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Extinct Animal Field Guides

Explore the ancient past of the Midwest! These illustrated online guides are filled with information about the types of extinct animals who were once found in the Midwest and the Great Plains. New guides coming soon!

Pleistocene Megafauna

Pleistocene epoch

2.5 million years ago -

11,700 years ago

Large land mammals and reptiles of the Ice Ages found in the Great Plains, Great Lakes region and the Ohio River valley

A drawing of an American Mastodon

Western Interior Sea

Cretaceous Period

100 - 66 million

years ago

Marine reptiles, birds and invertebrates found in the seas which covered the Great Plains during the Cretaceous period

A drawing of a Mosasaurus

Recent Extinctions

250 years ago-

Present

Over a dozen species of Midwestern animals have become extinct over the last 250 years, including birds, fishes, insects and snails

A drawing of a Passenger pigeon
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Timeline Of Prehistoric Life In The Midwest

The landscape of the Midwest has taken on many forms over the course of Earth's history. At various times in the distant past parts of the Midwest have been covered in rainforests, in shallow seas and in mile-thick sheets of solid ice.

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A drawing of a collection of animals from the Ice Age whose fossils are found in the Midwest

Welcome to Prehistoric Midwest:
an illustrated guide to the ancient past

This website is intended to be a catalogue of information about ancient life in the Midwest, as well as a collection of paleoart featuring our many types of extinct organisms!

A drawing of a collection of animals found in the Western Interior Seaway
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Anatomical Coloring Pages

Color in these anatomical and skeletal diagrams to learn more about the finer details of ancient fossils!

An anatomical diagram of the skeleton of Dunkleosteus
An anatomical diagram of the skeleton of a giant ground sloth
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3D Scans and Models

Browse 3-dimensional scans of fossil specimens produced by the Virtual Curation Lab

A 3D model skull of a Megalonyx ground sloth

Further Reading

Find more sources of information about prehistoric life in the Midwest

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The Drawing Process

Learn about how all of the illustrations for our website are made!

Updates

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