This beetle can measure up to 17cm in length, in part thanks to its enormous mandibles - the pair of appendages near its mouth. Also known as the 'sabertooth longhorn beetle' this insect dwells in the rainforests of Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, the Guianas and Brazil.

There are 11 species of the giant weta in the world, and the largest can be up to 10cm in length - not including their spindly legs or long antennae. They're also known to be rather heavy - with one example recording 70g. The beetles are unique to New Zealand, and all but one species are considered endangered.

Among the largest insects on earth, the Goliath beetle can measure up to 11cm and weigh 100 grams in the larval stage (although adults are around half this weight). There are five species of Goliath beetle. They're found in tropical rainforests in Africa, where they mainly eat tree sap and fruit.

This butterfly is the largest in the world, with females' wingspans reaching just over 25cm. An endangered species, it is restricted to about 100km of coastal rainforest in the Oro Province in eastern Papua New Guinea. The species was named in 1907 in honor of Alexandra of Denmark.

This is what's known as a 'spider wasp' because - yep, you guessed it - it hunts tarantula spiders. They use their sting - one of the most painful insect stings in the world - to paralyze their prey before hauling it to their nest, where they lay a single egg on the victim, which when it hatches to a larva eats the prey alive. At about 5cm long, it's one of the largest wasps in the animal kingdom.

This is a species of rhinoceros beetle, known for its feisty behavior. Named after Atlas, a Titan condemned to hold up the sky for eternity in Greek mythology, the male beetles can reach up to 13cm in length. They're found in southern Asia, particularly Indonesia.

The giant water bug encompasses a large species of carnivorous freshwater insects, which includes the 'Lethocerus' that can grow to more than 12cm in length. Their large foreleg pincers are used to catch underwater prey like small fish and frogs. In some places they're known as 'toe biters' because of their tendency to deliver a painful nip when disturbed by swimmers that get too close. 

This insect may have a tiny body, but it's wingspan measures a whopping 25-30cm, and it has a wing surface area of about 400cm squared. It lives in dry rainforests and shrublands throughout South Asia, South East Asia, and East Asia. It doesn't eat - it's only purpose as an adult is to find a mate, which takes around two weeks. Once they breed and the females lay eggs, they die.

This exquisite insect is usually between 1.5cm and 16cm long, but can reach lengths of up to 20cm. They are carnivorous and feed mainly on other insects, although females sometimes eat their mate just after, or even during, mating. Formidable predators, the praying mantis can turn its head 180 degrees to observe its surroundings with all five of its eyes.

Only officially discovered in 2016, the only recorded spotting of this superbly long stick insect measured it at 62.4cm. Found in the Guangxi Zhuang region of China by Zhao Li, of the Insect Museum of West China, it's the longest insect in the world. Li brought it back to the museum where it laid six eggs - after hatching, even the smallest offspring measured 26cm.

Five films on, Jurassic Park still has us captivated by the idea of humans coming face-to-face with our planet's most terrifying former inhabitants. But the fantasy of resurrecting a dinosaur from DNA in the belly of an amber-trapped mosquito is a long way from reality. Leading de-extinction scientists say making use of genetic material more than a million years old won't be possible.

Since the last male northern white rhino — a 45-year-old called Sudan — died earlier in 2018, elderly females Najon and Fatu are the last of their kind. But scientists hope that embryos in deep freeze could bring the "functionally extinct" species back from the edge. They were created in vitro from the sperm of a deceased male northern white and the eggs of the closely related southern white.

When the dodo — a fatally trusting and tasty bird — disappered from Mauritius in the 17th century, few believed mankind could extinguish the life of an entire species. Only after 19th century naturalist Georges Cuvier proved extinction was possible did the dodo became a symbol of that destructive power. Now, the hunt is on for dodo DNA, in the hope we may also prove our power to resurrect.

By the time the last Pyrenean ibex Celia died in 2000, scientists had already gathered and frozen her tissue cells. Three years later, a goat gave birth to Celia's clone, created by injecting her DNA into a goat's egg. In fact, dozens of hybrid eggs were implanted. Only seven animals became pregnant, and one carried to full term — and the resurrected ibex survived only a few minutes after birth.

This is Martha, the last passenger pigeon, who died in 1914. The plump North American birds were a favorite for the plate, and hunting combined with deforestation wiped them out even as conservationists warned of their senseless demise. Revive & Restore, an organization that promotes "de-extinction," sees the passenger pigeon as the perfect model project to show resurrection science's potential.

European colonists in Australia put a bounty on the head of the thylacine, or Tasmanian tiger, a marsupial apex predator. The last known member of the species died in Hobart Zoo in 1936. Now, scientists have decoded the animal's entire genome from a joey preserved in ethanol, and hope to insert its genes into the DNA of its closest surviving relative, a diminutive marsupial called the numbat.

The most impressive species with any chance of making a comeback is the woolly mammoth, whose closest living relative is the Asian elephant. Scientists at Harvard University say the ice-age giants could play a role in slowing permafrost melt and, therefore, climate change. But their "Pleistocene Park" concept would need 80,000 animals to have any real impact — pure science fiction, say critics.

The auroch once roamed the length and breadth of Eurasia, but hunting and habitat loss wiped them out close to 400 years ago. Yet their descendents — domesticated cattle — live on, and "back-breeding" programs have tried to resurrect the auroch by selecting for characteristics of the wild ancestor. An early German attempt resulted in Heck cattle, which have been reintroduced to parts of Europe.

We once shared the planet with other human species, like the Neanderthal, with whom we even interbred. Many of us still carry Neanderthal DNA. But we are also prime suspects in their extermination. What would it be like to confront the relations we once wiped out? Scientists are growing homo sapiens-Neanderthal hybrid brain matter in the lab to examine the differences between them and us.