Illustrations showing the difference between extinct animals and their modern descendants (16 photos)

Growing up next to the zoo, artist Roman Uchitel has always nourished passion for animals. As a result, after graduating from art school, he decided to combine his profession with his love for prehistoric fauna. Together with his wife Alexandra, he created a website where he exposes images prehistoric animals next to their modern descendants, showing their huge difference in size.





1 The Sumatran Orangutan And The Extinct Gigantopithecus



The teacher and his wife originally created this series so that their children knew what the descendants of the animals they saw in the zoo looked like. So over time, this hobby has grown into a profession, and now the spouses publish books, calendars, educational posters and postcards featuring these extinct animals.

It takes a Master a lot to create these digital illustrations. time and effort. “During the reconstruction of ancient animals, the easiest way rely on a skeleton,” he told My Modern Met. - And knowing the anatomy, can accurately recreate the animal. The presence of offspring helps. The most difficult thing is the color, although you can rely on this habitat. In addition, we cooperate with many scientists and museums around the world who kindly provide us with skeletons or relevant information."

The results speak for themselves. Interesting for both children and for and adults, these images are reminiscent of megafauna, which once roamed the earth. Though we all know how big we were dinosaurs, did you know that South America was once inhabited by giant elephant-sized sloths? They were about ten times the size modern two-toed sloth. Or that megalodon, a huge mackerel the shark, extinct about 3.6 million years ago, was three times as large what is the biggest white shark?

By making the comparison visual, the Teacher allows one to look at these facts and figures through different eyes. He hopes that the Prehistoric fauna" will attract the attention of people and encourage them to save that little the amount of megafauna that still exists.

2. Bush elephant and extinct paleoloxodon (palaeoloxodon namadicus)





3The Great White Shark And The Extinct Megalodon



4 The Modern Jaguar And The Extinct Pleistocene North American Jaguar



5 The Queensland Wombat And The Extinct Diprotodon



6 Modern Sloth And Extinct Megatherium



7 Andean Condor And The Extinct Argentavis



8 Clouded Leopard And The Extinct Saber Tooth Cat (smilodon populator)



9 The Spectacled Bear And The Extinct Arctotherium



10 The Sumatran Rhino And The Extinct Woolly Rhino



11. Modern Gelada and Extinct Giant Gelada (Theropithecus oswaldi)



12 The Modern Giant Armadillo And The Extinct Glyptodon



13. Indri and the extinct Archeoindri Fontoynonta



14. Modern white rhinoceros and extinct indricotherium (Paraceratherium transouralicum)



15. Great gray kiwi and South Island's extinct giant moa (dinornis robustus)