Discover fossil taxa in Mindat's PaleoBioDB-linked collection. Featured pages are selected from pages with the most substantial captured Wikipedia text, then ordered by fossil-record occurrences. This is a discovery signal, not a measure of scientific importance.
Geological time and location filters combine when both are supplied. A location filters the featured pages to taxa with a recorded fossil occurrence near those coordinates.
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Neanderthals (; or Neandertals, German: Neandertaler [neˈ(ʔ)andɐtaːlɐ]; Homo neanderthalensis or Homo sapiens neanderthalensis), are an extinct species or subspecies of archaic humans who lived in Eurasia until about 40,000 years …
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The passenger pigeon or wild pigeon (Ectopistes migratorius) is an extinct species of pigeon that was endemic to North America. Its common name is derived from the French word passager, meaning "passing by", due to the migratory h…
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The dodo (Raphus cucullatus) is an extinct flightless bird that was endemic to the island of Mauritius, east of Madagascar in the Indian Ocean. The dodo's closest genetic relative was the also-extinct Rodrigues solitaire, the two …
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The moose (North America) or elk (Eurasia), Alces alces, is a member of the New World deer subfamily and is the largest and heaviest extant species in the deer family. Most adult male moose have distinctive broad, palmate ("open-h…
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The marsh rice rat (Oryzomys palustris) is a semiaquatic North American rodent in the family Cricetidae. It usually occurs in wetland habitats, such as swamps and salt marshes. It is found mostly in the eastern and southern United…
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The thylacine ( THY-lə-seen, or THY-lə-syne, also ;) (Thylacinus cynocephalus), now extinct, is one of the largest known carnivorous marsupials, evolving about 4 million years ago. The last known live animal was captured in 1933 i…
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The dire wolf (Canis dirus, "fearsome dog") is an extinct species of the genus Canis. It is one of the most famous prehistoric carnivores in North America, along with its extinct competitor, the sabre-toothed cat Smilodon fatalis.…
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The American bison or simply bison (Bison bison), also commonly known as the American buffalo or simply buffalo, is an American species of bison that once roamed North America in vast herds. Its historical range, by 9000 BCE, is d…
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The great auk (Pinguinus impennis) is a species of flightless alcid that became extinct in the mid-19th century. It was the only modern species in the genus Pinguinus. It is not closely related to the birds now known as penguins, …
Explore this fossil page →The great auk (Pinguinus impennis) is a species of flightless alcid that became extinct in the mid-19th century. It was the only modern species in the genus Pinguinus. It is not closely related to the birds now known as penguins, …
Explore this fossil page →The Rodrigues solitaire (Pezophaps solitaria) is an extinct, flightless bird that was endemic to the island of Rodrigues, east of Madagascar in the Indian Ocean. Genetically within the family of pigeons and doves, it was most clos…
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The Columbian mammoth (Mammuthus columbi) is an extinct species of mammoth that inhabited North America as far north as the northern United States and as far south as Costa Rica during the Pleistocene epoch. It was one of the last…
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Homo heidelbergensis is an extinct species or subspecies of archaic humans in the genus Homo, which radiated in the Middle Pleistocene from about 700,000 to 300,000 years ago. African H. heidelbergensis has 4 subspecies: H. h. hei…
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Steller's sea cow (Hydrodamalis gigas) is an extinct sirenian described by Georg Wilhelm Steller in 1741. At that time, it was found only around the Commander Islands in the Bering Sea between Alaska and Russia; its range was more…
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The least weasel (Mustela nivalis), little weasel, common weasel, or simply weasel in the UK and much of the world, is the smallest member of the genus Mustela, family Mustelidae and order Carnivora. It is native to Eurasia, North…
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Homo naledi is a species of archaic human discovered in the Rising Star Cave, Cradle of Humankind, South Africa dating to the Middle Pleistocene 335,000–236,000 years ago. The initial discovery comprises 1,550 specimens, represent…
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The Réunion ibis or Réunion sacred ibis (Threskiornis solitarius) is an extinct species of ibis that was endemic to the volcanic island of Réunion in the Indian Ocean. The first subfossil remains were found in 1974, and the ibis w…
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The Lord Howe swamphen (Porphyrio albus), also known as the Lord Howe gallinule, white swamphen, or white gallinule, is an extinct species of rail which lived on Lord Howe Island, east of Australia. It was first encountered when t…
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The waterbuck (Kobus ellipsiprymnus) is a large antelope found widely in sub-Saharan Africa. It is placed in the genus Kobus of the family Bovidae. It was first described by Irish naturalist William Ogilby in 1833. The thirteen su…
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The hoopoe starling (Fregilupus varius), also known as the Réunion starling or Bourbon crested starling, is a species of starling which lived on the Mascarene island of Réunion, and became extinct in the 1850s. Its closest relativ…
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The Mascarene parrot or mascarin (Mascarinus mascarin) is an extinct species of parrot that was endemic to the Mascarene island of Réunion in the western Indian Ocean. The taxonomic relationships of this species have been subject …
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Homo erectus (meaning 'upright man') were a species of archaic humans from the Pleistocene, earliest occurrence about 2 mya. They are proposed to be the direct ancestors to several human species, such as H. heidelbergensis, H. ant…
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The African buffalo or Cape buffalo (Syncerus caffer) is a large Sub-Saharan African bovine. Syncerus caffer caffer, the Cape buffalo, is the typical subspecies, and the largest one, found in Southern and East Africa. S. c. nanus …
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The Cuban macaw or Cuban red macaw (Ara tricolor) was a species of macaw native to the main island of Cuba and the nearby Isla de la Juventud that became extinct in the late 19th century. Its relationship with other macaws in its …
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