The Tyrannosaurus Rex is one of the most famous extinct animals. He was the largest carnivorous land animal of all time, measuring forty-three feet long and sixteen and a half feet high, with a weight that may have approached seven tons. He had a huge skull (but a small brain), balanced by a long tail. His hind legs were large and powerful, but his forelimbs were very small and they only had two digits on them.
T. Rex fossils have been found in North America, and these date back to the last years of the Cretaceous Period. This was roughly sixty-five million years ago. He was one of the last dinosaurs on earth before the extinction-causing event that befell all the dinosaurs. There have been more than thirty fossil structures unearthed that archaeologists identify as T. rex.
Another interesting mammal on the extinct animals list is the Quagga, which is a wild animal, half horse, half zebra. Scientists have since genetically manipulated genes to create a Zorse, which is also a horse-zebra hybrid. The original Quagga's have been extinct in the wild since 1883. These animals had zebra markings only on the front part of their body - the back part was usually a mousy dun color. Their name came from a Khoikhoi word for Zebra.
The Quagga was originally put into the mammal class as its own species, Equus Quagga. But scientists realized that this was no simple Zebra they were looking at. Quagga were hunted to extinction for their hides and meat, and to save feed for domestic animals. The Quagga was the first of the extinct animals to have researchers study its DNA.
The Tasmanian Tiger has been extinct since 1936. This was the largest carnivorous marsupial alive in modern times.
The breed originated in New Guinea and Australia, and it was also called the Tasmanian Wolf, and locally, where they were found, as Tazzy Tiger or Tiger.The Tasmanian Tiger survived on the isle of Tasmania for thousands of years after it had disappeared from Australia. There were Tasmanian Tiger hunts, which helped to cause its extinction, but it was also affected by human encroachment on their lands, as well as dogs being introduced to their areas, and diseases affecting them.
Steller's Sea Cow went extinct in 1768. It used to be found near the Bering Sea, where it was discovered in 1741. The sea cow grew to about twenty-six feet in length, and weighed up to three tons. It looked much like a larger version of the seal, but it had a tail like a whale, and two stout forearms. According to the man who discovered the animals, he said they never came out on the shore, but always lived in the water. He also said that the animal had thick black skin like the bark of an oak tree.
These are just a few of the extinct animals that no longer roam - or swim - the earth.
Read about fox facts and horse facts at the About Animals website.
