EXTINCT ANIMALS - SECOND SERIES

Yes! You read that right, this is the second series. You can check the first part here. Those animals listed there are friendly I guess, we would have loved to meet some of them. But trust me, you wouldn't want to meet the ones on this list.

Have you ever imagined if all those wild animals still exist? I have. Perhaps, humans made them go extinct just to keep us safe. The lions, crocodiles and tigers we have are enough to scare us. We don't want to add to them, do we?

You might have seen some of these animals on TV. Trust me, they had existed. They will freak you out. Yes! They are that terrifying. Let me walk you through my list.

Gigantopithecus

_{Kaek (2016) CC BY-S.A 3.0 in wikimedia commons}

This is the biggest ape that ever lived. It weighed about 1100 pounds and it's 10 feet tall. They were declared extinct 100,000 years ago. That's a really long time. Other wild animals were afraid of this beast. Yes, including lions and tigers. They were found in China.

Standing close to an animal that's very taller than you is quite terrifying. I wouldn't want to see this beast either. Well, good news, we can only see pictures of them. They've gone extinct, thanks to whoever made them disappear.

Kingdom - Animalia, Phylum - Chordata, Class - Mammalia.

Pulmonoscopius

_{Noble Tamura (2008), CC BY-S.A 3.0 in wikimedia commons}

Are you scared of scorpions? Then, be grateful you didn't meet this. Pulmonoscopius are giant scorpions, they are about 70 centimeters long with a big stinger on its tail and claws on the front.

If this scorpion sting a human, then, he's done for. They were found in Scotland during the Visean Epoch of the Carboniferous . It belongs to the Centromachidae family in the Animalia kingdom. Phylum is Anthropoda and Class is Arachnida.

A very big scorpion? I wouldn't want to see that.

Megapiranha

_{Apokryltaros (2016) CC BY-S.A 3.0 in wikimedia commons}

This extinct fishes lived during the late Mociene period in Argentina. You must have seen or heard of Piranhas, they still exist and they are very dangerous. Their teeth can eat deep into the human bone. Yes, they are that dangerous. You wouldn't want to be in water with a Piranha.

Now, here is a Megapiranha. The "mega" in the name should ring a bell. They are more dangerous. It is about 71 centimeters long. Scientists were unable to discover or study the rest of the body but the vital part was studied, the teeth. They've gone extinct for a very long time, so, fossils made them discover the teeth.

If this animal still exist, I'm sure there will be no fishes anymore.

Kingdom - Animalia, Family - Serrasalmidae, Phylum - Chordata.

Titanoboa

_{Ryan Quick (2012) CC BY-S.A 3.0 in wikimedia commons}

Snakes are very dangerous whether big or small. I'm sure you will freak when you see a small snake talk less of a Python. Do you know a bigger snake had existed? The Titanoboa is about 40 feet long, it's very fat too. You can imagine how big it was.

It lived about 60 million years ago in the warm water of the tropics and it's capable of killing a crocodile. Did I just say capable? It kills and eats crocodiles. It kills them with constrictions. That's how the Titanoboa captures its preys and they are about 2500 pounds in weight.

Nobody wants to see this animal.

Kingdom - Animalia, Phylum - Chordata, Class - Reptilia.

Terror Bird

_{Snowmanradio (2008) CC BY-S.A 3.0 iqn wikimedia commons}

Save the best for the last they say, but, this time I'm introducing the most terrifying as the last. Well, I find this more dangerous. I never envisaged a bird as a beast. Even the name should scare you.

Terror birds prey on all animals smaller than them. Horses, zebras, tigers, goats and a lot more were all preys. It is about 9 feet tall and weighs 330 pounds. Back in those days, everything was bigger I guess.

Just a single match with their legs break bones. They went extinct 2.5 million years ago. They are also called Phorusrhacids.

Terror is a perfect name for them. We should be happy they went on extinction.

Kingdom - Animalia, Phylum - Chordata, Class - Aves.

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These creatures are terrifying, I wonder if humans lived when they were still on earth. Or perhaps, they lived on a separate planet. Anyways, they are gone for good. If I'm opportuned to bring one back, I'm not sure I will think twice before denying or refusing that opportunity.

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References for further reading.

Gigantopithecus

Pulmonoscorpius

Megapiranha

Titanoboa

Terror Birds

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Thanks for reading, hope to see you next time.