SJ Desk
1. Titanoboa
emember the famous Sci-Fi movie Anaconda, with a giant snake slithering around, preying on any and every living thing it set its eyes upon. If you think that was aghast, then trust me on this, a real Titanoboa would make this fantasy snake appear as cute as a barbie doll. A full grown Titanoboa could have attained a height of almost 50 feet and could have weighed in well over 1100 kgs.
The extinct species of Titanoboa are the biggest snakes that have ever existed. They were mostly found in the modern South America region around 60 million years ago. The warm and humid climate of the Paleogene period is said to be the major reason that contributed towards the juggernaut size of these Apex predators.
2. Cameroceras
Living in the shallow seas, during the late Ordovician, the Cameroceras were one of the biggest animals on our planet with an estimated size of 11 meters. Though on top of the food chain, Cameroceras were not very agile creatures because of their hard shell and instead of chasing a hunt, it patiently waited on the seabed for passing prey. In fact, it is said that the largest of the Cameroceras remained stationary without ever changing their position.
3. Megalodon
These extinct species of prehistoric shark dominated the aquatic world millions of years ago. Closely related to the great white shark, Megalodon could have attained a massive size of 60 feet along with an unfathomable bite force of over 150000 newtons. No wonder they even feasted on large aquatic animals that included the mighty whale. Another interesting fact about Megalodon is that their fossils were found from almost all over the world. Well, one thing is for sure that beaches would not be so much fun with this Prehistoric beast still hanging around in the water.
4. Tyrannosaurus
Most commonly known as T-Rex, Tyrannosaurus was nothing short of a massive killing machine. T-Rex had a gigantic head along with a long and healthy tail. They had very muscular and robust hind limbs but shorter forelimbs. With a gargantuan height of around 40 feet, this prehistoric critter was one of the largest land carnivores of all time. Tyrannosaurus is arguably the most famous species of Dinosaurs. T-rex was both predator and scavenger, as he could hunt his own food but did not hesitate to snatch the food from the other ferocious predators. With a life expectancy of 30 years these savage beasts were capable of eating 500 lbs in just a single bite.
5. Ahdarchidae
Shifting is the focus of water and land towards the air, Ahdarchidae was one of the largest flying creatures ever on earth. It had a long pair of legs and neck. They had a toothless, spear-like jaw and had a mammoth wingspan of almost 38 feet. Recent studies have suggested that Ahdarchidae stalked its prey not only from the air, but if need be, they could also swim for food. That's not all folks because if you think that their huge body created hurdles for them to fly swiftly, then you are taking it for granted. If they were in a rush, they could have attained a speed of around 170 KMPH for a short while. Paleontologist also believes that these prehistoric creatures could have covered a distance of 16,000 Kms in one stretch without stopping.
6. Mosasaurus
These aquatic lizards could have reached a height of around 60 feet and weighed around 15,000 kgs. Mosasaurus mostly fed on marine reptiles, but with the deadly formation of more than a few dozen teeth, it made prey out of even the Great White Shark. The only things that intimidated a Mosasaurus, were other Mosasaurus as studies prove that they were a cannibal.
7. Spinosaurus
A three toe limbed Dinosaur. These giant beasts existed around a hundred million years ago. A fully mature Spinosaurus would have reached around 50 feet along with a weight of 7 tonnes. Research has revealed that they lived both in water and on land and so its prey included both land animals as well as fishes. The meaning of Spinosaurus is spine lizard, no wonder John R. Horner was quoted as saying "If we base the ferocious factor on the length of the animal, there was nothing that ever lived on this planet that could match Spinosaurus. Also, my hypothesis is that T-rex was actually a scavenger rather than a killer. Spinosaurus was really the predatory animal."
8. Sarcosuchus
The largest form of crocodile to have ever lived on our planet. The 40 feet long and 8 tonnes Sarcosuchus were strong enough to even kill strong species of Dinosaur. The eyes of these mutant Crocodile moved up and down instead of side to side. They were mostly found in North Africa’s Sahara desert region which was lush green land with loads of water bodies millions of years back when these prehistoric giants existed.
9. Andrewsarchus
Standing at over 6 feet high and 12 feet long, Andrewsarchus, as Paleontologist suggests, could have weighed in almost 1000 lbs. They had a mighty powerful jaw which they used to break the hard shells of mollusks and turtles. Though sadly not much information about Andrewsarchus is available due to lack of fossil samples, it is widely claimed that they might be the largest carnivore mammal to have walked on the land ever. With long fur and wolf-like skull, these prehistoric predators were absolute torment for the other wildlife animals of the middle Eocene period.