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. 

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

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

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