A selection of bones from Eric, a pliosaur whose fossils are made entirely of opal5yr ⋅ Mr_Quinn ⋅ r/Naturewasmetal
In Africa, it is common for paleontologists to find just the skull caps of prehistoric hominids, and nothing else. This is why.6yr ⋅ Mr_Quinn ⋅ r/Naturewasmetal
A male Gigantopithecus defends his territory against an encroaching tiger. The tiger never stood a chance.6yr ⋅ Mr_Quinn ⋅ r/Naturewasmetal
Deinonychus (meaning terrible claw), based on the plumage of the bearded vulture5yr ⋅ Mr_Quinn ⋅ r/Naturewasmetal
Carnotaurus might have even more ridiculous arms than T. rex, but the rest of its body was built for speed6yr ⋅ Mr_Quinn ⋅ r/Naturewasmetal
“Fighting Dinosaurs” is a fossil depicting a velociraptor and a protoceratops in the midst of combat. The protoceratops has bitten into the velociraptor’s arm, while the predator is tearing into the protoceratops with its claws. They died and were fossilized still locked together.6yr ⋅ Mr_Quinn ⋅ r/Naturewasmetal
Wings of Death and Fire by Fesbra. This is actually closer to how I imagined the balrog on my first readthrough - I love the PJ version, but it's really more overgrown firey troll rather than fallen angel older than time itself3yr ⋅ Mr_Quinn ⋅ r/ImaginaryMiddleEarth
Koolasuchus - Antarctic apex predator and the last survivor of the temnospondyl dynasty6yr ⋅ Mr_Quinn ⋅ r/Naturewasmetal
The jaws of Thylacoleo: one of the strangest sets of mammalian teeth ever evolved6yr ⋅ Mr_Quinn ⋅ r/Naturewasmetal
The famous “Fish Within a Fish” fossil, in which a huge xiphactinus swallowed a smaller fish head first before dying6yr ⋅ Mr_Quinn ⋅ r/Naturewasmetal
The only animal I've seen that's genuinely made me say WTF: Longisquama, the strange-backed pseudolizard.6yr ⋅ Mr_Quinn ⋅ r/Naturewasmetal
Conodonts, an entire extinct class of animal that looked like some sort of fanged nightmare eel.6yr ⋅ Mr_Quinn ⋅ r/Naturewasmetal
The Steller's Sea Cow reached 11 tons and 30 feet long. It was hunted to extinction only 27 years after being discovered.6yr ⋅ Mr_Quinn ⋅ r/Naturewasmetal
I've been thinking a lot about proboscideans lately. Why are they so big and weird looking? What's with all the weird tusks? Anyway, here's platybelodon.6yr ⋅ Mr_Quinn ⋅ r/Naturewasmetal
Some people are saying that dinosaurs don’t look as scary now that we know they had feathers. I think this acrocanthosaurus looks pretty terrifying anyway.6yr ⋅ Mr_Quinn ⋅ r/Naturewasmetal
Tyrannosaurus rex drags a fresh kill to a safer location, Hell Creek formation6yr ⋅ Mr_Quinn ⋅ r/Naturewasmetal
Temnospondyls - when amphibians tried to be crocodiles, and ended up doing pretty well at it! This is Mastodonsaurus giganteus, a 20 food mid-Triassic apex predator.6yr ⋅ Mr_Quinn ⋅ r/Naturewasmetal
Correction: A few days ago I posted something about big cats attacking ancient hominids. I spoke to my professor, and this is what it should have actually looked like.6yr ⋅ Mr_Quinn ⋅ r/Naturewasmetal
The giant hyena, Dinocrocuta, takes on a Chilotherium. These formidable predators once ranged across Eurasia and Africa and reached sizes larger than a modern tiger.6yr ⋅ Mr_Quinn ⋅ r/Naturewasmetal
The aptly named Gigantoraptor, a 2-ton oviraptor that may have returned to carnivorous ways6yr ⋅ Mr_Quinn ⋅ r/Naturewasmetal
Megalochelys atlas, the Miocene giant tortoise. Estimates of its weight range up to 9000 pounds, in some cases.6yr ⋅ Mr_Quinn ⋅ r/Naturewasmetal
Aiolornis incrediblis, the largest bird to fly over North America. It may have specialized in scavenging the carcasses of the American megafauna, and went extinct when they did6yr ⋅ Mr_Quinn ⋅ r/Naturewasmetal
Was trying to find a Thanksgiving animal, but couldn't, so here's a fucked up antelope instead (syndyocera)6yr ⋅ Mr_Quinn ⋅ r/Naturewasmetal
A dead hadrosaur (Claosaurus) has floated out to sea, where it is circled hungrily by Cretaceous sharks (Cretoxyrhina and Squalicorax). Art by Dmitry Bogdanov.3yr ⋅ Mr_Quinn ⋅ r/Naturewasmetal
Although eugenodontids are often called sharks, they’re actually more closely related to dogfish. They’re also unexpectedly huge.6yr ⋅ Mr_Quinn ⋅ r/Naturewasmetal
Hatzegopteryx, perhaps the largest creature ever to take flight, with a speculative display feature6yr ⋅ Mr_Quinn ⋅ r/Naturewasmetal
New research on Caihong juji shows that its head was likely covered in iridescent feathers like those on a hummingbird6yr ⋅ Mr_Quinn ⋅ r/Naturewasmetal
Sycosaurus, a proto-mammal gorgonopsid that dominated Permian South Africa6yr ⋅ Mr_Quinn ⋅ r/Naturewasmetal
Dangerous Prey: A pair of cautious Herrerasaurus observe a wandering Rauisuchian. Are they desperate enough to go for it?6yr ⋅ Mr_Quinn ⋅ r/Naturewasmetal
Palorchestes azael: a 450 pound marsupial and reason number 51486 why Australian megafauna was the best megafauna6yr ⋅ Mr_Quinn ⋅ r/Naturewasmetal
A group of Icthyosaurus larkini harass a bait ball, exactly like many modern predators. Some things never change.6yr ⋅ Mr_Quinn ⋅ r/Naturewasmetal
A T. rex tooth embedded into a hadrosaur vertebra. The hadrosaur survived the injury and the wound later healed, proving that the animal was alive when it was attacked.6yr ⋅ Mr_Quinn ⋅ r/Naturewasmetal
Titanotylopus, one of the largest camel species in history (compared here to a modern camel). Titanotylopus lived in North America as recently as 30k years ago.6yr ⋅ Mr_Quinn ⋅ r/Naturewasmetal
A selection of late Permian fauna, with human for scale. Gorgonopsids are represented heavily, saber teeth and all!6yr ⋅ Mr_Quinn ⋅ r/Naturewasmetal
A brilliantly-colored Styracosaurus stares down the opposition (plus bonus speculative plumage)6yr ⋅ Mr_Quinn ⋅ r/Naturewasmetal
Nuralagus rex, the Menorican giant rabbit. It thrived on Pleistocene Menorica, facing no predators and no natural competition until the island was connected with neighboring Majorica.6yr ⋅ Mr_Quinn ⋅ r/Naturewasmetal
A pair of enormous Arctic Tylosaurus circle the corpse of a drowned hadrosaur. Alaska, 69 mya.6yr ⋅ Mr_Quinn ⋅ r/Naturewasmetal
A pair of Liliensternus circle a trapped Plateosaurus. Liliensternus was one of the largest predators of its day, using slashing teeth to potentially cripple larger prey.6yr ⋅ Mr_Quinn ⋅ r/Naturewasmetal
People always talk about the T. rex when they're discussing scary dinosaurs - but really, wouldn't something like Rubeosaurus be just as scary?6yr ⋅ Mr_Quinn ⋅ r/Naturewasmetal
Rise of the Theropods: a pair of Dilophosaurus tear into a basal sauropodomorph. Arizona, Early Jurassic.6yr ⋅ Mr_Quinn ⋅ r/Naturewasmetal
If you went swimming in Cretaceous North Africa, here's what you'd be sharing the water with7yr ⋅ Mr_Quinn ⋅ r/Naturewasmetal
Bulbasaurus, a Permian synapsid related to our own ancestors. Although it's technically named after its bulbous skull, the discoverers said any resemblance to pokemon is not entirely coincidental.6yr ⋅ Mr_Quinn ⋅ r/Naturewasmetal
Dromaeosaurus, by Jonathan Kuo - the terror of the American West. A truly terrifying hunter drawn by a wonderful paleoartist!6yr ⋅ Mr_Quinn ⋅ r/Naturewasmetal
Dangerous Prey: A pair of bold Allosaurus circle an unlucky Barosaurus, who does not plan on becoming dinner5yr ⋅ Mr_Quinn ⋅ r/Naturewasmetal
Ptycodus Mortoni, the 35-foot giant nurse shark. It specialized in eating giant clams and other large, shelled animals, perhaps including primitive turtles.6yr ⋅ Mr_Quinn ⋅ r/Naturewasmetal
Clash of the Titans: a phytosaur tries to take down a rauisuchian. Based on the discovery of a punctured rauisuchian femur, Chinle Formation, Triassic New Mexico6yr ⋅ Mr_Quinn ⋅ r/Naturewasmetal
