Prehistoric Encyclopedia
A living reference library of prehistoric life — organised by major taxonomic groups, powered by community-contributed Registry specimens.
Browse by Taxonomic Group
Each hub contains a searchable genus browser, collector guide, geological timeline, and an auto-populated gallery from the Global Registry.
Ammonites
Coiled cephalopods — the index fossils of the Mesozoic seas.
80+ genera · Invertebrate
Ancient Fish
Armoured placoderms, lobe-finned lungfish, and primitive jawless agnathans.
10,000+ species · Pisces
Belemnites & Squids
Bullet-shaped guards and ancient squid — the dominant cephalopods of Mesozoic seas.
~100 genera · Belemnoidea
Brachiopods
Lamp shells — the dominant shelly invertebrates of Palaeozoic seas with 30,000+ fossil species.
30,000+ fossil species · Brachiopoda
Cambrian Arthropods
The extraordinary Cambrian explosion — Anomalocaris, Opabinia, and the bizarre fauna of the Burgess Shale.
Hundreds of genera · Stem Arthropoda
Corals
Ancient reef-builders — rugose and tabulate corals dominated Palaeozoic seas.
Thousands of genera · Cnidaria
Crinoids
Sea lilies — crinoids have perched on the ocean floor for 480 million years, filtering food with graceful arms.
5,000+ genera · Crinoidea
Crocodylomorphs
Ancient crocodile relatives — from tiny land-dwelling hunters to giant ocean-going giants.
300+ genera · Crocodyliformes
Dinosaurs
Dominant vertebrates of the Mesozoic — from tiny feathered hunters to giant sauropods.
1,000+ species · Dinosauria
Echinoderms
Sea urchins, starfish, and blastoids — echinoderms with five-fold symmetry and a rich 480-million-year fossil record.
7,000+ living species · Echinodermata
Eurypterids
Sea scorpions — some reaching 2.5m, the largest arthropods that ever lived.
250+ species · Eurypterida
Fossil Bivalves
Clams, oysters, and scallops — among the most abundant fossils in marine sediments from the Cambrian to today.
~10,000 genera · Bivalvia
Fossil Crustaceans
Lobsters, shrimps, horseshoe crabs, and isopods — exquisitely preserved in Solnhofen and Oxford Clay Lagerstätten.
2,000+ genera · Crustacea
Fossil Gastropods
Snails and their relatives — the largest class of molluscs with a 500-million-year fossil record in every marine environment.
~100,000 fossil species · Gastropoda
Fossil Plants
Clubmosses, seed ferns, giant horsetails, and the first flowering plants.
Thousands of genera · Plantae
Fossil Sponges
The oldest animal fossils — sponges built the first reefs and have been filtering Earth's oceans for over 600 million years.
10,000+ living species · Porifera
Marine Reptiles
Reptiles that returned to the sea — ichthyosaurs, plesiosaurs, and mosasaurs.
200+ genera · Marine Reptile
Nautiloids
Straight-shelled orthocones and coiled nautiloids — cephalopods that ruled Ordovician seas and survive today as Nautilus.
2,500+ genera · Nautiloidea
Prehistoric Arachnids
Ancient spiders, giant scorpions, and trigonotarbids — arachnids have stalked terrestrial environments for 430 million years.
1,000+ fossil genera · Arachnida
Prehistoric Insects
The first flying animals and the most diverse class — from giant Carboniferous griffinflies to Cretaceous amber specimens.
25,000+ fossil species · Insecta
Prehistoric Mammals
From tiny Mesozoic insectivores to the Ice Age megafauna — the Age of Mammals.
5,000+ genera · Mammalia
Prehistoric Sharks
Among the oldest surviving vertebrate lineages — from 18m Megalodon to bizarre spiral-toothed Helicoprion.
3,000+ extinct genera · Chondrichthyes
Pterosaurs
The first vertebrates to master powered flight — from tiny insectivores to 10m giants.
150+ genera · Pterosauria
Rays & Chimaeras
Flattened batoids, electric rays, and ghost chimaeras — the cartilaginous relatives of sharks.
1,200+ living species · Batoidea & Holocephali
Synapsids
Mammal-like reptiles that ruled the Permian — ancestors of all modern mammals.
4,000+ genera · Synapsida
Trace Fossils
Tracks, burrows, and feeding traces — behaviour preserved in rock.
Ichnogenera · Ichnology
Trilobites
The most iconic arthropods of the Palaeozoic — found on every continent.
20,000+ species · Arthropod
Registry-Powered Encyclopedia
Every hub automatically displays verified specimens from the Global Registry — matched by scientific name. When you add a specimen to your collection and register it, it can appear here to help the community. Contributor identities are always kept anonymous.