35 Intriguing Photos & Illustrations Of Extinct Creatures That Once Roamed The Earth

Throughout history, many animals have gone extinct for a variety of reasons. While we might be familiar with some lost creatures of eras long gone from movies or exaggerated stories, the truth is that many vanished species are known only through fossilised bones, teeth, or footprints left behind. These fragments provide essential clues that help us reconstruct the past and better understand creatures that disappeared long ago. Driven by curiosity, palaeontologists have uncovered these remains, which are open to the public in museums, etc. However, the 'Nature Was Metal’ community is committed to finding images portraying animals that lived long before humans dominated the planet and making them accessible online. The space features an impressive archive of photos and illustrations of species lost millennia ago, from which we’ve shared a few choice examples in the gallery below.

#1 The Skull Of Torosaurus, A Late Cretaceous North American Ceratopsian

Image source: ExoticShock

#2 Xiphactinus, A Beautiful Specimen Of A Terrifying Sea Monster

Image source: Jedi-master-dragon

#3 Blue Babe, A Mummified Bison Priscus (Museum Is In Alaska)

Image source: BaseNice3520

#4 Dsungaripterus (Oc)

Image source: 00zxcvbnmnbvcxz

#5 Just Saw Black Beauty - One Of The Most Complete T. Rex Skeletons Ever Found! In Classic 'Death Pose', Her Bones Are Black From A Specific Mineral Exposure During Fossilisation. Excited 5'5" Primate For Scale

Image source: ramence

#6 Suncor Nodosaur, One Of The Best Preserved Dinosaurs. It Even Has Some Pigmets Left

Image source: Snoo-25929

#7 The Femur Of A Patagotitan, One Of The Biggest Dinosaurs Known To Have Existed, Next To A 1.75 M Tall Paleontologist

Image source: aquilasr

#8 The Skull Of A Deinosuchus, Which As A Genus Are The Front-Runner To Be The Largest Known Crocodilian Of All Time

Image source: aquilasr

#9 Skeletal Mount Of Velociraptor Mongoliensis Next To A 27 Kg Greyhound (Photo By Mark Witton)

Image source: Random_Username9105

#10 A Tylosaurus Hunting A Xiphactinus In A Long-Time Display At My Local Natural History Museum (The Academy Of Natural Sciences)

Image source: aquilasr

#11 The Size Of A Sarcosuchus Mount

Image source: aquilasr

#12 Deinocheirus Juvenile (Oc)

Image source: 00zxcvbnmnbvcxz

#13 Amphicyon Ingens, The Giant Bear-Dog. At 2.5m In Length And Weighing Over 550kgs, It Is One Of The Biggest Mammalian Land Carnivores Ever

Image source: UrsusArctosDoosemus

#14 Purussaurus Is One Of The Largest Known Of The Giant Crocodilians, Perhaps Even Surpassing Sarcosuchus In Size. It Reigned Supreme In Central South America In The Miocene Period, 8 Million Years Ago

Image source: No_Emu_1332

#15 Oh God

Image source: Strong-Mention1608

#16 The Skull Of Megaladapis Aka The Koala Lemur Compared To The Gray Mouse Lemur

Image source: ExoticShock

#17 My Freshwater Stingray (Heliobatis Radians)

Image source: Rolopig_24-24

#18 Two Giant Bird Species That Both Went Extinct Less Than 1000 Years Ago. The Giant Moa And The Elephant Bird

Image source: Upstairs-Nerve4242

#19 The Sheer Size Of The Dire Wolf

Image source: Mophandel

#20 Capuchin Monkeys Using A Glyptodon’s Shell And Stones To Crack Nuts But The Giant Mammal Will Make Its Lack Of Appreciation Known (By Xtinctdesign)

Image source: aquilasr

#21 The Massive Skull Of Megachoerus, A Giant Entelodont

Image source: UrsusArctosDoosemus

#22 Torosaurus, The Largest Skulled Species Of Dinosaur With A Head Measuring Up To About 10 Feet Including A Massive Frill

Image source: aquilasr

#23 Chalicotherium (Oc)

Image source: 00zxcvbnmnbvcxz

#24 The Size Of A Pelagornis Sandersi, The Longest Winged Bird Ever Known

Image source: aquilasr

#25 The Head Of A Liopleurodon To Scale With The Artist Who Made It, Bob Nicholls

Image source: aquilasr

#26 The Size Of The Skull And Horns Of A Bison Latifrons, The Giant Long-Horned Bison

Image source: aquilasr

#27 "That's Me" (Art By Everydaylouie)

Image source: Mamboo07

#28 Very Early Description Of A Woolly Mammoth From 1805 Based On A Frozen Carcass Found In Siberian Permafrost

Image source: WorriedAmoeba2

#29 Comparison Of Theoretical Neanderthal Skeleton With Anatomically Modern Human. Ribcage And Pelvis , Is Twice As Big!

Image source: BaseNice3520

#30 3 Pretty "Terror Birds" From South America

Image source: Ivan_Botsky_Trollov

#31 Constance Kite, A Fossil Preparator At Harvard Seen 60 Years Apart With The Kronosaurus She Helped Put Together; This Specimen Was Est At 34 Feet, Over 15 Tons

Image source: aquilasr

#32 David Attenborough With A Titanosaur Femur

Image source: aquilasr

#33 Arthropleura, The Largest Known Arthropod To Ever Exist At An Estimated 2.5 Metres Long, Walks Slowly Along An Ancient Carboniferous Coastline Looking For Food (Render By Prehistorica_cm)

Image source: Mamboo07

#34 Introducing The Tyrannosaur Of The Arctic, Nanuqsaurus. It Prowled Around The Area Of Alaska And Lived During Maastrichtian Period

Image source: OneTonight1811

#35 The Largest Wild Cat To Ever Exist, Sambir Lion

Image source: Slow-Pie147