Not Megalodon, these 5 species are truly the strongest monsters of the ancient ocean

In the 4.6 billion year history of the Earth, whether it is the deep blue ocean or the vast land, there have existed some terrifying creatures that humans cannot imagine, they are ruthless predators at the top of the food chain.

During the reign of these creatures, very few species could stand against them. Although their shapes and characteristics differed due to the difference in their habitats, they were all the dominant lords of their respective biological eras.

1. Anomalocaris

About 530 million years ago, there was a terrifying creature called the ' Anomalocaris' .  In the oceans of that era, this strange shrimp was considered the most ferocious predator. It had large stalked eyes and large forelimbs for catching prey quickly.

Although Anomalocaris was not good at walking on the seabed, it was a very fast swimmer. The giant mouth of the strange shrimp could reach 25 cm in diameter, enough to hunt any large creature at that time.

At the same time, there are circular external teeth in the mouth, which pose a great threat to animals protected by a mineralized outer armor.

Anomalocaris is a genus of Anomalocarididae, a family of animals considered to be close relatives of the arthropod ancestors. The first Anomalocaris fossil was discovered by Joseph Frederick Whiteaves, another by Charles Doolittle Walcott. Anomalocaris is thought to have been a carnivore.

As extremely ferocious carnivores, their individual size could reach more than 2 meters, while the average body size of most other animals at that time was only a few millimeters to a few centimeters.

However, about 440 million years ago, the Anomalocaris species mysteriously became extinct. To this day, people still wonder why this strange shrimp species disappeared forever from the face of the Earth. Scientists have many different hypotheses about the extinction of this species but have not yet found a convincing answer.

2. Deinosuchus

Deinosuchus is an extinct genus of crocodiles, the name meaning "terrible crocodile" and is of Ancient Greek origin.

Deinosuchus was one of the largest crocodiles ever to have appeared in Earth's history, living during the late Cretaceous period about 75 million years ago and distributed on the east coast of North America.

Because the fossils of Deinosuchus were discovered incompletely, there has always been much debate about their length. It was not until 1954 that scientists initially estimated that Deinosuchus was about 10 meters long.

Deinosuchus is often thought to have adopted a hunting style similar to that of modern crocodiles. It preferred to stay in the water, biding its time, and pounce on dinosaurs or other land animals that came ashore.

The large size and powerful jaws of Deinosuchus made them extremely dangerous when hunting. Once a Deinosaur attacked, its powerful jaws could easily grip its prey and then subdue it with a powerful bite.

After a long period of evolution, Deinosuchus became a top predator on the shores of the late Cretaceous period. Scientists have discovered several fossils of duck-billed dinosaurs with Deinosuchus tooth marks near Texas, USA. This fossil evidence shows that Deinosuchus was fully capable of hunting dinosaurs on land.

3. Mosasaurus

Mosasaurus is a genus of mosasaurs, an extinct group of aquatic lizards. They existed during the Maastrichtian stage of the Late Cretaceous, about 70 to 66 million years ago, in western Europe and North America.

According to current fossil data, Mosasaurus was a genus of mosasaurs that did not exist for a long time, but it was a species with a very rapid rate of evolution and dominated the oceans at the time it lived.

This giant animal can grow up to 21 meters long and weigh up to 33 tons, its fighting efficiency is extremely scary. And the amazing thing is that they live in groups, have high IQs and excellent group cooperation, similar to modern killer whales.

Whether it was combat experience or attack power, Mosasaurus performed very well. The ancestors of mosasaurs were small land lizards, after a long process of evolution, they gradually adapted to life in the sea.

Their toes became webbed feet, their bodies became elongated and flexible, and their heads and jaws became large and powerful. They multiplied rapidly during the late Cretaceous period, pushing other ichthyosaurs and plesiosaurs to the brink of extinction.

4. Tusoteuthis

Tusoteuthis is a genus of large, extinct enchoteuthine mollusks that lived during the Cretaceous period. Although commonly referred to as a squid, it is now thought to be more closely related to modern octopuses.

Mosasaurus was indeed a dominant species in the ocean, but it was not without its natural enemies. Scientists have recreated a sea creature that coexisted with Mosasaurus and this creature could actually eat Mosasaurus. This natural enemy was the largest squid that ever lived on our planet.

It shares some similarities with the modern giant squid. About the size of a mosasaur, the Tusoteuthis squid possessed ten long tentacles that could constrict its prey, immobilizing them and eventually suffocating them to death.

The Tusoteuthis squid is a mollusk similar to other squid-like creatures. However, due to its soft body, the Tusoteuthis squid's body cannot fossilize, only its hard shell remains.

Therefore, the appearance of the Tusoteuthis squid has always been a mystery. Scientists can only try to restore the shape and characteristics of the Tusoteuthis squid based on research and speculation about modern squid species.

5. Livyatan Melvillei 

Melvillei also roamed the seas at the same time as the giant shark, and so competition between the two species was inevitable.

The Livyatan melvillei whale lived in the Miocene seas about 14 million years ago, and we currently only have its skull and 40cm long tooth as a reference to understand it.

It is estimated that its maximum length was about 17.5 meters and its weight was about 65 tons. This ancient whale hunted other large animals and was the top predator of the ocean.

They have large, sturdy heads, in addition to a bite force of up to ten tons, they also have a unique move of using their heads to hit their prey. Like the Megalodon, this ancient whale species is the top predator of the ocean.