Millennia ago, before history was written, these strange creatures roamed the Earth.
Top 11 Strange Prehistoric Creatures Discovered by Humans
Among the most famous prehistoric creatures discovered by humans are dinosaurs. Countless films have been made about these magnificent reptiles. However, throughout different eras of prehistory, our world was home to many other strange and wonderful creatures.
Ichthyostega
This creature had the head and tail of a fish.
Living at the end of the Devonian period, Ichthyostega is one of the earliest amphibians to appear on the planet. It had the head and tail of a fish and needed to return to the water to reproduce.
What distinguishes Ichthyostega from lobe-finned fish is its limbs. In Ichthyostega, the fins are connected, with leg bones and toes. The feet of Ichthyostega are quite unusual by modern standards, as each foot has up to eight toes.
Sharovipteryx
Sharovipteryx lived in the Triassic period over 240 million years ago.
Scientists believe that Sharovipteryx is an ancestor related to flying reptiles known as pterosaurs. While it itself is not classified as a true pterosaur, it lived in the early Triassic period over 240 million years ago.
The fossils of this creature were excavated from the Madygen formation in Kyrgyzstan, Central Asia. It was only about 30 cm long. This strange creature had four limbs that appeared to possess thin membranes resembling wings. Its forelimbs were quite short, whereas its hind limbs were much longer.
Some hypotheses suggest that this body structure allowed Sharovipteryx to jump easily. Paleontologists believe its method of locomotion was more akin to gliding rather than true flight – perhaps it moved like today’s flying squirrels, jumping and gliding through the air to reach other branches.
Survey of the “peculiar” animals that once dominated the Earth
Longisquama lived in the forests of the supercontinent Pangaea during the Triassic period.
This creature is classified in the diapsid superclass – a primitive subclass of reptiles that would evolve into the most significant group of reptiles on our planet. These animals initially appeared as a small group of climbing reptiles. Longisquama lived in the forests of the supercontinent Pangaea during the Triassic period.
The most striking feature of this strange creature is a double row of long, scale-like structures running along its back, forming 6 to 8 pairs. These pairs of structures would grow in correspondence with each pair of ribs. The scales have a hollow vein in the middle, resembling feathers. However, unlike true feathers, the scales of Longisquama appear to be made of flat plates rather than actual feathers.
Stagonolepis
This is the most unique among the early crocodilians.
During the Triassic period, many prehistoric crocodile species existed, and Stagonolepis is one of them. However, it is the most unique among early crocodilians and is likely very special when compared to modern crocodiles.
All the crocodiles we are familiar with are carnivorous, but Stagonolepis was entirely different; they were herbivorous and one of the most common species at the end of the Triassic period.
This strange creature had a very small head compared to its body size (only about 10% of its total body length). Notably, their jaws lacked teeth at the front, instead having a beak-like structure to aid in digging, along with two forelimbs for foraging.
Casea
This prehistoric creature had a large ribcage and could grow up to 120 cm long.
Casea is a group of primitive reptiles, none of which survive to this day. These creatures had massive bodies resembling pigs, yet they had tiny heads with protruding upper jaws and sharp teeth, but no teeth on the lower jaw. This gave Casea a rather silly appearance. These prehistoric creatures had large ribcages and could grow up to 120 cm long. They mainly lived during the late Permian period.
Was Archaeopteryx a dinosaur?
This is believed to be the first bird.
The Greek name for this creature means “the first bird”, and it is thought to have existed during the Jurassic period. A fossil feather of this species was discovered in 1861 at Solnhofen, Germany, where high-quality limestone has been quarried for over a century.
Shocked by the most bizarre prehistoric creatures
This dinosaur is quite mysterious to paleontologists.
This dinosaur remains somewhat of a mystery to paleontologists because the only known evidence of its existence consists of a few fossilized remains, including two forelimbs and several vertebrae. The remaining fossils were discovered on July 9, 1965, in Mongolia and were named Deinocheirus, which translates to “terrible hand.”
Dimorphodon
These creatures are believed to have excellent vision.
Its name means “two-form teeth,” resulting from having two distinct types of teeth in its jaw. These creatures are believed to have excellent vision and extremely sharp claws to hunt fish, squid, or lizards.
Epidendrosaurus
This is the first reptile closer to birds than dinosaurs.
Although Archaeopteryx is noted as the “first bird,” Epidendrosaurus, or “tree lizard,” is the first reptile closer to birds than to dinosaurs. It was about 6 inches long and used its long arms and clawed hands to pry insects from tree bark.
Shocked by the most bizarre prehistoric creatures
This small feathered dinosaur once existed in Inner Mongolia, China, and Epidexipteryx is the earliest known representative of feathered dinosaurs in the fossil record.
Survey of the giant extinct monsters on Earth
This is one of the largest arthropods ever discovered.
This extinct sea scorpion is estimated to be about 2.5 meters long, making it one of the largest arthropods ever discovered. Although dubbed a “sea scorpion,” it is believed to have lived in the freshwater rivers and lakes of what is now Germany.
