Top 10 Weirdest Extinct Animals EVER (That We Know Of) | Lindsay Nikole
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Meet the most terrifying, mind-bending creatures nature ever cooked up. A “monster” so weird, scientists still can’t agree if it’s a fish or not. A five-eyed nightmare with an elephant trunk for a face. A shark with a buzzsaw for a jaw. A giant sea scorpion that ruled ancient lakes. A “mother whale” fossil frozen mid-birth. From zipper-mouthed reptiles to spiky worm freaks that look like alien urchins these are the 10+ strangest animals to ever exist, and paleontologists are STILL arguing about most of them. Prepare to question everything you thought you knew about prehistoric life.
#LindsayNikole #paleontology #prehistoriclife #extinctanimals #fossils
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ABOUT LINDSAY NIKOLE
Join zoologist Lindsay Nikole for vivid stories about evolution, animal behavior, and the wonderfully weird life around (and before) us. Each video dives into creatures you’ve never met and facts you’ll never forget, blending science with humor, visuals, and memorable explanations. From viral mystery IDs and prehistoric deep dives to myth-busting and conservation context, this channel makes complex biology easy and exciting to understand.
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Chapters
00:00 Ranking Prehistoric Nature’s Weirdest Freaks
00:39 “The Tully Monster” Fish or Not?
08:16 “Opabinia” Five Eyes, One Trunk
11:57 “Atopodentatus” The Zipper-Face Reptile
14:44 “Jaekelopterus” The Giant Lake Scorpion
17:09 “Maiacetus” The Whale Caught Giving Birth
18:46 “Platybelodon” The Shovel-Mouth Giant
21:35 “Quetzalcoatlus” Biggest Flyer Ever
22:42 “Mimetaster” The Devonian Oddity
24:03 “Helicoprion” The Buzzsaw Jaw Shark
27:28 “Hallucigenia” The Spiky Worm Freak
28:59 Bonus Freak A Mystery Creature “Cothurnocystis”
Top 10 Weirdest Extinct Animals EVER (That We Know Of) | Lindsay Nikole
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrc2iv2-G1FZ3VscM3zu2jg
@LindsayNikole
August 10, 2026 at 6:24 am
Thank you to Bombas for sponsoring this video! Head to https://bombas.yt.link/15G4WYU and use code LINDSAY20 at checkout for 20% off your first purchase.
@TheBlackcobra69
August 10, 2026 at 6:24 am
And todays freaks? For research purposes.
@queendragon75
August 10, 2026 at 6:24 am
Say it with me…
Stemenosuchus!!!!!
Sacabambaspis!!!
😁
Just love how in other vids you were just stoked with those names…
@RATLOCKESTUDIOZ
August 10, 2026 at 6:24 am
Fuck politics, you think the Tully Monster is an invert, or a vert?!?
@J1vrdw
August 10, 2026 at 6:24 am
that's just a squid
@Black1582i8
August 10, 2026 at 6:24 am
Do you eat burger?
@FiberglassGhost
August 10, 2026 at 6:24 am
my hometown has a burger joint named after the tully monster 🙂
@weepingwhovian-stevie-2225
August 10, 2026 at 6:24 am
I'm now extremely upset early whales were related to zebras and shit
@darrenbrown3687
August 10, 2026 at 6:24 am
You always where cut offs or I will cut them of
@darrenbrown3687
August 10, 2026 at 6:24 am
Love your shirt sleeves cut off do it all the time love you 💕
@matthewrugel9241
August 10, 2026 at 6:24 am
i need at least 10 of these videos a day ❤🎉
@OhMercyMe
August 10, 2026 at 6:24 am
most australian lindsay has ever looked
@CountessCookieCake
August 10, 2026 at 6:24 am
I'm noticing a trend of strange long faces. This leads me to believe sifi shows should experiment more with strange long mouths.
@loopylion586
August 10, 2026 at 6:24 am
So…. I usually watch this channel bc I like animal/biology/taxonomy content but also I feel compelled to say that, respectfully, Lindsay looks very hot in a gay way in that outfit.
@tessriegs
August 10, 2026 at 6:24 am
Can we do something like “These are not plants” because it blew my mind as a teenager to learn that sponges and coral are not plants cause wtf
@Lesbean-ph1jv
August 10, 2026 at 6:24 am
So proud my boy Opabinia made it to the list, AND got a new Opabiniod cousin
@Pokemon_RX
August 10, 2026 at 6:24 am
Man, these targeted smart ads are getting too personal lol 😆 anyone else feel the same way?
@BlueJoshi
August 10, 2026 at 6:24 am
What's the music used in the credits?
@ryanfetsch5474
August 10, 2026 at 6:24 am
17:04 i love Hannah so much but that video is genuinely one of the most insane things ive ever witnessed. Her friends were so blown away she got two whole catfish practically bigger than her😭
@jacobsausage-fingers5377
August 10, 2026 at 6:24 am
25:20 looks like the thing should be saying "this is a LOCAL shop for LOCAL people"
@pamelapilling6996
August 10, 2026 at 6:24 am
Saw my first helicoprion fossil outside of Blackfoot Idaho. So cool I have loved them since. And all the other weird freaks you named. I discovered the Burgess Shale when Stephen Jay Gould wrote his book. All of them critters were OOTW.
@catherinecorry8807
August 10, 2026 at 6:24 am
I think this video is a great overview of prehistoric animals, but because I've been watching your channel for years, I already knew about all of them, unfortunately. Can you talk about less well-known prehistoric animals? Thanks!
@Oliver-go4br
August 10, 2026 at 6:24 am
I love when academics argue. Its so entertaining 😂
@pamelapilling6996
August 10, 2026 at 6:24 am
Thanks Lindsay & Team. Loving the content.
@Geococcyx-44
August 10, 2026 at 6:24 am
Thank you for the wine and weirdness…OK, just the weirdness, we supplied the wine.
@jacobsausage-fingers5377
August 10, 2026 at 6:24 am
12:55 repping that fanny-face (nvm, no they weren't😂)
@wire_hall_medic8470
August 10, 2026 at 6:24 am
Or maybe 541 sticks in your brain because you're a beaver and that's the area code for most of the state. Even if you grew up in 503, you'll still see it all the time.
@RoyalSpunf
August 10, 2026 at 6:24 am
Agnostivertibrate
@AleahBrown-f2j
August 10, 2026 at 6:24 am
So real life spore (game)
@LegalJargon2
August 10, 2026 at 6:24 am
13:07 hear me out…
@tracy6698
August 10, 2026 at 6:24 am
Have you always had the sleeve or have I never seen your arms
@OfCorse76
August 10, 2026 at 6:24 am
I recently saw a picture of RFKjr. Is that the kind of prehistoric horror you're speaking of?
@Cynical.Disposition
August 10, 2026 at 6:24 am
Can’t tell if there’s new ink or if I’ve never noticed that I’ve never seen Lindsay’s arms
@user-gi9hc7pr3n
August 10, 2026 at 6:24 am
Imma say the tully monster is octopus related
@gregoryferreira3929
August 10, 2026 at 6:24 am
I really do love the way you make your videos
@Bottled_Fire
August 10, 2026 at 6:24 am
Freaks oot guns oot, massive bloody whiteboard oot.
@thecopperowl8386
August 10, 2026 at 6:24 am
I thought the Tully Monster was bigger
@hannahsherrer2872
August 10, 2026 at 6:24 am
svdden death mentioned??? i knew you were my fav youtuber for a reason
@Freak.Show818
August 10, 2026 at 6:24 am
I respect the shit out of you and in no way mean to objectify you or any woman ever but I was heartily distracted by your arms in that muscle shirt this time around 😮😅🫠
@heavymetalpermaculture
August 10, 2026 at 6:24 am
Didn't know I had a free ticket to the gun show….
@andrew.the.synapsid
August 10, 2026 at 6:24 am
Pleeaassee do a video about the evolution of spiders. They've got the stigma about them that we gotta squash
@Ashley.D
August 10, 2026 at 6:24 am
I love that you can get so deep into your area of expertise that you don't immediately realise you put two seemingly similar longmouth guys at the start of the list
@Nowheremt
August 10, 2026 at 6:24 am
Hey, how did your date go?
@Anon26535
August 10, 2026 at 6:24 am
So many absolutely weird looking creatures are only known from a single specimen. I can't help but wonder how many normally looked like that and how many were just individuals that had some kind of weird deformity. Like if 66 million years from now, a future civilization of squid people (or squeople) only knows about humanity from the preserved skeleton of the Elephant Man.
@lucid_valley
August 10, 2026 at 6:24 am
Oh my god ik the video youre talking about i saw it on instagram and i think you mightve liked it. Shes blonde and has a cute country accent that sounds kinda like peggy from king of the hill. Thats her whole thing is body catfishing. She uses her feet and arms to wiggle them likw big worms to lurw out thes catfish and hooks them with her whole arm through their gills. Its nuts but impressive
@themidnightbanshee5927
August 10, 2026 at 6:24 am
What if the Tully monster is suffering from the phenomenon known as shrink wrapping
We see what is fossilized of it, but what is it that hasn't fossilized
@pandapounce
August 10, 2026 at 6:24 am
4:29 “because all vertebrates have complex eyes” THAT WE KNOW OF
@apfelsaftyeah7623
August 10, 2026 at 6:24 am
You're like the TrenTwins but for zoology
@madamemage4660
August 10, 2026 at 6:24 am
Opabinia, Hallucigenia, and Anomalocaris are my favorite starter Pokémon.
Comments are closed.