Basilosaurus cetoides - total view - Smithsonian Museum of Natural History - 2012-05-17

A few nice animals that are extinct images I found:

Basilosaurus cetoides - total view - Smithsonian Museum of Natural History - 2012-05-17

Image by dctim1
Skeleton of a basilosaurus cetoides in the Sant Hall of Oceans in the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C. The name Basilosaurus means "king lizard"; the animal is a mammal, but was originally thought to be a kind of dinosaur or lizard. The name "cetoides" means "whale-like."

Basilosaurus cetoides lived 40 to 34 million years in warm seas around the world. It was first discovered in Louisiana in 1832. Skeletons were so common, people used them for chairs! Fossils have since been found in Pakistan and Egypt, and scientists think there may be anywhere from 3 to nine sub-species.

Basilosaurus cetoides grew to be about 60 feet (18 m) in length and was the largest animal on land or sea living at the time. The animal was extremely elongated. with the body behind the tail tapering rapidly. The bones at the tip of the tail indicate it had a very small fluke for its massive size. From the way the muscles appear to attach to the spine, the amazing flexibility of the spine, and other features, it's clear that basilosaurus cetoides used its whole body (not just the tail) to move through the water. It was much like an eel, although eels move sinuously side-to-side and the basilosaurus cetoides moved up and down!

Basilosaurus cetoides probably had a small dorsal fin or ridge, and had extremely tiny two foot (0.6 m) long hind limbs. These limbs had limited mobility, and in fact could only assume two positions: Against the body and against the belly. Scientists think that the limbs were used during sex, to help the male cling to the female.

The bones of basilosaurus cetoides were hollow and probably filled with fluid. This helped it maintain buoyancy in the ocean, and has led scientists to conclude that it did not dive much (if at all). It probably could not move very fast or for very long, and probably lurked at the surface as an ambush hunter. The brain in basilosaurus cetoides is quite small, which means it was probably a solitary animal. There is also no indication that it could echolocate like modern whales.

This skeleton in the Smithsonian is the only real specimen currently exhibited anywhere in the world.

Dinosaur Chicken Breast Cutlets

Image by arimoore
How to make your kid eat his plateful of tortured bird corpse: Cut it up into shapes reminiscent of different species. Score extra points by choosing a species that's been extinct for millions of years. Why, I don't know. Is this appetizing? I think it's just weird.

Homo neanderthalensis adult male - head model at actual species height - Smithsonian Museum of Natural History - 2012-05-17

Check out these animals that are extinct images:

Homo neanderthalensis adult male - head model at actual species height - Smithsonian Museum of Natural History - 2012-05-17

Image by dctim1
A model an adult Neanderthal male head and shoulders on display in the Hall of Human Origins in the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C. The model is placed at the same height the individual would have been in life.

Neanderthals are either a subspecies of Homo sapiens (Homo sapiens neanderthalensis) or a separate species (Homo neanderthalensis). It's not clear from the evidence.

Neanderthal lived between 350,000 and 24,000 years ago. It's not really clear who Neanderthal's ancestor was. It's possible it was Homo heidelbergensis, or Homo rhodesiensis (which itself may be a sub-species of Homo heidelbergensis).

Neanderthals interbred with early Homo sapiens about 80,000 and 50,000 years ago. Even today, a tiny percentage of the human genome in Europe is Neanderthal.

Neanderthals were discovered in the Engis Caves in now Belgium in 1829 by Philippe-Charles Schmerling.

Neanderthals were much stronger than modern humans and and only slightly shorter. Neanderthal brains are known to have been slightly smaller than a human brain at birth, but by the time they were adults their brains were slightly larger. They lived in large, complex social groups; used language; used fire; built buildings from animal bones and hides; and hunted animals in groups. For many years, scientists assumed that Neanderthals were carnivores, but there is evidence now that they gathered and cooked vegetables.

Neanderthal male adult - Smithsonian Museum of Natural History - 2012-05-17

Image by dctim1
A cast of an adult Neanderthal male skeleton on display in the Hall of Human Origins in the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C.

The lighter parts of the skeleton represent actual bones. The darker sections are conjectural.

Neanderthals are either a subspecies of Homo sapiens (Homo sapiens neanderthalensis) or a separate species (Homo neanderthalensis). It's not clear from the evidence.

Neanderthal lived between 350,000 and 24,000 years ago. It's not really clear who Neanderthal's ancestor was. It's possible it was Homo heidelbergensis, or Homo rhodesiensis (which itself may be a sub-species of Homo heidelbergensis).

Neanderthals interbred with early Homo sapiens about 80,000 and 50,000 years ago. Even today, a tiny percentage of the human genome in Europe is Neanderthal.

Neanderthals were discovered in the Engis Caves in now Belgium in 1829 by Philippe-Charles Schmerling.

Neanderthals were much stronger than modern humans and and only slightly shorter. Neanderthal brains are known to have been slightly smaller than a human brain at birth, but by the time they were adults their brains were slightly larger. They lived in large, complex social groups; used language; used fire; built buildings from animal bones and hides; and hunted animals in groups. For many years, scientists assumed that Neanderthals were carnivores, but there is evidence now that they gathered and cooked vegetables.

Bison Antiquus

Image by Travis S.
This Bison antiquus is a species that was preceded by Bison priscus which came to North America from Siberia. These bison are more adapted to a forested environment, whereas the priscus preferred a steppe environment. The antiquus species later evolved into the common-day bison which are up to a quarter of the size of this animal.

Note the tall spinous processes of the thoracic vertebrae which give a large surface area for muscle attachments which help hold up the animal's giant head.

Metridiochoerus hopwoodi - extinct wild pig - Smithsonian Museum of Natural History - 2012-05-17

A few nice extinct animals images I found:

Metridiochoerus hopwoodi - extinct wild pig - Smithsonian Museum of Natural History - 2012-05-17

Image by dctim1
Jawbone of a Metridiochoerus hopwoodi, an extinct giant warthog that lived in Africa. On display in the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C.

Metridiochoerus hopwoodi lived from 3.6 million years ago to about 117,000 years ago. It was about five feet long, and looked like a warthog. (Modern warthogs are three to five feet long, depending on species.) They were omnivores, eating both plant and animal matter.

They were commonly hunted by the ancestors of human beings.

Wild Animal Park 2007

Image by epochgraphics
Rare endangered white rhino. This is one of seven in the world and will be extinct in our lifetime...

Przewalski's Horse no longer extinct

Image by Transguyjay
Przewalski's Horse at Minnesota Zoo

This Mongolian horse was extinct in the wild, but Minnesota Zoo and other zoos helped to restore it to it's home.