Mother nature never ceases to amaze us. It’s a source of life for awe-inspiring creatures, from delicate to humongous, and everything in between. However, some of the latter might seem delicate, too, compared to the living things that have gone extinct.

Bugs the size of a human, reptiles of ginormous proportions, and rodents with horns—these are just a few examples proving that “Nature Was Metal” back in the day. That’s why there’s an entire subreddit, under this exact name, dedicated to some of nature’s most extraordinary creations that have vanished from the face of the earth.

Today we’ve listed a bunch of them for you to get acquainted with. Whether you find them atrocious or absolutely fascinating, they show the name of the subreddit is definitely not baseless. Scroll down to marvel at the beauties and the beasts and click here for our previous post about them.

#1 This Is The Best-Preserved Dinosaur Specimen Ever Unearthed. This Mummified Nodosaur’s Bones Remain Covered By Intact Skin And Armor — 110 Million Years After The Creature’s Death

Image credits: belowshear

The earliest forms of life—microbes—date back to roughly 3.7 billion years ago. They slowly transformed, presenting more and more complex organisms that eventually led to formation of the first animal species. You might be surprised to learn that sponges, also known as poriferans, are considered to be some of the first animals there are.

Most of the pictures on this list represent something slightly bigger and more threatening than sponges, though. Take dinosaurs, for instance. Scientists believe they lived roughly 245 to 66 million years ago, during the Mesozoic Era, and could weigh tens of tons each.

#2 Tail Of A 99 Myo Dinosaur, The First One Ever Discovered. Perfectly Preserved, Still Covered In Feathers

Image credits: thereread

#3 A Barbary Lion, An Extinct Race, As Photographed In Algeria

Image credits: aquilasr

The American Museum Of Natural History (AMNH) revealed that some dinosaurs weighed up to 80 tons and were roughly 120 feet long. To put things in perspective, try to imagine a dinosaur upright by the Leaning Tower of Pisa, being nearly two-thirds its height. 

AMNH also pointed out that not all dinosaurs are extinct, though. Birds, also known as avian dinosaurs, actually share an ancestor with the non-avian ones, which makes them the last surviving group of the kind.

When it comes to non-avian dinosaurs, there are roughly 300 genera and 700 species that have been discovered and named. But these numbers are likely to go even higher, as scientists continue to find new fossils.

#4 The Only Preserved Head And Skin Of The Extinct Dodo Bird, Kept At The Oxford University Museum Of Natural History

Image credits: secretlyswear863

#5 Real Footage Of 4 Extinct Animals: Thylacine, Ivory-Billed Woodpecker, Baiji River Dolphin, And The Heath Hen

Image credits: EmptySpaceForAHeart

Thanks to paleontologists, we can get a better understanding of what creatures roaming the Earth millions of years ago looked like. They study the history of life based on fossils—rocks that contain remains of plants, animals, or other forms of life. 

It takes 10,000 years for such preserved remains to become fossils. In their hardened layers, they provide scientists with information about the organism’s environment, living conditions, and other details.

#6 Most Animals Used To Be A Lot Bigger

Image credits: sohm113

#7 This Is Quetzalcoatlus Northropi. It Is The Largest Pterosaur Ever Discovered And Possibly The Largest Flying Animal Ever! It Had A Wingspan Of Around 15.9 Metres (59 Feet)

Image credits: Sidelongape68

#8 The Numerous Hand Stencils Of Cueva De Las Manos, Argentina. The Hand Prints Of Many Different People Separated By Hundreds Or Thousands Of Years, Their Stories Lost To Time But Their Art Still Lingers For Us To See

Image credits: homo_artis

Some of the first fossils to be recognized as dinosaur remains date back to the 1830s. That’s when, according to the American paleontologist Mark Norell, people in the English countryside found what they believed to be giant extinct reptiles.

When it comes to the first person to study fossils, Georges Cuvier is often referred to as the founding father of paleontology. Back in the 19th century, he was a member of the faculty at the National Museum of Natural Sciences in Paris, which allowed him to access the most extensive collection of fossils available at the time.

#9 The Giant Monster That Was Argentinosaurus

Image credits: kjmnhbgvfc

#10 22 Million Year Old Enhydro Methane Termite With Its Last Meal Preserved In Amber

Image credits: Ear_Drumming

#11 Utahraptor Claws

Image credits: TheEternels

The images of remains on this list are just a tiny fraction of what’s been dug out in the past years. However, they show just how exceptional in size and other features the creatures were.

Some more examples of such fascinating excavations were presented in an article by Geology Science. In addition to the well-known T-rex, it also covered types of feathered dinosaurs and extinct fish, as well as human remains from millions of years ago.

#12 A Man Holding A Nile Crocodile Skull Next To The Skull Of The Fearsome Crocodylus Thorbjarnarsoni. A Giant Crocodile Species From The Early Pleistocene In The Turkana Basin, Kenya

Image credits: homo_artis

#13 Mammoth Hut

Image credits: electroplasmasphere

#14 In 1663, The Partial Fossilised Skeleton Of A Woolly Rhinoceros Was Discovered In Germany. This Is The “Magdeburg Unicorn”, One Of The Worst Fossil Reconstructions In Human History

Image credits: beachdogs

The Smithsonian Channel also covered the process of restoring an incredible 110-million-year-old fossil. Found in an oil sand mine, it turned out to be the remains of a 18-foot-long nodosaur—a nearly 3000-pound type of armored animal with spikes on its shoulders and a long tail.

#15 This Giant Crinoid Colony Is 195 Million Years Old From The Lower Jurassic Is 4 X 5 Meter And Is Now On Display At A Museum In Houston!

Image credits: GingerMsGeo

#16 Triceratops Femur (Left) vs. Elephant Femur

Image credits: qimingzhuang

#17 The Horned Gopher - The Only Known Rodent To Have Developed Horns

Image credits: MyPhoneSucksBad

Not all animal remains are encapsulated in fossils, though. Some are often found perfectly preserved in other formations, such as amber, for instance. (Earth Archives have covered some pretty impressive examples of that, which you can find here.)

The colorful tree resin traps certain organisms, which become fully enclosed as it solidifies. Despite usually being smaller in size, pieces of amber conserve the remains of different species, in this way saving the information about them as well.

#18 10,000 Year Old Skull And Antlers Of An Extinct Elk Found By Fishermen In Ireland

Image credits: veinedJamaica

#19 The Massive Size Of A Utahraptor Skull, With A Velociraptor Skull And Human Head For Scale

Image credits: Mophandel

#20 The Origin Of Teeth And Jaws Has Been Pushed Back To 436 Million Years Ago

Image credits: sylvyrfyre

Most fossilized remains are of beings that have been long gone for ages, be it dinosaurs or other creatures. However, some species of animals became extinct as recently as just a few years ago. 

Some examples include the Spix’s macaw, also known as the blue macaw, featured in the animated movie ‘Rio’, the smooth handfish that used to roam the coastal waters of Tasmania, and splendid poison frog, a red-colored frog formerly found in Western Panama.

#21 Steller’s Sea Cow, An Enormous Creature Brought To Extinction By Humans, Compared To The Extant Dugong (Which Is About The Weight Of A Bison)

Image credits: aquilasr

#22 Nizar Ibrahim Between The Jaws Of Spinosaurus

Image credits: aquilasr

#23 Arthropleura Millipede Is The Biggest Bug Known To Ever Live

Image credits: s3rumanu_bng

An astonishingly large number of nature’s creations are on the verge of extinction today. According to Animals Around The Globe, nearly 41,500 species are included in the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List, more than 16,000 of which are threatened with extinction.

For example, there are only 67 Javan rhinos in the entire world. The numbers of mountain gorillas and Asian elephants are dropping rapidly, and so are the ones of Atlantic blue tuna.

#24 Barosaurus Had Quite A Long Neck. Art By John Conway

Image credits: MuadDib2001

#25 Dromornis Leg Fossils Upon Excavation

Image credits: aquilasr

#26 The Giant Ground Sloth Eremotherium

Image credits: Shadi_Shin

The United States Geological Survey pointed out that some of the reasons for the unfortunate changes in such numbers are habitat loss and over-exploitation of wildlife for commercial purposes. Sadly, human activity has made the process of extinction way more rapid than it would have been naturally. Scientists believe that the 20th-century rate of animal species dying is a hundred times higher than it would have been without people’s interference.

#27 Thalassocnus Natans, An Aquatic Sloth From The Late Miocene Of Peru And Chile. Art By Mark Witton

Image credits: imprison_grover_furr

#28 An Incredibly Intact Crinoid Specimen Fossil Dating Back To About 345 Million Years Ago!

Image credits: tanhe123

#29 Parapuzosia Seppenradensis, The Largest Known Ammonite, Photographed In The Late 1800s With The Paleontologist Who Described It

Image credits: EternalPermabulk

There are, however, ways to help save the animals at risk. The Endangered Species Coalition pointed out some easy steps to do it, such as learning about the endangered species in your area or making your surroundings wildlife-friendly. It also emphasized the importance of recycling, cautious driving, and safe use of chemicals in your environment.

#30 The Natural History Museum In London Outfitted Its Animatronic Tyrannosaurus Rex In A Colorful Christmas Sweater

Image credits: Forward-Ad-9811

#31 The Last Known Tasmanian Tiger Photographed In 1933. They Are Now Extinct

Image credits: Rational_Rick

#32 Basilosaurus, A Large, Toothed Whale Whose Serpentine Appearance Caused Scientists To Initially Believe It Was A Marine Reptile

Image credits: JurassicPark9265

#33 Prehistoric Spider-Like Arachnid Found Preserved In Amber

Image credits: KunoMochi

#34 Fossil Of Giant 40+ Million Year Old Fish Found In Argentina

Image credits: Rahab_chloe

#35 Gorgosaurus Taken At The Royal Tyrrell Museum

Image credits: some_cultured_swine

#36 Diploceraspis.a Prehistoric Amphibian With A Boomerang Shaped Head

Image credits: shitterfarter58

#37 The Levyatan Was A Whale, An Apex Predator, And A Competitor Of The Megalodon. The Skull Is 3 Meters, The Largest Teeth Are 36 Cm Each - These Are The Largest Among Animals

Image credits: heardyoumeow

#38 Dunkleosteus

Image credits: MathiasCruz2099

#39 Enormous Paraceratherium Skull

Image credits: aquilasr

#40 Seeing As Even Crocodilians Enjoy Butt-Scratches, Does That Mean All Archosaurs Like Dinosaurs And Pterosaurs Enjoyed It Aswell? (Mostly A Joke)

Image credits: EmptySpaceForAHeart

#41 The Legendary "Fighting Dinosaurs" Fossil, Of Which A Velociraptor And Protoceratops Were Both Preserved In Mortal Combat

Image credits: EmptySpaceForAHeart

#42 Dinosaur Claws Were Actually Much Bigger When They Were Alive

Image credits: EmptySpaceForAHeart

#43 Til That Las Vegas, Nv Airport Has A Megalodon Fossil With All Original Teeth Found By One Person Who Dives For Them. I Was Walking Through The Airport And Saw The Massive Jaws

Image credits: VinkyStagina

#44 A Smilodon Fatalis Captured By A Camera Trap

Image credits: PantherGhost007

#45 "Many People Believe The Velociraptors In The Jurassic Franchise Were Utahraptors, They're Not. They're Actually Deinonychus, They Were Huge And You Could Not Beat It In A Fist Fight" By Coolio_art

Image credits: EmptySpaceForAHeart

#46 Sinemys Gamera: An Extinct Turtle From Late Jurassic China

Image credits: anscribhneora

#47 Jimbacrinus Crinoid Fossils, 280 Million Years Old, Found In Western Australia, Gascoyne Region

Image credits: Barry-McKocinue

#48 The Tooth Of A Liopleurodon. Discovered In England's Peterborough Area

Image credits: JurassicPark9265

#49 What Being Attacked By A T-Rex Would Look Like

Image credits: EmptySpaceForAHeart

#50 One Of The Largest Predators Of Late Miocene North America, Barbourofelis Fricki, Bow To The Superior Life Form. Art By Joschua Knüppe

Image credits: ImHalfCentaur1

#51 The Pelvis Of The 440-Pound/200-Kg Giant Moa Showing Puncture Wounds From The Talons The Haast’s Eagle

Image credits: FarTooCritical

#52 Cartilaginous Fish Of The Late Paleozoic

Image credits: crankyjob21

#53 A Smilodon Populator With A Pierced Skull Likely Due To A Innerspecific Killing (With The Skull Of Another Used To Match The Bite Marks)

Image credits: aquilasr

#54 The Largest Terrestrial Predator Since The K-T Extinction Event, Barinosuchus From Miocene South America

Image credits: Spino_Rider_77

#55 It's Been Suggested That Spitting Cobras Evolved As A Response To Bipedal Hominins, As Their Ability To Spray Venom Up To 3 M Allowed Them To Neutralize A New Enemy That Could Attack At The Distance With Stick And Stones. Spitting Cobras Appear In The Fossil Record At About The Same Time As Hominins

Image credits: seilasei

#56 Mandible Of The Giant Crocodilian ???????????

Image credits: Zanclodon

#57 Triceratops Horridus Skull At The Morrison Natural History Museum, Co

Image credits: aquilasr

#58 Artist Working On A Life-Sized Bust Of Kaprosuchus, Sometimes Nicknamed The “Boar-Croc”

Image credits: aquilasr

#59 Spinosaurus Throughout The Decades

Image credits: MyPhoneSucksBad

#60 For Those Who Don’t Know, Earlier This Year, Scientists Found A New, So Far Undescribed Species Of Filter Feeding Shark From Deposits Of The Western Interior Seaway In 1975 From Morden, Manitoba. It Has Been Nicknames “Dave”

Image credits: crankyjob21

#61 Neanderthal Hunters Discover A Peculiar Rock, A Fossilised Ammonite, Amongst The Vast Glaciers 125,000 Years Ago. Fantastic Art Piece By Mikhail Shekhanov

Image credits: tgood139

#62 The Henodus Was A Placodont That Lived In The Late Triassic Period.the Name "Henodus" Translates To "One Thoot" In Greek

Image credits: arandompersonlol18

#63 Deinosuchus, Arguably The Fiercest Predator North America Has Ever Known, Is Seen Here Lunging At An Albertosaurus In This Depiction. Deinosuchus Lived Between 75 Million And 82 Million Years Ago And Had Bodies At Least 33 Feet (10 Meters) Long, Easily Taking Down Any Animal Within Reach

Image credits: KimCureAll

#64 A Clash Of Allosaurus

Image credits: Fluid-Ad3991

#65 Our Face From Our Recent Ancestors To Us

Image credits: Ivan_Botsky_Trollov

#66 Drepanosaurus Unguicaudatus, An Unusual Reptile Known For Its Prehensile Tail From The Late Norian Of Northern Italy. Art By Mark Witton

Image credits: imprison_grover_furr

#67 Giant Insular Species In The Barn Owl Family Compared In Size To A House Cat

Image credits: aquilasr

#68 The Last Moment For A Moa As It Is Attacked By A Haast’s Eagle

Image credits: aquilasr

#69 Carcharodontosaurus vs. Spinosaurus By Luis V Rey

Image credits: DreamingSerpent

#70 The Fossil Species Of Incredible Crocodile Subfamily Osteolaeminae, Today Only Represented By Dwarf Crocodiles

Image credits: aquilasr

#71 Livyatan Melvillei “Playing” With Its Prey

Image credits: MuadDib2001

#72 In The Break Of Dawn, A Group Of Neanderthal Standing Upon Their Cave Bear (Ursus Spelaeus) Kill Find Themselves The Target Of A Pride Of American Cave Lions (Panthera Leo Spelaea) !

Image credits: Homunculus_316

#73 Kelenken, The Ruler Of The Collón Curá Formation

Image credits: Mophandel

#74 Gigantoraptor, The Largest Of The Oviraptorosaurs

Image credits: Mophandel

#75 The Dragon From Down Under: A Massive Megalania Finds A Meal In The Form Of An Unlucky Genyornis

Image credits: AJ_Crowley_29

#76 Spinosaurus

Image credits: HarryHarrison54

#77 This Is Cryolophosaurus, Early Jurassic Antarctica's "Cold-Crested Lizard." Take A Look At That Bizarre Crest On Its Head!

Image credits: JurassicPark9265

#78 Sauroposeidon Proteles Is One Of The Tallest Sauropods To Ever Live. A Mount Of The Holotype Of This Early Cretaceous Titan Was Made For The Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum Of Natural History And Was Installed In 2010

Image credits: sdh96

#79 Megantereon-The Ancestor Of Smilodon

Image credits: MuadDib2001

#80 A Stegosaurus Squares Up To A Hungry Torvosaurus - By Brian J Murphy

#81 This Image Of A Human Next To A Carcharodontosaurus Skull Never Ceases To Amaze Me

#82 Triceratops Horridus Skull At The Morrison Natural History Museum, Co