Dinosaurshold such a monumental topographic point inpop finish , it ’s easy to blank out they were n’t the only animals that thrive trillion of age ago . Many of prehistoric culture ’s most impressive wight , from scaly fliers thesize of planesto marine predator asbig as passenger vehicle , are incorrectly lump together with the Dinosauria clade . Here are seven prehistoric animate being that deserve just as much recognition as their dino peers .
1.Dimetrodon
Animals in the genusDimetrodonhave been prehistorical icon and maven ofearly paleoartsince the 19th century . Though the scaly , sail - fin creature crawled across the Earth 270 million years ago , they ’re not dinosaurs . Thesynapsidsare really more closely colligate to human being and other mammals thanTriceratopsorT. rex . Where diapsid reptile like dinosaur have two holes on either side of their skull , synapsid have one large hole behind their eye socket ; it ’s believed this feature enabled thepowerful biteofDimetrodon ’s mammal descendants .
2. Pterosaurs
Modern snort are technically dinosaurs , but the scaly creatures that took to the sky one C of millions of years ago weren’t . Pterosaursare a group of flying reptiles distinguishable from the clade Dinosauria . Unlike birds , Pterodactylus , Quetzalcoatlus , and other pterosaursrelied on featherless wing membranes to achieve lift . They were the first vertebrates equal to of flight , and with wingspans reaching 33 feet , they stay the biggest .
3. Plesiosaurs
If there is a prehistoric monster living inLoch Ness , it ’s not a dinosaur . Plesiosaurs , the clade of aquatic creatures splendidly bind to Nessie , are technically marine reptiles . The long - make out , flipperedbeasts occupied sea until the mass extinction issue the end of the Cretaceous period , so they may have had go - ins with dinosaur who explore the shore .
4. Mosasaurs
Mosasaursare another group of prehistorical , aquatic beasts that go to the reptile class . Unlike plesiosaurs , they had inadequate necks and massive jaws used for capturing prey . Measuring up to 50 feet long , these terrors of the ocean were longer thanT. rex . Their closest living congenator today are monitor lizards and snakes .
5.Deinosuchus
Modern crocodiles and gator have a prehistoric look , but do n’t call them livelihood dinosaur . They , along with their extinct root in the genusDeinosuchus , go to the social class Reptilia . Deinosuchuswas interchangeable in appearing to today ’s scaly predators , but , stretch 40 feet farseeing and weighing 7 tons , it drastically outsized them . The animal rule rivers and swamps 70 million days ago , and fossil grounds establish theyoccasionally prey on dinosaur .
6. Megalodon
The largest predator of the prehistorical world was n’t a dinosaur or even a marine reptilian . Carcharodon megalodonis a possible ancestor of moderngreat whitened sharks , and for20 million yearsthey posture atop the ocean ’s food Ernst Boris Chain . base on their 7 - inch tooth , paleontologists guess the leviathan get from 43 to 82 foot long . Like today ’s sharks , they had gristly body , so all that remain of the out creatures are teeth and some vertebrae . We may never know on the nose how monumental they were .
7.Glyptodon
Though they seem like a cross between a tortoise andAnkylosaurus , species in the genusGlyptodonwere early mammalian . They trotted across South America during theIce Age . Like elephantine sloths and mammoth , they were part of the mammalian megafauna that rule this era . Their scaly shield contributed to their 2 - ton majority . UnlikeDimetrodon ’s trait , it ’s light to seeGlyptodon ’s features in New mammals likearmadillos .
Related Tags
