10th March, 2024
CHIRANJIT MITRA
● Era: Devonian Period (419-359 million years ago) ● Awesome Factor: ● An armored fish the size of a school bus (up to 30 feet long!). ● Powerful jaws had bony plates instead of teeth, crushing prey with immense force. ● Top predator of its ancient seas.
● Era: Devonian Period ● Awesome Factor: ● Largest arthropod ever discovered, reaching lengths of 8 feet. ● Giant grasping claws and powerful swimmers. ● Likely the apex predator of early freshwater environments.
● Era: Carboniferous Period (359-299 million years ago) ● Awesome Factor: ● The largest land invertebrate ever known – could grow up to 8.5 feet long! ● Likely fed on decaying plants on the lush forest floors.
● Era: Cambrian Period (541-485 million years ago) ● Awesome Factor: ● One of Earth's earliest apex predators. ● Streamlined body and powerful swimmer, with strange mouthparts to grasp prey. ● Early eyes and complex body structures suggest evolution was booming at this time.
● Era: Carboniferous Period (359–299 million years ago) ● Awesome Factor: ● Giant dragonfly-like insect with a wingspan of over 2 feet. ● A fearsome aerial predator in a world full of giant insects. ● Primitive insect anatomy with huge wings suggests high oxygen levels over time.
● Era: Paleocene Epoch (following the extinction of the dinosaurs) ● Awesome Factor: ● Largest snake ever discovered, reaching lengths up to 42 feet! ● Thrived in the hot, lush rainforests of the post-dinosaur world. ● A true testament to the adaptable nature of reptiles.
● Era: Ordovician Period (485–444 million years ago) ● Awesome Factor: ● One of the largest shelled cephalopods (like squid and octopus) ever. ● Its shell alone could reach up to 20 feet long! ● An early example of gigantism is ocean animals as life diversified.
● Era: Permian Period (299-251 million years ago) ● Awesome Factor: ● Known as the 'buzz-saw shark' due to its bizarre spiral arrangement of teeth. ● Scientists still debate how exactly this unusual jaw was used. ● Represents a fascinating evolutionary experiment in shark adaptations.
● Era: Cambrian Period (541–485 million years ago) ● Awesome Factor: ● One of the most bizarre creatures of the Cambrian explosion of life. ● Tiny, spiny body with rows of legs and tentacles – hard to tell which end is which! ● Demonstrates the incredible diversity and strange body plans of early animals.