as a way to protect themselves against the high levels of oxygen. It lived around 300 million years Ago (Late Carboniferous Period). Discovered in 1880.

















'''4. Dimetrodon ("mammal-like reptile)'''

Dimetrodon, despite its confusion, is NOT a dinosaur, while it is a reptile, it's more closely related to mammals than dinosaurs. According to this article, it might have been discovered since 1854, where it was thought to belong to a dinosaur. It had a sail on its back, which could've been used to regulate temperature, after all, it was cold-blooded. It must've used it to soak sunlight during the day, and dissipate excess heat at night. Or use it during mating rituals, it was a predator eating other animals, and even it's close relative Edaphosaurus. It belongs to the group Synapsids, which includes mammals and their relatives. Lived during the Early Permian (around 295–272 million years ago).

'''5. Liopleurodon  ("smooth-sided tooth")'''

<p style="text-align:center;">If you've seen Walking with Dinosaurs (the original 1999 BBC Series). You've probably seen this guy, a large sea monster that must've had the length of 80 feet. Even though it only reached the size of 23 feet. Anyways, Liopleurodon was a marine reptile, belonging to the Pliosauridae, a group of short-necked plesiosaurs. It was a predator feeding on fish, squids, and other marine reptiles. Oh, and it was also a very fast swimmer. The name was coined by Henri Émile Sauvage in 1873. Liopleurodon lived from 160 to 155 millions years ago (the Middle Jurassic Period).

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<p style="text-align:center;">'''6. Megalodon (Carcharocles megalodon, "big tooth")'''

Okay, you knew this was coming, behold the most OVERRATED prehistoric marine animal. What hasn't been said about Megalodon, that hasn't been said? A HUGE shark that lived around the Early Miocene to the end of the Pliocene (23 to 2.6 million years ago). Ate whales, fish, and possibly it's own kind. It was the top predator of the ocean during its time. With only the Livyatanable to go toe-to-toe with the shark and even take it down The naturalist Louis Agassiz gave it it's initial scientific name, Carcharodon megalodon, in 1843. Don't get me started if this animal is still alive or not...

<p style="text-align:center;">'''7. Dire wolf  (Canis dirus, "fearsome dog") '''

If you're getting Game of Thrones vibes, I don't blame you. With that aside, Dire wolves were REAL animals that lived during the Late Pliocene and early Holocene epochs or 125,000 to 9,400 years ago. They were discovered since the 1850s in the United States, and more and more bones are being found mostly in tar pits like those in Lar Brea (located in Los Angeles). These wolves were bigger and more muscular than their modern counterparts. With a stronger bite too, it hunted horses, bison, and other large megafauna. From Canada to Bolivia, these wolves hunted in packs, and meet face-to-face with saber-toothed cats, large cave bears, and even humans must've met these fierce but marvelous canines.

<p style="text-align:center;">'''8. Megalania (Megalania prisca/Varanus priscus)'''

<p style="text-align:center;">Megalania a giant reptile related to Komodo dragons or monitor lizards that grew to a length of 25 feet. It was the largest reptile of its time, hunting large Australian megafauna like Diprotodons (giant wombats), Procoptodon (giant kangaroos), and even could've eaten humans. After all the youngest fossils trace to around 40,000 years ago, by that time the Aborigines (the first people to settle Australia) must've encountered it and even feared it. The name was coined in 1859 by Sir Richard Owen.

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<p style="text-align:center;">'''9. The Haast's eagle (Hieraaetus moorei) '''

<p style="text-align:center;">This one is my favorite of the list, I LOVE giant birds, and this one is no exception. Described by Julius von Haast in 1871, who he named after George Henry Moore. The wingspan (mostly for the females) reached a length of 2.6 m (8.5 ft). or even 3 m (9.8 ft) in some cases. The Haast's eagle lived in the South Island of New Zealand, in that island there were no other predators, so the Haast's eagle was the ruler of the skies. It could swoop down on Moa, another large bird that was flightless, think of the Moa, like ostriches, but '''bigger. '''The eagle would also hunt the Maori people, it was both feared and revered, and was described in many of their legends. It became extinct as recently as 1400 A.D.

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<p style="text-align:center;">'''10. Thylacine/Tasmanian Tiger (Thylacinus cynocephalus)''' Also called the Marsupial Wolf or Tasmanian Wolf. The Thylacine was the largest predatory marsupial of recent times. It hunted wallabies, birds, and livestock, which caused a major issue with farmers, as it would be hunted down to its inevitable extinction. It was only about 66 lbs or 29.9371 kg. It was 100 to 130 cm (39 to 51 in) long, with a tail of about 50 to 65 cm (20 to 26 in). At its maturity, it was only about 2 feet in height, despite its appearance, it was shy, and could be captured without much issue. Even though the Thylacine was accepted to be extinct in 1936, there are to this day, sightings that it could still be alive, and the Australian Museum in Sydney has begun to clone it ever since 1999. What do you think? Is the Thylacine still alive, extinct? Or could it be brought back to life in the future?