10 Most Amazing Extinct Animals
1.Tyrannosaurus Rex (extinct 65 million years ago):
Tyrannosaurus rex was one of the largest land carnivores of all time, measuring up to 43.3 feet long, and 16.6 ft tall, with an estimated mass that goes up to 7 tons. Like other tyrannosaurids, this extinct Tyrannosaurus was a bipedal carnivore with a massive skull balanced by a long, heavy tail. Relative to the large and powerful hind limbs, Tyrannosaurus forelimbs were small and they retained only two digits. Fossils of T. rex have been found in North American rock formations dating to the last three million years of the Cretaceous Period at the end of the Maastrichtian stage, approximately 68.5 to 65.5 million years ago; it was among the last dinosaurs to exist prior to the Cretaceous-Tertiary extinction event. More than 30 specimens of T. rex have been identified, some of which are nearly complete skeletons. Some researchers have discovered soft tissue as well. The abundance of fossil material has allowed significant research into many aspects of its biology, including life history and biomechanics.
2.Quagga: half zebra, half horse (extinct since 1883):
One of Africa’s most famous extinct animals, this extinct quagga was a subspecies of the plains zebra, which was once found in great numbers in South Africa’s Cape Province and the southern part of the Orange Free State. It was distinguished from other zebras by having the usual vivid marks on the front part of the body only. In the mid-section, the stripes faded and the dark, inter-stripe spaces became wider, and the hindquarters were a plain brown. The name comes from a Khoikhoi word for zebra and is onomatopoeic, being said to resemble the quagga’s call. The last wild quagga was probably shot in the late 1870s, and the last specimen in captivity died on August 12, 1883 at the Artis Magistra zoo in Amsterdam. Because of the great confusion between different zebra species, particularly among the general public, the quagga had become extinct before it was realized that it appeared to be a separate species. The quagga was the first extinct creature to have its DNA studied
3.Thylacine: the Tasmanian Tiger (extinct since 1936):
The thylacine was a species of marsupial (pouched mammal) that looked very much like a dog with a beautiful striped coat just like a tiger. This extinct species was the largest known carnivorous marsupial of modern times. Native to Australia and New Guinea. Although the thylacine was a very avid hunter and was very good at surviving, human intervention forced them to extinction. This extinct species have become extinct in the 20th century. The last one was in an Australian zoo until it passed away from natural causes. This extinct tiger is commonly known as the Tasmanian tiger (due to its striped back), and also known as the Tasmanian wolf, and colloquially the Tassie Tiger. This extinct species was the last extant member of its genus. Despite being officially classified as extinct, sightings are still reported.
4. Steller’s Sea Cow: the defenseless beast (extinct since 1768):
Steller’s Sea Cows are formerly found near the Asiatic coast of the Bering Sea, This extinct Cow was discovered in 1741 by the naturalist Georg Steller, who was traveling with the explorer Vitus Bering.
The sea cow grew up to 7.9 meters (25.9 ft) long and weighed up to three tons, much larger than the manatee or dugong. According to Steller, “The animal never comes out on shore, but always lives in the water. Its skin is black and thick, like the bark of an old oak…, its head in proportion to the body is small…, it has no teeth, but only two flat white bones?one above, the other below?.
5. Irish Deer: the largest deer that ever lived (extinct about 7,700 years ago):
The Irish Elk or Giant Deer, was the largest deer that ever lived. It lived in Eurasia, from Ireland to east of Lake Baikal, during the Late Pleistocene and early Holocene. The latest known remains of the species have been carbon dated to about 5,700 BC, or about 7,700 years ago. This extinct Giant Deer is famous for its formidable size (about 2.1 meters or 7 feet tall at the shoulders), and in particular for having the largest antlers of any known cervid (a maximum of 3.65 meters/12 feet from tip to tip and weighing up to 90 pounds). There is still discussion is going on of the cause of Irish deer extinct rather than on their overall body size), which may be due more to their impact on the observer than any actual property.
6.Caspian Tiger: the third largest (extinct since 1970):
The Caspian tiger or Persian tiger was the westernmost subspecies of tiger, found in Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Turkey, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Caucasus, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan until it apparently became extinct in the 1970s. Of all the tigers known to the world, the Caspian tiger was the third largest. The body of this subspecies was quite stocky and elongated with strong legs, big wide paws and unusually large claws. The Caspian tiger were famous for paw nails so that people used to hunt them that was main reason for its extinct
7.Aurochs: a very large type of cattle (extinct since 1627):
One of Europe’s most famous extinct animals, the aurochs or urus (Bos primigenius) were a very large type of cattle. Aurochs evolved in India some two million years ago. The right to hunt large animals on any land was restricted to nobles and gradually to the royal household. As the population of aurochs declined, hunting ceased but the royal court still required gamekeepers to provide open fields for the aurochs to graze in. In the 1920s two German zookeepers, the brothers Heinz and Lutz Heck, attempted to breed the aurochs back into existence (see breeding back) from the domestic cattle that were their descendants. Their plan was based on the conception that a species is not extinct as long as all its genes are still present in a living population. The result is the breed called Heck Cattle, ‘Recreated Aurochs’, or ‘Heck Aurochs’, which bears an incomplete resemblance to what is known about the physiology of the wild aurochs.
8.Great Auk: largest of all auks (extinct since 1844):
The Great Auk was the only species in the genus Penguins, flightless giant auks from the Atlantic, to survive until recent times, but is extinct today. Standing about 75 centimeters or 30-34 inches high and weighing around 5 kg, these were the largest of the auks. This extinct species had white and glossy black feathers. In the past, the Great Auk was found in great numbers on islands off eastern Canada, Greenland, Iceland, Norway, Ireland and Great Britain, but it was eventually hunted so that the Great Aku apparently went extinct in the 14th century.
9.Cave Lion: one of the largest lions ever (extinct 2,000 years ago):
The cave lion, also known as the European or Eurasian cave lion, is an extinct subspecies of lion known from fossils and a wide variety of prehistoric art. This extinct species was one of the largest lions. An adult male, which was found in 1985 near Siegsdorf (Germany). This extinct tiger had a shoulder height of around 1.2 m and a length of 2.1 m without a tail, which is about the same size as a very big modern lion. It apparently went extinct about 10,000 years ago, during the Warm glaciations, though there are some indications it may have extinct 2,000 years ago, in the Balkans.
10.Dodo: the archetype of extinct species (extinct since late 17th century)::
The Dodo (Raphus cucullatus) is one of the well known extinct species. The Dodo was a flightless bird that lived on the island of Mauritius. This extinct species is related to pigeons and doves, it stood about a meter tall (three feet), lived on fruit and nested on the ground.. The Dodo is commonly used as the archetype of an extinct species because its extinction occurred during recorded human history, and was directly attributable to human activity. The adjective phrase “as dead as a dodo” means undoubtedly and unquestionably dead. The verb phrase “to go the way of the dodo” means to become extinct or obsolete, to fall out of common usage or practice, or to become a thing of the past.