Creatures of the Cenozoic Era Preview

Creatures of the Cenozoic Era Chalicotherium

Period: These creatures lived in the Oligocene through the Pliocene periods. Diet: They were herbivores. Growth: These huge animals grew to be 9 feet tall at the shoulders. They weighed 2,000 pounds!

The chalicotherium was an extremely unique animal. It looked like a mix between a moose, horse, gorilla, and sloth! It's difficult for scientists to classify because its such a unique and different animal. It dragged its knuckles on the ground like the modern-day gorilla. Some scientists believe it walked on its knuckles instead of its claws to preserve the sharpness of its claws for grasping leaves and even defending itself. The chalicotherium probably didn't have a lot of natural predators because of its colossal size. It was as tall as two refrigerators stacked on top of each other! It was probably only preyed upon when sick, young, or old. The chalicotherium would sit back on its haunches and then use its muscular clawed arms to reach up into the trees and grasp the branches and leaves that it ate.

Period: Terror birds lived during the Pliocene period. Diet: They were carnivorous. Growth: They grew between 4 and 9 feet

tall. © 2020 Simply Schoolgirl Creatures of the Cenozoic Era Terror Bird The terror bird’s real name is phorusrhacid, but because of its aggressive predatory nature, it is often called “terror bird.” It was flightless, which means it couldn’t fly. It had an extremely strong, flexible, and long neck, which allowed it to strike its prey quickly and forcefully. Its beak was 18 inches long and curved into a hook very similar to an eagle’s beak. They had razor-sharp talons and were exceptionally fast runners. They were so fierce that many mammal predators avoided them and the plains where terror birds lived. Mammal predators may have even moved into the forested habitats to get away from the terror birds, which were more aggressive and successful predators. Most of the time, these predatory birds preyed on small animals about the size of a rabbit but had the ability to kill larger prey. If they were fierce enough to scare away large predators, then I think they earned their name!

Megaloceros Sabertooth Cat

Wooly Mammoth Europhippus

Woolly Rhinoceros Chalicotherium

How is it possible for us to know what animals like these really looked like and how they behaved? If no one has ever seen one, are scientists just guessing? If you’ve ever had these kinds of questions- you’re not alone. It can be hard to trust what scientists tell us when it often seems like they’re just guessing. Learning a little bit about how they gather their evidence and make their “educated guesses” can help us trust and understand the information a little better.

Paleontologists Scientists who specialize in finding and studying fossils are called paleontologists. These paleontologists collect small pieces of information, ask important questions, and put the clues together to come up with the most accurate idea about a fossil. Later, another paleontologist might find more information that either disproves the previous theory or adds to it so that the picture becomes more complete. Bit by bit, paleontologists work together to find out about each type of creature. The more information they can gather, the more they know about that creature!

Some creatures had bodies that were easily fossilized. Others had soft bodies that usually decomposed rather than becoming fossils. We know more about creatures whose bodies easily fossilized, because there are more fossils to learn from. There are some ancient soft-bodied creatures who didn’t leave many fossils behind and its harder to know much about them. Maybe someday, paleontologists will find more fossils and help add to the information database.

What Do They Look For? When a paleontologist finds a fossil, such as a bone, they look at several things. They take note of where it was found, what other fossils were found nearby, what type of soil or rock it was found in, its size, shape, and condition. These kinds of clues can help paleontologists learn a lot about the animal or plant that the fossil formed from.

Where Was The Fossil Paleontologists take a close look at the type of rock or soil in which the fossil was found. This might help them decide what the conditions were like where that animal died. They look at the different geologic layers, which helps them guess at the age of the fossil.

What Size and Shape The Fossil Was When the paleontologist carefully studies what the individual fossil looks like, they can gather information about whether the fossil came from a plant or animal. They might be able to determine whether the fossil is a leaf, a tooth, or a bone. Based on the size and shape a paleontologist might be able to decide whether a bone fossil is a jaw bone or a leg bone. They might be able to determine how old the creature was based on the size of the bone and what they know about the average creature size. When paleontologists are lucky enough to find several bones from the same creature or even the entire skeleton, then the real fun begins! They can fit the bones together and try to figure out where each piece goes- like a puzzle. Then they can see the shape of the creature! The types of legs, arms, tails, and teeth help the paleontologists theorize about whether it was a swimming, flying, or walking creature, what it ate, and how it moved. Scientists then guess about how the muscles and skin would look stretched over the bones. What Would You Think If You Found These Fossils? Look closely at each picture and make some notes about what you think. What kind of animal is it? Can you guess other things about this plant or creature based on what you see?

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______Animal Report

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______Welcome to The Cenozoic Museum

Megaloceros Sabertooth Cat Woolly This large feline had long Some scientists believe this Mammoth moved herbivore went exiting. front teeth that extended out This large hairy mammal lived because its antlers were so of its mouth even when its big! in cold climates and had long mouth was closed! tusks.

Woolly Europhippus Chalicotherium Rhinoceros This huge animal dragged its This small animal looked like a This hairy animal usually lived knuckles and was rarely modern-day tapir. in cold climates and was covered with hair. hunted because of its size.

Place the item in the museum case where it belongs. But be careful! these are fragile ancient specimens!

These large muscular cats had long curved from teether and were Megaloceros social, unlike modern large cats.

Sabertooth This enormous herbivore walked on its knuckles to preserve the sharpness of its claws, which it used to grasp and pick leaves and Cat branches.

Wooly An ancestor of the modern-day armadillo, this creature was covered Mammoth with thick, bony scutes.

The greatest threat that this animal faced was fighting with others of its Europhippus kind.

Woolly This huge marine predator has 5 rows of teeth! Rhinoceros

This animal is one of the largest deer-type animals that has ever lived. Chalicotherium It used it humongous antlers to fight..

Terror Bird This small herbivore at leaves and berries.

This huge animal was one of the largest animals of its time. It lived in Glyptodont large social groups. Most predators didn’t bother them because they were so big.

Macraucheniam This large mammal had long string hair and huge curved tusks. They usually lived in cold climates.

This swift animal resembles a modern-day llama and had a short Enteledoon trunk that helped them to eat.

Megatheriam This huge animal was hairy and had one tusk on the front of its face Sloth that was two feet long!

Megalodon This violent, aggressive bird scared away even the largest predators!

Sabertooth Cat Sabertooth Cat

Cenozoic Creatures Memory: Cut out these memory cards, lightly glue them with a coordinating back, and then laminate the pieces. Cenozoic Cenozoic Creatures Creatures

Memory Memory

Cenozoic Cenozoic Creatures Creatures

Memory Memory

Cenozoic Creatures Memory: Cut out these memory cards, lightly glue them with a coordinating back, and then laminate the pieces.