Lost Worlds Resurrected: 40 Captivating Facts about Animal and Human Fossils

The myth of the Griffin probably began when fossils of Protoceratops skulls were found in gold mines near ancient Greece.

27. In 2017, hundreds of fossilized Pterosaur eggs were discovered in the Gobi desert. The eggs belong to a previously known species of pterosaur that lived in China more than 100 million years ago. One such fossil suggests a wingspan of 36 feet making it one of the largest animals ever to fly.

28. In 2014, scientists found what appears to be a fossilized sperm cell from an ancient marine species which lived between 23 million and 16 million years ago. This is the oldest and biggest fossil of sperm ever found, at least of its kind.

29. A number of Homo Naledi fossils, found in a cave in South Africa, have the appearance of having been placed there, but this is almost 200,000 years before such activity has been documented in the Homo genus before.

30. Formations called "the Devil's Corkscrew" were first found around Harrison, Nebraska, in 1891, and were once thought to be extinct forms of sea sponges, but it turns out they are actually fossilized dens of an extinct type of beaver called Palaeocastor.

Megalosaurus, a large meat-eating dinosaur, was originally named “Scrotum Humanum” because its original fossil looked like a human nutsack.

32. In 2007, a paleontologist found the fossilized embryo of Hyphalosaurus, a small aquatic reptile. The embryo had two heads, making it the earliest known case of bicephaly.

33. Gigantopithecus blacki was the largest ape ever recorded. Its first fossils were discovered after being put on sale by a pharmacist in Hong Kong, listed as, “dragon bones/teeth.” It is estimated that they weighed between 300-500 kg and reached 3 meters in height.

34. In the middle ages, toadstones were believed to be magical gems found in the heads of toads. The small 'stones' are actually the rounded fossilized teeth of an extinct fish.

35. A well-preserved fossil was found in China of a dinosaur called the Zhenyuanlong suni, now the largest-known dinosaur with wings. A University of Edinburgh paleontologist dubbed the dinosaur a "fluffy feathered poodle from hell."

In Mongolia, scientists discovered a fossil of a prehistoric creature known as a "Murder Swan," which had a bill with teeth, claws on its feet and additional claws on flipper-like arms.

37. Coprolite, fossil which is commonly used in jewelry, is actually fossilized dinosaur feces.

38. Crinoid fossils are prehistoric remains of marine animals that appeared in the seas about 300 million years before dinosaurs. These fossils have also been found on the peak of Mount Everest, thus demonstrating that over millions of years, as a result of tectonic movement, the sea bed has ultimately been forced up to the highest peaks on earth.

39. The earliest known modern human fossils found outside of Africa were in Apidima Cave, in Southern Greece. These fossils are somewhere between 170,000 and 210,000 years old.

40. The myth of the Thunderbird in indigenous folklore may originate from pterosaur fossils found by Native Americans.