We all know that dinosaurs appeared on our planet around 235 million years ago. For tens of millions of years, these giant lizards have been the real kings of the world. Back in those days, flora and fauna were incredible in size, so archaeological finds never cease to amaze our imagination. That said, our modern world also has quite a few giants to spare.
Here are the most amazing giant animals that have ever roamed the Earth.
1. Titanoboa
Titanoboa is an ancestor of the boa constrictor now living on Earth. This death noodle lived on the planet about 60 million years ago and could grow up to 13 meters in length. Modern snakes like pythons can only reach half that size at best. This thing could easily squeeze the juices out of a person and swallow them whole.
2. Syrian camel
This giant desert-dwelling sand horse lived in Syria about 100,000 years ago. The remains of the animal were first discovered in 2005, and according to the archaeologists, the creature could easily reach 4 meters in height, which is pretty much the size of a small giraffe. According to scientists, the local tribes of early humans loved this camel’s meat, so they just wiped it from the face of the planet.
3. Arthropleura
Giant centipedes and dragonflies the size of a helicopter are by no means only found in Monster Hunter games and horror films. These creatures existed on Earth long before the dinosaurs – in the Carboniferous period. Arthropleura, the largest of the terrestrial invertebrates, lived in what is now Europe and North America. Its segmented body reached 2.5 meters in length, and it used 30 pairs of the world’s creepiest legs to move around.
4. Megalodon
Megalodon – the beast, the myth, the legend. Thanks to all the movies, books, and games dedicated to this monster, even pre-schoolers have heard of the world’s biggest shark. Megalodon was a 22-meter creature with jaws so huge that it could swallow a standing man whole. According to the ichthyologists, Megalodons lived from 25 to 1.5 million years ago, and some say they may still lurk in the deepest oceans.
5. Gigantopithecus
It is clear even from the name that the creature we deal with here is characterized by its enormous size and is somehow related to our ancestors. Gigantopithecus lived a million years ago. It was a 4-meter-tall primate, weighing over 500 kg, who loved eating bamboo.
6. Spinosaurus
The largest carnivorous dinosaur of all time terrorized the territory of modern North Africa during the Cretaceous period. Spinosaurus was freaking ginormous! About 18 meters in length and weighing up to 20 tons, this flawless killing machine could swim like a fish and run up to 50km/h. In other words, unless you had wings – you were screwed.
7. Brontosaurus
The largest land creatures lived in North America during the late Jurassic period. These docile herbivores reached 23 meters in length and weighed, according to various estimates, up to 32 tons. It is believed that these giants could stand on their hind legs to reach for the juicy leaves and use their whip-like, powerful tails to fight off predators.
8. Meganeura
The Carboniferous period is famous for its giant predatory insects, who were dominating the land and air due to the increased oxygen content in the atmosphere. The wingspan of the colossal dragonfly Meganeura could reach 80 cm. Imagine these bad boys landing on your head. Gross!
9. Giant water scorpion
The recently discovered giant water scorpion known as Jaekelopterus rhenaniae, which lived 400 million years ago, could reach up to two meters in length. Experts believe the giant scorpion could have evolved to this ridiculous size as a way to win the “evolutionary arms race” with the shellfish. Some experts say that this long-extinct creature was the progenitor of today’s land scorpions.
10. Blue whale
The blue whale is the largest modern animal and probably, the largest animal that ever lived on Earth. Its length reaches 33 m, and its weight can exceed 150 tons. The length of a newborn baby whale is 6-8 meters, and it requires around 90 liters of milk every day. Sadly, humans have been killing these majestic creatures for centuries, so they may become extinct too.
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