16 Ancient Animals That Make Us Glad They’re Extinct

By:
16 Ancient Animals That Make Us Glad They’re Extinct

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

HALLUCIGENIA Dead for 488 million years. 2LONG CRACKED.COM It put those legs to good use and walked right into our nightmares. This small ocean dweller's fossilized remains baffled scientists so much they had a hard time finding its head from its ass. A half-billion years separate this cactus-spiked tapeworm from modern man, but it still doesn't seem like enough.

Source: BBC

Sign up for the Cracked Newsletter

Get the best of Cracked sent directly to your inbox!

Forgot Password?