Extinct elephant bird of Madagascar could live again - Telegraph Science News Extinct elephant bird of Madagascar could live again Towering 10 feet into the air and weighing more than half a ton, it was the biggest bird that ever lived until French colonists wiped it out more than three hundred years ago. Egg laid by great elephant bird of Madagascar compared to a hen's egg Photo: JANE MINGAY By Richard Alleyne , Science Correspondent 7:30AM GMT 10 Mar 2010 But the giant elephant bird of Madagascar could be resurrected after scientists discovered how to extract DNA from ancient egg shells. Genetic material from the bird along with extinct emus of Australia and moas of New Zealand have been collected by a new technique. In one case the DNA dated back more than 19,000 years. Researchers said the successful recovery of ancient DNA from eggshell "has major implications in the fields of archaeology and palaeontology". Techniques to map DNA from animals have taken great leaps forwards in recent years and scientists have already decoded the genetic make-up of extinct creatures such as the mammoth and the Neanderthal.

Related Articles Attenborough and the elephant bird 19 Dec 2010 But the problem is finding ancient sources of the DNA in good enough condition to be able to be scanned and mapped. Usually the remains of animals have to be frozen which obviously limits the number of species that can be studied. Now scientists have discovered that egg shells are as good if not a better source than bone and hair. Charlotte Oskam, a biologist, and colleagues at Murdoch University in Perth, Australia, said eggshell was a "untapped source" of DNA that was distributed around the world. The researchers used a state-of-the-art laser technique to highlight DNA 'hot-spots' under the microscope with fluorescent green dye. They said: "We show that genetic material is preserved in the eggshell matrix and have successfully imaged the DNA via microscopy. "Using new techniques we obtain DNA signatures from a variety of fossil eggshells, including the extinct moa and elephant birds and 19,000 year-old old emu." The flightless elephant bird – related to ostriches and emus – is the largest bird ever to have lived. It had massive legs, taloned claws and a long, powerful neck.

Its body was covered in bristling, hairlike feathers, like those of the emu, and its beak resembled a broad-headed spear. It evolved at a time when birds ruled the earth and probably existed on Madagascar for 60 million years until dying out in the 17th century. In spite of its fearsome appearance it was a plant eater. Eggs had a circumference of more than 3 ft and a length up to 13 in. Its volume is about 160 times greater than a chicken egg. The moa was another flightless giant bird that lived on New Zealand for about the same amount of time until being hunted to extinction in the 18th century. It could be taller than the elephant bird but was more lightly built – although still weighed three times that of a large man. Emus are the world's second largest living bird and have survived 80 million years in Australia where they are found in the deserts, forests and on the plains. Ms Oskam and colleagues said: "Ancient DNA was successfully characterised from eggshell obtained from New Zealand, Madagascar and Australia.

Our data demonstrate excellent preservation." Bird eggshell is resilient and acts as a barrier to oxygen and water – the key causes of DNA damage. Modern shells also have antimicrobial chemicals and it also possible these remain active in fossil shells. The researchers said: "This study provides the first evidence that ancient DNA is preserved in fossil avian eggshell. The study is published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B. TerraNature | New Zealand ecology - Flightless birds, Moa, the fastest extinction of a megafauna and the world's tallest bird FLIGHTLESS BIRDS MOA The absence of mammalian predators and competitors in New Zealand, allowed dominant taxa to evolve from other animal groups that were functionally equal to mammals. With the exception of a few oceanic islands, they have no functional or taxonomic equivalent anywhere in the world. Moa were the most significant alternative to mammals on New Zealand, taking the role of the largest dominant herbivores, the same role as large animals such as deer and elephants in other lands.

After 170 years of controversy over the evolutionary history of the extinct ratite moa, research in 2009 identifies nine species, with three genera and six species in the Emeidae family, two Dinornis species in the Dinornithidae family, and one Megalapterygidae species. Moa are the only species in the Dinornithiformes order, and together with New Zealand's iconic species, kiwi and tuatara, have endemic distinction at order level. Moa were the dominant herbivore in the New Zealand ecosystem, and another biological peculiarity, which evolutionary scientists relate to the prolonged isolation, size, and geographical complexity of the country, and the scarcity of terrestrial mammals. New Zealand is Earth's largest oceanic archipelago, and the most distant from any continental land mass, which together with a mixed topography, provided the conditions for natural selection processes that produced varied evolutionary outcomes. Extinct giant moa Dinornis robustus and D. novaezealandiae were the tallest birds on Earth - with the top of their back two metres above the ground. As Dr Jared Diamond of UCLA points out "...

the only approach to moa elsewhere in the world were the elephant birds of Madagascar plus the surviving ratites of the continents, but none of these other groups of very large flightless herbivorous birds radiated to anything like the degree that the moas did ..." Moa were part of the ratite group which diverged to isolated locations throughout the Pacific. They were a notable early group that have no ridge (keel) on their sternum (breast bone) to which wing muscles are attached in birds that fly. Ratites are a basal lineage of birds that are hypothesized to have had a common ancestor 80 million years ago on the Cretaceous southern supercontinent of Gondwana, which subsequently underwent either vicarious speciation as the landmass fragmented, and/or flighted dispersal [Bunce, Worthy et.al 2009]. Living members of the ratite lineage include the ostrich of Africa, emu and cassowary of Australia and New Guinea, rhea of South America, and New Zealand kiwi. The extinct giant elephant bird of Madagascar, and fossil Sylvornis of New Caledonia were also ratites.

Morphological radiation of moa appears to have occurred much more recently than previous early Miocene (15 mya) estimates, and was coincident with the accelerated uplift of the Southern Alps just 5 to 8.5 mya [Bunce, Worthy et.al 2009]. Periodic bridging of the North and South Islands from lower sea level during glacial periods also influenced dispersal in the Pleistocene within the last 2 million years. Together with recent fossil evidence, Bunce, Worthy, et.al suggest that the recent evolutionary history of nearly all of the iconic New Zealand terrestrial biota occurred principally on the South Island. The absence of deep (20 million years) splits in the moa phylogeny suggest that all recent moa species originated from the southern landmass [Bunce, Worthy et.al 2009]. A new 5.8 mya estimate for the basal divergence of Megalapteryx correlates closely with the rapid phase of mountain uplift during the Miocene-Pliocene [Bunce, Worthy et.al 2009].

Other divergence estimates are 5.3 mya for the mean Dinornithidae/Emeidae taxon split, 1.45 mya for Dinornis, 1.9 mya for Pachyornis, 1.8 mya for Anomalopteryx/ Emeus plus Euryapteryx, and 1.35 mya for Emeus/Euryapteryx. The tallest bird on Earth ..... The largest moa, the two female Dinornis species were the tallest birds on Earth - 6 feet tall at the top of their back. Paleoecologists no longer think the giant long necked moa normally stood erect (as shown right it would have reached 4 m [13 ft] in height). It is now thought that moa had a more horizontal neck posture, however, it could have reached up to 3 metres to graze on trees. Skeletal remains show that they were built like some dinosaurs.

A female Dinornis robustus weighed 275 kg (600 lb), less than the extinct elephant bird Aepyornis maximus of Madagascar that weighed 1100 lbs, but was much bigger than all other ratites. The largest living bird in the world today is the African ostrich which reaches a maximum weight of 114 kg (250 lb). Some individual Mantell's moa Pachyornis geranoides were a mere 17 kg, reaching up one metre, and with a back height of 0.5m, about the size of a large turkey. Image: Frederick William Frohawk 1861-1942, Dinornis ingens 1906. Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Matauranga o Aotearoa must be obtained before any re-use of this image. Moa were the only avian species in the world without any vestige of a wing. They also had no tail.

The junction of a small scapulocoracoid bone, formed from the fused scapula and coracoid, is where the wing humerus was at an earlier evolutionary stage. Formerly, morphological data defining the ratite family tree, suggested kiwi were closely related to moa by ten skeletal similarities. It was thought that kiwi and moa had the same ratite Gondwanan ancestor from which all ratites developed flightlessness, and co-existed but dispersed separately within New Zealand. Moa were the world's only avian species without any vestige of a wing. This supports the argument of arrival of moa and kiwi by a land connection prior to the late Cretaceous, before New Zealand broke off from Gondwana. Genetic research has concluded that kiwi evolved from a Gondwana ancestor, that along with South American rhea and New Zealand moa diverged early in their evolution. This places kiwi in the same group as Australia's emu and cassowary, and African ostrich, and probably flew to New Zealand about 40 million years ago.

Kiwi have vestigal wings, whereas moas had no wings whatsoever, indicating earlier divergence and the possibility of moa walking into New Zealand. Without ancient fossil evidence, the mystery of when moa became flightless, and how they reached New Zealand will be keenly debated. stumbleupon Email Comment Since creation, thousands of animals have become extinct. Africa has lost animals such as the Atlas Bear, the only bear species native to the continent. The continent has also lost other animal species such as the Malagasy aardvark, which was native to Madagascar, the North African elephant, and the Cape lion. Asia has also lost a fair share of animals. These include the cave lion, which was wiped out in 10,000 BC, the giant tapir, which was native to China, the Formosan clouded leopard, which became extinct in the 90s and the Vietnamese Javan rhinoceros, which became extinct recently in 2010.

Europe has also lost animal species such as the Balearic Islands Cave Goat, which was native to Spain, the Cretan Dwarf Hippopotamus, which became extinct in the middle Pleistocene, the Woolly Rhinoceros, which became extinct in 10,000 BC. America has also seen animal species such as the American lion, which also roamed Mexico and Canada, the Eurasian cave lion, the Mexican horse, and the Pleistocene North American jaguar get wiped out. All these amazing animals have been wiped out for a number of reasons. The main reason is always human encroachment into the animal’s habitat. The other chief reason is the hunting and killing of the animals. Extinction of these creatures disrupts the food chain balance. Here are the 10 most amazing and beautiful extinct animals: 10. The Baiji Dolphin Via dinopedia.wikia.com The Baiji dolphin was a freshwater fish that mainly existed in the Chinese Yangtze River. The last known Baiji dolphin, named Qiqi, died in 2002. The dolphin was also known by the names Goddess of the Yangtze, Yangtze River dolphin and whitefin dolphin.

China’s industrialization is largely to blame for the extinction of the Baiji since it made large use of the river for transportation and fishing. Its extinction makes it the first known aquatic mammal species to become wiped out. The animal had a gestation period of 11 months. The males could grow up to 2.3 m long while the females could grow up to 2.5 m long. 9. The Caspian Tiger Via upload.wikimedia.org The Caspian tiger is one of the many tiger species that have become extinct. It is also referred to as the Hyrcanian tiger or the Mazandaran tiger. The species has been extinct since 1970. Male Caspian tigers could grow up to 200 cm in length while female Caspian tigers could grow up to 180 cm with both genders weighing in at as much as 240 kg. These tigers were mainly found in the region of the Caspian Sea. They were also found in Chinese and Russian Turkestan, Afghanistan, and Iran. Together with the Siberian and Bengal tiger, the Caspian tiger was ranked as one of the largest cats worldwide. 8.

Quagga Via upload.wikimedia.org The Quagga was a beautiful subspecies of plains zebra that has been extinct since 1883. It was mainly found in South Africa. Its uniqueness was symbolized by its limited pattern of primarily brown and white stripes on the front of its body. Its rear was mainly brown in color and didn’t have stripes. It is believed that the Quagga grouped in herds of 30 to 50 individuals and were more tame than the Burchell’s zebra. As the Dutch settled in South Africa, they tamed the animal for forage while some were transferred to zoos in European countries. Attempts to prevent its extinction were unsuccessful. 7. The Tasmanian Tiger Via d3lp4xedbqa8a5.cloudfront.net The Tasmanian tiger is scientifically known as Thylacinus cynocephalus meaning dog-headed pouched one in Greek. It has been extinct since 1936. Before extinction, it was the biggest known carnivorous marsupial. The tiger was mainly found in continental Australia, Tasmania and New Guinea. The tiger became extinct mainly because of hunting. Other factors included disease, human encroachment and the introduction of dogs.

The Tasmanian tiger was an introverted, nocturnal animal. It had a rigid tail and an abdominal pouch. It was an apex predator and a close cousin to the Tasmanian devil. It is believed to have fed on kangaroos, possums, wallabies, birds and wombats. 6. The Gigantopithecus Via media.smithsonianmag.com The Gigantopithecus is an extinct ape believed to have existed one hundred thousand years ago in India, Vietnam and China. It stood up to 3 metres tall and weighed as much as 540 kgs, making them the largest apes to have ever existed. It is believed to have walked on all fours just like the modern ape and had thick jaws that were deep. Its diet included sturdy, fibrous food such as bamboo. The Gigantopithecus included three subspecies, namely G. blacki, G. bilaspurensis, and G. giganteus. They were so large that you would think of them as King Kongs. 5. Moa Via upload.wikimedia.org The Moa became extinct in the 1500s.

It was a group of nine flightless birds that were mainly found in New Zealand. The largest of the species reached 3.6 metres tall and weighed about 500 pounds. Before Polynesians settled in this country, Moa numbers peaked at 58,000, but through hunting, these numbers dwindled until the bird became extinct. Surprisingly, it only took less than a hundred years to fully wipe them off the face of the earth. They fed on fibrous twigs, leaves and swallowed gizzard stones. The Moa is a close relative to the Australian emu, the cassowary, and the Kiwi. 4. The Irish Elk Via 40.media.tumblr.com One of the biggest deer species ever, the Irish Elk became extinct some 7,700 years ago. It is only second to the Alaskan Moose, which is the largest deer that has ever walked on earth. Although it carries the name, the Irish Elk was not exclusive to Ireland. It stood at 2.1 metres tall and weighed approximately 1,500 pounds. Another feature that makes the Irish Elk unique is the size of its antlers.

Scientists believe that the animal’s antlers would span a gigantic 2.7 metres across and would weigh over eighty pounds. Human hunting has been suspected highly as the cause of the animal’s extinction. 3. Titanoboa Via wired.com For those with a phobia of snakes, we recommend skipping this entry. Titanoboa is the largest, heaviest and longest snake ever to live. It existed some 60 million years ago and neither the anaconda nor the python come close to its size. It had a total length of 12.8 metres and weighed in at an outstanding 1,135 kg. In comparison, today’s largest snake – the anaconda – has a total length of 5.71 metres and weighs in at 227 kg. On the other hand, the python weighs in at 140 kgs and has a total length of 7 metres. Not even close! The snake was mainly found in La Guajira, Colombia. 2. Ivory-billed Woodpecker Via gambassa.com The Ivory-billed Woodpecker lived primarily in southeastern United States forests and was one of the biggest woodpeckers.

However, due to human encroachment and hunting, the animal became extinct in 1994. In fact, the International Union for Conservation of Nature lists the animal as critically endangered. Multiple reports of sightings of these birds surfaced in the 2000s, but no conclusive confirmations were made of its existence. The bird grew to a length of between 48 to 53 cm, and weighed about 450 to 570 g. It had a wingspan of about 76 cm. It primarily fed on thick hardwood swamps and pine forests. 1. Golden Toad Via upload.wikimedia.org Before its extinction in 1989, the golden toad primarily existed in Monteverde, Costa Rica. As such, it also goes by the name golden toad of Monteverde. The last sighting of the golden toad was in 15 May 1989, and ever since, no other golden toad has been seen. Widespread habitat loss and the chytrid fungus are responsible for wiping out this amazing creature. They grew up to 5 cm long and their lifespan was not known. They featured a bright and shiny skin color.

Jay Savage, the herpetologist who spotted them for the first time, was so mesmerized by their look that he thought someone had dipped them in enamel paint. ShareOn Facebook What is the Largest Bird That Ever Lived? (with pictures) What is the Largest Bird That Ever Lived? Last Modified Date: 16 December 2016 Copyright Protected: These 10 animal facts will amaze you The Elephant Birds , members of genera Aepyornis and Mullerornis, are a group of extinct birds that includes the largest bird ever to walk the Earth, Aepyornis maximus, sometimes simply known as the Elephant Bird. The Elephant Bird went extinct around 1649, not long after Europeans first arrived at the island where they lived, Madagascar, off the southeast coast of Africa. The largest bird that ever lived was entirely flightless and ate large fruits. The Elephant Bird was the largest bird not only in size but in weight. It reached more than 3.3 m (10 ft) in height, with a weight approaching 454 kg (1,000 lb), or half a ton.

Only the Giant Moa of New Zealand (also extinct) was taller, but it was much more lightly built. The Giant Moa was the second largest bird in the world at the time. The Elephant Bird had a more massive build, and would have been impervious to the medium-sized predatory mammals of the island. The only predators that the Elephant Bird would have needed to fear would have been the Nile Crocodile and humans, which would have raided its nest for its gigantic eggs. The Elephant Bird lived alongside the natives of Madagascar for over a thousand years, from around 200 AD to its extinction. It was encountered by Indian and Arab traders visiting the island in the 7th, 8th, and 9th centuries, who supported their claims by bringing home eggs with a circumference of three feet. Ad The world's largest bird was also known to Kublai Khan, ruler of the Mongol Empire, who ordered the explorer Marco Polo to investigate reports of giant birds on the island of Madagascar. This occurred in the late 1200s, but Polo never located the birds.

The Elephant Bird is thought to have been the inspiration for the gigantic bird called the "Roc" in the tales of Sindbad and Marco Polo, though the Elephant Bird was an herbivore, unlike the carnivorous Roc. The Elephant Bird was a type of bird called a ratite, with a body plan similar to present-day cassowaries, emus, and ostriches. These birds are all flightless and lack a breast "keel" that provides an anchoring point for wing muscles. Due to a lack of predators on the island, the Elephant Bird probably didn't have the same running ability of other ratites, and would have been a sitting duck for predators like dogs once they were introduced by the Europeans. The Elephant Bird lived so recently that occasionally its unfossilized eggs are found, sometimes containing a semi-preserved embryo. Ad Haast's Eagle [extinct] - Harpagornis moorei | The Eagle Directory Haast's Eagle [extinct] - Harpagornis moorei By John Megahan, CC-BY-2.5 , via Wikimedia Commons Family: Accipitridae Genus: Harpagornis Species: H.

moorei Haast’s Eagles were the largest and most powerful eagles known to exist on Earth. Bones have been found on the South Island of New Zealand, and the youngest may be only 500 years old, indicating that humans existed alongside Haast’s Eagles. These raptors went extinct around 1400 CE after Polynesian colonization; it was soon after the moas diet out, which were their main source of food. Maori are thought to have killed Haast’s Eagles, since tools made from the bird’s bones have been discovered. Only three complete skeletons have been found, which currently reside at the Otago Museum in Dunedin and the National Museum of Wellington in New Zealand, and the National History Museum in London, England. Description: Haast’s Eagles had a narrow skull and long beak. Their wings were short, built for flapping flight and maneuvering through dense forest. They were able to put much more force into their feet than other raptors, and could crush the pelvis of a moa. Their talons were up to 7 cm long and 8.5 cm in circumference. Haast’s Eagles could live to be up to 20 years old.

Size: Weight: Male: 9-12 kg. Female: 10-15 kg. Habitat and Distribution: They lived in forest, scrubland, and grassland. Pairs occupied territories up to several hundred square kilometers, and it is unlikely there were ever more than 2,000 breeding individuals at one time. By DO'Neil , GFDL , via Wikimedia Commons Diet and Hunting: They ate large animals from 1-200 kg, including flightless birds such as moas, which usually died of shock or blood loss after being attacked. They also ate carrion. Based on remaining skeletons, it is thought they hunted in forests by perching on a branch and diving to catch prey at speeds of up to 80 km per hour. There were no other major predators to compete with at the time, and they are the only eagles known to have been the top predator of an entire ecosystem. Taxonomy: DNA evidence has shown that Harpagornis moorei may have evolved from Aquila morphnoides (Little Eagle) —the smallest eagles in the world—and Aquila pennata (Booted Eagle) .

If so, the species increased in weight by 10-15 times, which would be the fastest evolutionary increase of any known vertebrate. Haast’s Eagles are named after Dr. Julius von Haast, director of the Canterbury Museum, who discovered them around 1870. Their scientific name Harpagornis moorei comes from the name of the owner of the site where many bird bones were found, George Moore. Other Names: New Zealand Eagle, Haasts Arend (Dutch), Aigle géant (French), Haastadler (German), Te Pouakai, Te Hokioi (Maori). Heraldry: Haast’s Eagles were seen by the Maori as the ancestor of ceremonial kites, and thought to carry off and eat people. They were also depicted in rock drawings. Moa: NZ's extinct giant | Active Adventures Moa New Zealand's giant flightless bird New Zealand’s largest birds probably became extinct within one hundred years of humans first arriving in New Zealand, around 1300 A.D.. However, there were unsubstantiated sightings of moa by whalers and sealers into the 18th and even 19th centuries.

Moa were a family of eleven species of flightless birds that were only found within New Zealand. The largest species grew up to 3.7 m (12 ft) tall and weight up to 230 kg (510 lb) – no wonder they were hunted by Maori! They were the only wingless birds known to have existed – even their cousin the flightless kiwi still has little vestigial wings hidden under its feathers. Prior to their extinction, they were the dominant plant-eater in New Zealand’s forests and only had one predator, Haast’s Eagle; the largest eagle ever known to exist and also the victim of extinction following the demise of the moa to hunting by Maori. Kiwi were long regarded as the closest relative to the moa, but recent studies suggest that either the Australia emu and cassowary or tinamous birds from South America are likely the closest cousins. Female moa grew considerably larger than their mates and weighed almost three times as much, in some cases. Although most images of reconstructed moa skeletons or artists’ impressions of the birds show them standing upright, it is likely that they actually moved along with their head out in front, just like a kiwi does.

Despite almost always being portrayed as giants, some species of Moa were actually significantly smaller, much shorter than the height of a person, and some possibly as small as chickens! Of course, completely lacking wings the question has been asked “how did the moa get to the islands of New Zealand”. It’s thought most likely that moa were already roaming New Zealand prior to it breaking away from the super-continent of Gondwana about 80 million year ago. Many moa bones, eggs (including over 30 whole eggs), feathers, dehydrated skin and nesting materials have been found from a number of caves and other locations around New Zealand, in particular from the dry Central Otago region. A preserved Moa (Megalapteryx) foot from the Natural History Museum (photo courtesy Ryan Baumann) 10 Terrifying Prehistoric Relatives of Normal Animals - Listverse 10 Terrifying Prehistoric Relatives of Normal Animals Phil Moore April 26, 2013 Today, man is the dominant predator on the planet. Yet we have occupied this position for a relatively short period of time—the earliest known man, Homo habilis, first appeared around 2.3 million years ago.

Although we dominate the animals of today, many of these animals have extinct relatives that were a lot larger and more vicious than what we’re familiar with. These animal ancestors look like creatures straight out of our worst nightmares. The frightening aspect is that if mankind vanishes—or merely loses its dominance—these creatures, or something like them, could potentially return again to existence. 10 Megatherium Today, sloths are tree-climbing, slow, and non-threatening animals that reside in the Amazon. Their ancestors were the complete opposite. During the Pliocene era, Megatherium was a giant ground sloth found in South America; it weighed up to four tons and was twenty feet (6m) in length from head to tail. Although it primarily moved on four legs, footprints show that it was capable of being bipedal, in order to reach leaves from the tallest trees. It was the size of a modern day elephant , and still wasn’t the largest animal in its habitat! Archeologists theorize that Megatherium was a scavenger, and would steal dead carcasses from other carnivores. Megatherium was also one of the last giant Ice Age mammals to disappear.

Their remains appear in the fossil record as recently as the Holocene, the period that saw the rise of mankind. This makes man the most likely culprit in the extinction of Megatherium. 9 Gigantopithecus When we think of a giant ape we generally think of the fictional King Kong—but colossal apes really did exist, long ago. Gigantopithecus was an ape that existed from roughly nine million to a hundred thousand years ago—placing it in the same time period as several hominid species. The fossil record suggests that individuals of the species Gigantopithecus were the largest apes to ever exist , standing at almost ten feet (3m) tall, and weighing twelve hundred pounds (540kg). Scientists have not been able to determine the cause of extinction for this large ape. However, some crypto-zoologists theorize that “sightings” of Big Foot and Yeti may relate to a lost generation of gigantopithecus. 8 Armored Fish Dunkleosteus was the largest of the prehistoric fish Placodermi. Its head and thorax were covered by articulated armored plates.

Instead of teeth, these fish possessed two pairs of sharp bony plates, which formed a beak-like structure. Dunkleosteus likely attacked other related placoderms that had the same kind of bony plates for protection; their jaws had enough driving power to cut and break through armored prey. One of the largest known specimens found was thirty-three feet (10m) long and weighed four tons—making it one fish that you would not want to catch on a reel and rod! This fish was anything but picky with its food; it ate fish, sharks and even its own kind . But it seems to have suffered from indigestion, as its fossils are often associated with regurgitated, semi-digested remains of fish. Scientists at the University of Chicago concluded that dunkleosteus had the second most powerful bite of any fish. These giant armored fish became extinct during the transition from Devonian to the Carboniferous periods. 7 Terror Bird Most flightless birds today—consider the ostrich or the penguin, for example—are harmless to human beings; however, there was once a flightless bird that terrorized the earth .

Phorusrhacidae , also known as “terror birds,” were a species of carnivorous and flightless birds that were the largest species of predators in South America, between sixty-two million and two million years ago. They were roughly three to ten feet (1-3m) tall. The terror bird’s prey of choice were small mammals . . . and, incidentally, horses. They used their massive beaks to kill in two ways; by picking up small prey and slamming it to the ground, or by precision strikes on critical body parts. Although archeologists have not yet fully determined the reason this species went extinct, the last of its fossils appear around the same time as the first humans. 6 Haast’s Eagle Birds of prey have always left an imprint on the human psyche; luckily, we are far bigger than the largest eagle. That said, birds of prey that were large enough to hunt a human meal once existed. The Haast’s eagle once lived on the South Island of New Zealand, and was the largest eagle known to exist, weighing up to thirty-six pounds (16.5kg) with a ten-foot (3m) wingspan.

Its prey consisted of the moa, three-hundred-pound flightless birds unable to defend themselves from the striking force and speed of these eagles, which reached speeds of up to fifty miles (8km) per hour. Legends from early settlers and native Maori had it that these eagles could pick up and devour small children. But early human settlers in New Zealand preyed heavily on large flightless birds, including all moa species—eventually hunting them to extinction. The loss of its natural prey caused the Haast’s eagle to become extinct around fourteen hundred years ago, when its natural food source was depleted. 5 Giant Ripper Lizard Today, the Komodo dragon is a fearsome reptile and the largest lizard on the planet—but its would have been dwarfed by its ancient ancestors. The megalania , also known as the “Giant Ripper Lizard”, was a very large monitor lizard. The exact proportions of this creature have been debated, but the most recent research revealed that the megalania’s length was around twenty-three feet (7m), and that it weighed approximately thirteen to fourteen hundred pounds (600-620kg), making it the largest terrestrial lizard known to have existed.

Its diet consisted of marsupials, such as giant kangaroos and wombats. Megalania belongs to the clade toxicofera, possessing toxin-secreting oral glands—making this lizard the largest venomous vertebrate known to have existed . Although we couldn’t imagine a lizard of this size roaming in the Outback, the first Aboriginal settlers of Australia may have encountered living megalanias. The species most likely went extinct when early settlers hunted the megalania’s food sources. 4 Short-faced Bear Bears are some of the largest mammals on Earth, with the polar bear even holding the title for the largest of all carnivores on land. Arctodus —also known as the short-faced bear—lived in North America during the Pleistocene. The short-faced bear weighed about one ton (900kg), and when standing on its hind legs it reached a height of fifteen feet (4.6m), making the short-faced bear the largest mammalian predator that ever existed. Although the short-faced bear was a very large carnivore, archeologists have discovered that it was actually a scavenger.

Being a scavenger, however, was not at all a bad thing—especially when you’re fighting saber-tooth cats and wolves for a meal. Like many other large animals of the Pleistocene, the short-faced bear lost much of its food source with the arrival of humans. 3 Deinosuchus Modern-day crocodiles are living relics of the dinosaurs—but there was a time when crocodiles hunted and ate said dinosaurs. Deinosuchus is an extinct species related to alligators and crocodiles , which lived during the Cretaceous Period. The name deinosuchus translates to “terrible crocodile” in Greek. This crocodile was far larger than any modern version, measuring up to thirty-nine feet (12m) and weighting almost ten tons. In its overall appearance, it was fairly similar to its smaller relatives, with large robust teeth built for crushing, and a back covered with armored bone plates. Deinosuchus’ main prey were large dinosaurs (how many can make that claim?) in addition to sea turtles, fish and other hapless victims. Potential proof of the danger of deinosuchus comes from the fossils of an albertosaurus.

These specimens bore tooth marks from both deinosuchus and Tyrannosaurus Rex, which means that there is a great chance these two fierce predators once engaged in colossal battles. 2 Titanoboa No creature invokes more fear in the human psyche than snakes. Today the largest snake is the Reticulated Python, with an average growth of twenty-three feet (7m). In 2009, archeologists made a shocking discovery in Columbia; by comparing shapes and sizes of its fossilized vertebrae to those of modern snakes, they estimated that the ancient snakes, titanoboa , reached a maximum length of forty to fifty feet (12-15m) and weighed up to 2,500 pounds—making it the largest snake to ever slide around the planet. Because it’s a recent discovery, little is known about titanoboa; what is known is that a fifty-foot snake would scare the daylights out of anybody, phobia or not. 1 Megaladon Before 1975, most humans’ animal phobias came primarily from snakes and spiders.

That all changed when the film Jaws was released; the film’s antagonist was a (fake) great white shark, which ended up scaring many people away from entering the ocean. Today, the largest great white sharks are usually twenty feet (6m) in length and weigh five thousand pounds (2,275kg). However, there was once a shark that was double the size of the largest modern great white sharks. Megaladon —meaning “big tooth”—was a shark that lived approximately twenty-eight to 1.5 million years ago. Everything about the megaladon was mega: its teeth were 7.1 inches (18cm); and fossil remains suggest that this giant shark reached a maximum length of 52-67 feet (16-20m). While today great white sharks prey on seals, the megaladon’s meal of choice was whales . Scientists hypothesize that the species went extinct due to oceanic cooling, sea level drops, and a decline in food supply. If the megaladon were still alive, there is a great chance that man would have been a landlocked species.

Still, in the giant oceans there may be a titanic great white shark lurking in the abyss—so there’s always a chance that something like the megaladon could return to the world. Phil Moore is an historian, writer and filmmaker, who looks to spark intriguing and scholarly debates about all aspects of life. None of his lists or works of art are meant to offend, but merely for discussion. More Great Lists

Question: The extinct Moa was the largest ever what …. to live on Earth?
Answer: Bird