16 Ancient Animals That Make Us Glad They’re Extinct

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16 Ancient Animals That Make Us Glad They’re Extinct

In the 4.5 billion years Earth has been around, it's been host to some truly awful beasts. From the enormous snake-like whale that ate sharks, to the tiny walking worm covered in spikes, nature is truly the worst. 

TITANOBOA Dead for 56 million years. 45', 2500 LBS GRACKED. .COM After the extinction of the dinosaurs, a new heavyweight slithered out of Hell to coil around its throne - in the form of a gigantic, 1.25 ton snake. Constrictors like the anaconda can manage to take down and swallow much larger prey, which would mean few creatures would have been off Titanoboa's menu.

Source: Wired

BRONTORNIS Dead for 1.8 million years. 10', 000 LBS GRACKED.COM Colloquially named 'Terror Birds' for a reason, brontornis belongs to a genus of enormous, flightless birds that roamed South America. These giant raptors used their beaks like a cudgel, swinging the head at the end of their long necks down like an axe to wound and tear apart prey.

Source: BBC

MEGANEURA Dead for 250 million years. 2.5'WINGSPAN CRACKED.COM The name Meganeura means large nerved, in reference to the veins in the insect's wings, which absolutely sucks. If you were a small amphibian during the Carboniferous Period finally getting the courage to walk on land, that last thing you would ever hear would be the beating of those disgusting, veiny wings.

Source: Nature

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