discovery
SUE: The Most Famous T-Rex
SUE is the largest and most complete T-Rex ever found—90% of the skeleton! The Field Museum paid $8.4 million for SUE in 1997, the most ever paid for a fossil at auction.
Welcome to Prehistoric World
Discover the fascinating creatures that once roamed our planet
Featured Creatures
Featured Creatures
Anomalocaris canadensis
Cambrian
Anomalocaris, meaning "abnormal shrimp," was the first apex predator in Earth's history! Living during the Cambrian period, approximately 500 million years ago, this bizarre creature ruled the ancient seas long ...
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Palaeophis colossaeus
Paleogene
Palaeophis was a giant sea snake that lived approximately 55-50 million years ago during the Eocene epoch. This massive marine predator could grow up to 9-12 meters long—making it one ...
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Cryolophosaurus ellioti
Jurassic
Cryolophosaurus, meaning "frozen crested lizard," was a large predatory dinosaur that lived in Antarctica approximately 194 million years ago during the Early Jurassic. Famous for its ...
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Latest Discoveries
February 9, 2026
Charnia
Proterozoic
Charnia is one of the most important fossils ever discovered! This mysterious frond-shaped organism lived during the Ediacaran period, approximately 575 to 555 million years ago, making it one of Earth's oldest known complex life forms. Charnia was the...
Location: England, Canada, Australia, Russia
Scientific Name: Charnia masoni
February 9, 2026
Tribrachidium
Proterozoic
Tribrachidium is one of the strangest creatures to ever exist! Living during the Ediacaran period about 558-555 million years ago, this bizarre disc-shaped organism had three-fold symmetry — a body plan found in no living animal today. It...
Location: Australia, Russia, Ukraine
Scientific Name: Tribrachidium heraldicum
February 9, 2026
Spriggina
Proterozoic
Spriggina is one of the most intriguing fossils from the Ediacaran period, living approximately 550-560 million years ago. With its distinctive horseshoe-shaped head and segmented body, it has sparked decades of debate about whether it represents...
Location: Australia
Scientific Name: Spriggina floundersi
February 9, 2026
Wiwaxia
Cambrian
Wiwaxia is one of the strangest creatures from the Cambrian Explosion, living approximately 508 million years ago. This bizarre armored slug-like animal was covered in overlapping scales and tall defensive spines, making...
Location: Canada (Burgess Shale), China
Scientific Name: Wiwaxia corrugata
February 9, 2026
Pikaia
Cambrian
Pikaia is one of the most important fossils ever discovered—it may be one of our earliest ancestors! This small, leaf-shaped swimmer lived approximately 508 million years ago during the Middle Cambrian period....
Location: Canada (Burgess Shale)
Scientific Name: Pikaia gracilens
February 9, 2026
Olenoides
Cambrian
Olenoides serratus is one of the most famous and scientifically important trilobites ever discovered! Living approximately 508 million years ago during the Middle Cambrian, this trilobite is celebrated for its exceptional...
Location: Canada (Burgess Shale), USA
Scientific Name: Olenoides serratus
February 9, 2026
Ottoia
Cambrian
Ottoia was a fearsome predatory worm that terrorized the Cambrian seafloor approximately 508 million years ago. As the most abundant worm in the famous Burgess Shale, this priapulid (penis worm) used its...
Location: Canada (Burgess Shale), USA (Utah)
Scientific Name: Ottoia prolifica
February 2, 2026
Dickinsonia
Proterozoic
Dickinsonia is one of the most mysterious and ancient creatures ever found! Living during the Ediacaran period about 558-555 million years ago, it was one of Earth's earliest complex life forms. This bizarre oval-shaped organism lived...
Location: Australia, Russia, Ukraine
Scientific Name: Dickinsonia costata
February 2, 2026
Orthoceras
Ordovician
Orthoceras was an ancient straight-shelled nautiloid—an early relative of today's squids and octopuses! Living from the Ordovician to Triassic periods (around 485-200 million years ago), these jet-propelled hunters had long, cone-shaped shells and were among the...
Location: Worldwide (Morocco, Sweden, North America)
Scientific Name: Orthoceras regulare
February 2, 2026
Birkenia
Silurian
Birkenia was a tiny jawless fish that swam in ancient Silurian seas about 430 million years ago! At only 10 cm (4 inches) long, this small but important fish was an anaspid—one of the early vertebrates that...
Location: Scotland, Norway
Scientific Name: Birkenia elegans
February 2, 2026
Tiktaalik
Devonian
Tiktaalik is one of the most important fossils ever discovered—a 375-million-year-old "fishapod" that shows the transition from fish to land animals! Found in the Canadian Arctic in 2004,...
Location: Arctic Canada (Ellesmere Island)
Scientific Name: Tiktaalik roseae
February 2, 2026
Phorusrhacos
Neogene
Phorusrhacos was one of the most terrifying "terror birds"—giant flightless predatory birds that ruled South America for millions of years! Standing 2.5 meters (8 feet) tall with a massive hooked beak, this apex...
Location: South America (Argentina)
Scientific Name: Phorusrhacos longissimus
February 2, 2026
Smilodon
Quaternary
Smilodon, the famous "saber-toothed cat," was one of the most iconic predators of the Ice Age! Living from about 2.5 million to 10,000 years ago, this powerful cat had enormous canine teeth that could...
Location: North and South America
Scientific Name: Smilodon fatalis
February 2, 2026
Woolly Rhinoceros
Quaternary
The Woolly Rhinoceros was a massive, shaggy beast that roamed the frozen steppes of Ice Age Europe and Asia! Living from about 350,000 to 10,000 years ago, this incredible animal was perfectly...
Location: Europe, Asia
Scientific Name: Coelodonta antiquitatis
February 2, 2026
Gorgonops
Permian
Gorgonops was one of the most fearsome predators of the Late Permian period, approximately 260-252 million years ago! Named after the Gorgons of Greek mythology (monsters with snakes for hair), this...
Location: South Africa
Scientific Name: Gorgonops torvus
Did You Know?
evolution
Blue Whales: Bigger Than Any Dinosaur
The blue whale is the largest animal EVER—bigger than any dinosaur! At 200 tons, it weighs twice as much as the largest dinosaurs. Some dinosaurs were longer, but none were heavier.
discovery
Dinosaurs Got Cancer Too
Scientists diagnosed a 76-million-year-old Centrosaurus with bone cancer (osteosarcoma)—the same cancer that affects humans today! This shows cancer has been around for millions of years.
discovery
First Dinosaur Named: 1824
Megalosaurus was the first dinosaur ever scientifically named, by William Buckland in 1824. The word "dinosaur" itself wasn't invented until 1842 by Richard Owen!
discovery
The Great Dying
The Permian-Triassic extinction event, known as "The Great Dying," wiped out about 95% of marine species and 70% of land species.
discovery
Dinosaur Footprints Everywhere
Thousands of dinosaur trackways have been found on every continent! Some tracks in Colorado show dinosaurs walking together in herds, and some footprints are over a meter wide.
dinosaur
T-Rex vs Triceratops: Real Rivals
T-Rex and Triceratops actually lived at the same time and place! The Hell Creek Formation contains both—Triceratops makes up 40% of fossils there, T-Rex 24%. They definitely encountered each other.
evolution
Saber-Toothed Cats Ruled Americas
Smilodon, the famous saber-toothed cat, had 28 cm (11-inch) fangs and lived throughout North and South America. Over 1,200 specimens have been found in the La Brea Tar Pits alone!
environment
Pangaea: When All Land Was One
About 335 million years ago, all continents were joined into one supercontinent called Pangaea. You could have walked from Antarctica to the Arctic!
dinosaur
Not All Dinosaurs Were Giants
While many famous dinosaurs were enormous, the smallest known dinosaur was the Compsognathus, only about the size of a chicken!
evolution
Tiny Mammals Lived With Dinosaurs
Small mammals existed for over 160 million years alongside dinosaurs! They were mostly nocturnal and mouse-sized, waiting in the shadows until the dinosaurs went extinct.
dinosaur
T-Rex: Strongest Bite Ever on Land
T-Rex could bite with a force of up to 57,000 Newtons—like having a medium-sized elephant sit on you! This is the strongest bite force of any land animal that ever lived.
dinosaur
Spinosaurus: A Swimming Dinosaur
Spinosaurus had a paddle-like tail and dense bones for buoyancy—it was semi-aquatic! This 15-meter predator hunted fish in rivers like a giant crocodile-dinosaur hybrid.
evolution
The First Flower
The first flowering plants appeared around 130 million years ago, during the Cretaceous period, revolutionizing plant evolution.
dinosaur
Longest Dinosaur: 42 Meters!
Supersaurus may be the longest dinosaur ever at up to 42 meters (138 feet)—longer than three school buses! Its neck alone was over 15 meters, and its tail stretched 18+ meters.
evolution
Horses Started Dog-Sized
The first horses (Eohippus) were only 30 cm tall—about the size of a fox! They had four toes and lived 55 million years ago. Horse evolution is one of the best-documented in paleontology.
environment
One Day Was Only 22 Hours Long
When dinosaurs roamed Earth, days were shorter! The Moon's gravity is slowly slowing Earth's rotation. 200 million years ago, a year had about 385 days.
discovery
The Fish That Came Back From Extinction
The coelacanth was thought extinct for 65 million years—until one was caught in 1938! Called a "living fossil," it has barely changed in 400 million years and was like finding a living dinosaur.
evolution
Megalodon: 7-Inch Teeth Monster
Megalodon's teeth could reach 7.5 inches (19 cm)—three times larger than great white shark teeth! This 20+ meter shark had the strongest bite of any animal ever: 182,000 Newtons.
discovery
Soft Tissue in 68-Million-Year Fossils
In 2005, scientist Mary Schweitzer discovered soft tissue, including flexible blood vessels, inside a 68-million-year-old T-Rex bone—a discovery that shocked the scientific world.
environment
Earth's Oxygen Revolution
About 2.4 billion years ago, the "Great Oxidation Event" dramatically increased Earth's oxygen levels, making complex life possible.
environment
Hangenberg event
The Hangenberg event, about 359 million years ago, was a mass extinction at the Devonian-Carboniferous boundary, caused by global cooling and anoxic oceans, wiping out many marine species.
discovery
Mary Anning: Fossil Hunting Pioneer
At just 12 years old, Mary Anning discovered the first complete Ichthyosaur fossil in 1811. She became one of history's greatest fossil hunters, despite never receiving formal credit in her time.
environment
Ordovician-Silurian extinction
The Ordovician-Silurian extinction, around 445 million years ago, was caused by a rapid ice age and fluctuating sea levels, eliminating nearly 85% of marine species.