7 "Tiny" Animals That Had Giant Ancestors 

If *penguinz0* had an animal channel he would sound like this.

12:06 Danny DeVito being included in the comparison is hilarious 😂

The largest living carnivorous piranha species is the black piranha (Serrasalmus rhombeus) which maxes out at around 60cm. Also red bellied piranhas only max out at 37 cm. Additionally, if you want to get technical, the largest living piranha species is the mainly herbivorous pacu which can grow to over a meter, which actually makes it similar in length to Megapiranha (M. paranensis), but with a more robust build (if M. paranensis was similar in build to the carnivorous species like the red bellied and black piranhas). You even showed a picture of a fisherman holding a juvenile/subadult pacu in this video.

Nice to see how ancient penguins compare to Danny DeVito lol. Including Danny DeVito's Penguin was a nice touch.

I am so glad that my friend Hondari's art is being used in this video. He is such a talented artist and deserves attention for his hard work.

5:27 - does that dragonfly has a meme smile on its face?! 😂

"DANNY DEVITO'S THE PENGUIN" OMFG, I'M DEAD!!! 😂🤣☠️😂🤣☠️😂🤣☠️

I hope this will become a series, lovely to see bigger versions of today's animals.

9:49 Squirrel striking the Heisman pose while trying not to become lunch. 😂

Any otter or weasel-like animal the size of a lion is pretty scary.

Are we sure that the Kumimanu went extinct because I've heard stories about large penguins dwelling in numbers near certain unspeakable 'Mountains of Madness"

I work in the Pacific Northwest in the bush and I have come into contact with lots of bears several wolves and been stalked by cougars,, but I've also seen lots of otters and I think an otter the size of a wolf bear or cougar could be possibly the most terrifying thing one could imagine

I for one, is glad that otters and squirrels have shrunk down to their current size.

Several animals that are small today were giants in the past, like birds, pigs, sharks, rhinoceroses, Komodo dragons, among others. Exploring a second part of this topic would be interesting!

Piranhas are actually less aggressive than we imagine

There are many more animals that are tiny today, but in the past, they were giant: Birds, Pigs, Sharks, Rhinos, Komodo Dragons... etc. By the way, nice job! You can do a part two of this!

That's a powerful thumbnail! Perhaps the best I've ever seen on RU-vid.

What is that thumbnail😭

Do you plan on covering ancient Mustelids at some point? I think the noodle mammals deserve some expansion upon.

The thumbnail was a good hook

this man is like the "chills." of Paleontology RU-vidrs

i love this video you're really underrated

You should have mentioned the current largest species of armadillos, the giant armadillo, which can be up to 5 feet long and weigh up to 180 pounds (although it's usually much smaller, but still huge compared to all other species of armadillos).

I really appreciate the work you put into your videos and for me, it makes me want to learn more and do some weekend researching. Keep up the great work & looking forward to more videos!

A lovely video! I didn't even know about Paenemarmota yet, so I learnt something new! And there are many candidate groups: - giant sloths of course (Megatherium, Eremotherium et al.) - Arctodus simus - Nuralagus rex as the largest lagomorph - Phoberomys pattersoni and Josephoartigasia monesi as giant rodents - entelodonts as giant, carnivorous "pigs" more related to hippos - Paraceratherium as largest rhino-relatives - equus giganteus etc.

I just found your channel and I’m loving it!

I don't know why, but the idea of giant animals has always fascinated me. Really interesting video!

"Danny Devito's The Penguin" is vile 😭

Well done... interesting and professional. As always... thumbs up!

Well done. I appreciate your narration, it is well-paced, not too fast or slow, has emphasis where needed and not a monotone reading. I feel this gives your videos a more personal feel, your conveyance of educational information directed at a listening audience that is given time to process. Really enjoyed the video, and didn't mean to critique, simply wanted to let you know what you're doing right.

3:57 step on it? I wanna surf it through the Jugle.

5:25 modern dragonflies are some of the most effective hunters imagine how terrifying these guys were

this stuff is so cool id love to see more

I love that the megapirahna was scaled to a hand

Tree Sloth to megatherium, the GIANT Ground Sloth. Komodo Dragon to Megalania.

12:06 omg lol the DC Penguin included lmao

Underrated channel I’m stoned af this video was lit

That giant armadillo battling the terror bird reminded me so much of an ornithischian dinosaur fighting a non-avian therapod. Convergent evolution is a wild thing.

While fishing in the very southernmost portion of Venezuela, we managed to catch a number of Black Piranha, with the largest I caught over 5 lbs in weight and a foot long. We also caught a number of Red Piranha but the largest was at most, about 2.5 lbs and 9 inches long. While the Reds (and Silvers) were caught in back eddies and isolated pools, the Blacks were caught in very fast flowing rivers and we caught them by chance, while fishing for Pyarraha. We used very large (Husky) Rappala lures and a big Black actually snapped one of these in half on me when it struck! It was only the wire that ran the length of the lure's internal body that kept it attached but I suspect that the fish could no doubt have severed it too had it just been bare wire. VERY impressive fish and also delicious! :)

Hooray, it's saturday! PaleoBINGEEEE!

That otter was dangerously cute

My brain is so stoked ❤

At 12:05 that Penguin Scale is incredible 😂

My favorite prehistoric otter species I enjoy looking at the fossil I wish they were still a live

Ayy yoo whats was that thumbnail

Squirrel...one in California has become immune to rattlesnake bite! Evolution in progress.... what you think the rattlesnake will do?

I got an idea for a video for ya. These three species have very little media coverage but they could be good topics. The Tyto pollens, Bubo osvaldoi, and Ornimegalonyx. I have a very big love for owls and giant owls are just even more interesting to me. Heck, Ornimegalonyx was mistaken for a terror bird upon discovery. Some people apparently have sighted Tyto pollens before and some say it's the inspiration for the legend of the Chickcharney.

Regarding the giant otter omoensis in some parts of Africa, it is said that the water lion is described as a giant otter, something that also happens with the nunda believed to be a dinofelis.

Doedicurus basically copied Ankylosaurus' adaptations once the latter was gone, showing how nature pushes animals into the same few niches again and again.

12:09 Ok, gotta love that reference!

Cool 😎👍💯

Maybe the larger counterparts look awesome and cool

I just assume anything extinct must have been delicious.

15:11 that camel got reach hacks

I wish some of these, especially the glyptodonts and giant piranhas (only because they belong to characiformes and i want more characiformes species), were still around today

Love your videos. Wish I wasn't so distracted by the way you pronounce "varied" and "carrion".

So the 'Otter' in question, given that it wouldn't have been found in mostly in water or didn't hunt there at least, was probably more of a Mink/Polecat, or given it's diet and location in Africa & South Asia: an ancestor of the Honey Badger.

Always nice to see a new video drop. Looking forward to your next one. Maybe cover Megalodon? Or Helicoprion?

I was so sure that the giant sloth, megatherium, would make an appearance

Hahaha 🤣 Danny DeVito’s the Penguin, that’s funny

when I saw this video I Imidietly thought of the sloth

The giant sloth is definitely something

I tell you honestly I would rather square up to a T-Rex than an 8 foot creepy crawly. This video also needs a sequel.

4:00 "Giant herbivorous giant" 💀

12:05 i love this image!

Do a video about giant prehistoric birds.

the sloth would have been a great addon to this list

12:05 - More people need to see this chart 😂

500 lb apex predatory otters roaming the Savannah .

Australia had some interesting megafauna. And being named by Australians they have some fun names, such as *The Demon Duck of Doom* and *Monty Pythonoides* aka the Monty Python. If you want to mess with a 2 metre tall carnivorous kangaroo... good luck to you.

Maybe large and terrifying if actually encountered; the baby Glyptadon looks adorable in this video.

The information in this video for megapiranha is a little outdated. A study last year showed its teeth were not effective at biting into flesh, but perfectly suited to crushing large nuts. So just like one of the more recent terror bird discoveries it’s probably a facultative herbivore (there’s basically no such thing as a strict herbivore.) Likewise the conclusion about arthroplura is inaccurate. As at least one fossil had a preserved stomach cavity containing rotting plant matter.

Jealous of whoever managed to run that study on how fast the tail of a glyptodont could swing.

I’m more shocked by learning how big their modern relatives are

I think Purussaurus should've been on this list. Caimans today are not known for being large crocodilians and often are kept as exotic pets due to their modest size. Obviously one couldn't keep Purussaurus as a pet...

People being afraid of millipedes, even giant ones feels extremely silly, as long as you aren't trying to eat them whole you should be fine.

Tiger fish literally exist today, far more ferocious and aggressive than a piranha and can grow to over 5ft/150cm.

Oh my gosh 😂😂 on the penguin scale Danny Devito Penguin is on it. Thats hilarious

You said "bone munching" 😂

hey dude. a little bit more research will help your future videos. There are multiple species of Piranha today larger then the red belly, including the black piranha, the Rio São Francisco piranha, and the vegan pacu piranha. for the record, the largest living piranha is the Rio.

Man I wish u can do about aelurodon I was unknown canid almost everyone forget it

A giant herbivorous giant? 4:03

the babylonians drew pictures of a thing that looked like a giant otter, they called it a serpapard I think

The whole theory of higher concentrations of oxygen being behind the large bugs back in the day is not clear-cut. While there’s definitely some real correlation in the history of O2 levels with the appearance of larger bugs in the fossil record, it’s less straightforward than has been referred to by default. While commonly pointed to as example of invertebrate gigantism during higher atmospheric oxygen levels, the largest fossil we have of arthropleura was from 25 million years *before* the atmospheric O2 spike when O2 levels were comparable to those of today (so if it hadn’t died out, it would be perfectly happy in modern times as long as it had food). Also, even as O2 continued to rise the bug sizes took a nosedive around the same time that birds made the scene. To my knowledge the only experiments done have been with types of insect which are not representative of the oversized fossils, and are far from conclusive - but more to the point, the wingspans of those prehistoric dragonflies was comparable to modern Goliath moths. I think the quantity of larger-sized arthropods back then was more to do with who else was or wasn’t around, notably birds. But… there’s been no conclusive study that suggests the same size of creatures couldn’t exist just as easily today. Another thing to consider is that there are some pretty enormous bugs alive today. There is an amber bee about 2.5 inches long, moths with a wingspan of 1 ft., and there’s a land-based coconut crab that’s 3ft wide and weighs just shy of ten pounds. These are easily on par with the so-called giants of prehistory, imo (arthropleura notwithstanding). Obviously these aren’t the norm today, but their existence is salient. I’m not a scientist, btw - I just began wondering about this question a year ago and began digging into it. FWIW. 🙂 🐞

I love the prehistoric megafauna animals

2:48 Praise the sun

Nice to see GPlates in action for this video.

12:07 Danny Devito for scale and weight comparison. !! Dwarvesarus is onto you.

12:08 Danny Devito's cameo 😂

There are still very big otters. Big enough to kill a human. If I recall they're called giant river otters.

You'll have to do giant beavers sometime (speaking of Rodents of Unusual Size).

If you play the computer game Ark Survival Evolved, or Ark Survival Ascended, you will not only be familiar with many of these creatures, but you will have fought and even tamed some of them

6:56 what a great pokemon name 😏

I like how the arthropleura is just the scariest thing in ark since it spits poison that can break armor instantly

4:36 With its size and location in the ecosystem, it would be odd for it to be exclusively carnivorous. It’s body plan would probably function better for grazing since it was low to the ground and armored up, meanwhile if it was a hunter, its size would be a waste of energy since it was the largest land organism at that time.

Can you do a video on the megalictis?

You're otterly lion!

A Giant Herbivorous GIANT is a really funny sentence to me lmfao

We have to realise that arthropleura aren't actually millipedes but probably were related to modern day chelicerates. For those who didn't realise yet, meganeura and other meganisoptera aren't at all related to modern day Odonata (dragon and damsel flies) but look a lot alike.

At :59 he is talking about piranhas but shown an image of a pacu. Not the same thing