Pleistocene Mammals of North America Pdf
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
Pleistocene mammals of north america pdf Continue Subscription and order Prices To buy short-term access, please sign up to your Oxford Academic Account above. You don't have an academic account at Oxford yet? Registration of the Pleistocene Mammals of North America - 24 hours of access Start your review of the Pleistocene mammals of North America Very, very dry and actual so don't worry if you're passionately interested in Pleistocene mammals, or assignments comparing the fauna of the Hell Creek Formation with the Pleistocene fauna... and what are the chances of that? Useful reference book, now, alas, a little outdated. End of big beasts Who or what snuffed out megafauna 11,000 years ago? Holdings Description Comments Similar Items Staff Viewing similar items palorchestes (Museum of Victoria). In the second half of the Kenosoy era - about 50 million years ago until the end of the last ice age - prehistoric mammals were much larger (and alien) than their modern counterparts. On the following slides you will find photos and detailed profiles of more than 80 different giant mammals and megafauna that ruled the earth after the extinction of dinosaurs, ranging from Aepycamelus to Woolly Rhino. Epicomelus. Name of Heinrich Harder: Aepycamelus (Greek for high camel); pronounced AY-peeh-CAM-ell-us Habitat: Plains of North America Historical Age: Medium-Late Miocene (15-5 million years ago) Size and Weight: About 10 feet tall on the shoulder and 1000-2000 pounds Diet: Plants Distinctive Characteristics: Large Size; Long, giraffe-like legs and neck right off the bat, there are two strange things about Aepycamelus: first, this camel megafauna is more like a giraffe, with its long legs and slender neck, and secondly, it lived in the Miocene of North America (not a place that is usually associated with camels). Befitting his giraffe-like appearance, Aepycamelus spent most of his time nibbling leaves from tall trees, and since he lived long before the early humans no one ever tried to take him for a walk. Agrioarctictos. Wikimedia Commons name: Agriarctos (Greek for Dirty Bear); pronounced AG-ree-ARK-tose Habitat: Forests of Western Europe Historical Age: The Late Miocene (11 million years ago) Size and weight: About four feet long and 100 pounds Diet: Omnivorous distinctive characteristics: Small size; quad-core posture; Dark fur with white spots Is as rare as it is today, the ancestral tree of a giant panda stretches back to the Miocene era, more than 10 million years ago. Exhibit A is a newly discovered Agriarctos, a pint-sized (just 100 pounds or so) prehistoric bear who has spent most of his time scampering trees, either collecting nuts and fruit or shying away from the attention of large predators. Based on their limited fossil remains, paleontologists believe that Agriarctos possessed a layer of dark fur light spots around the eyes, belly and tail-in stark contrast to the giant panda, on the These two colors are much more evenly distributed. Agritheria. Getty Images Title: Agriotherium (Greek for Sour Beast); pronounced AG-ree-oh-thee-ree-um Habitat: Plains of North America, Eurasia and Africa Historical Period: Late Miocene-Early Pleistocene (10-2 million years ago) Size and weight: up to eight feet long and 1000-1500 pounds Diet: Omnivorous distinctive characteristics: Large size; Long legs; Dog-like build One of the largest bears that ever lived, the half-ton Agriotherium reached a surprisingly widespread distribution in the Miocene and Pliocene era, reaching to North America, Eurasia and Africa. Agriotherium was characterized by its relatively long legs (which gave it a vaguely doggy appearance) and a blunt snout dotted with massive, bony teeth - a hint that this prehistoric bear may have cleared the carcasses of other megafauna mammals rather than hunting live prey. Like modern bears, Agriotherium complemented its diet with fish, fruits, vegetables and almost any other type of digestible food it entered. Andrewsarch. The Andrewsarch's Jaws, the largest terrestrial mammal predator ever lived, were so huge and powerful that it was believed that this Eocene eater could bite through the shells of giant turtles. Arsinatherium. The name of the London Museum of Natural History: Arsinoitherium (in Greek Beast Arseno, in honor of the mythical queen of Egypt); pronounced ARE-sih-noy-thee-re-um Habitat: Plains of North Africa Historical Age: Late Eoc-Early Oligocene (35-30 million years ago) Size and weight: About 10 feet long and one ton diet: Plants featuring characteristics: Rhino-like trunk; two conical horns on the head; quad-core posture; primitive teeth Although it was not directly the ancestors of the modern rhino, Arsinoitherium (the name refers to the mythical Egyptian queen Arsenault) cut a very rhino-like profile, with its stumpy legs, squat trunk and herbivorous diet. However, what really set this prehistoric mammal apart from other megafauna of the Eocene era were two large, tapered, pointed horns protruding from the middle of the forehead, which were probably a sexually chosen characteristic rather than anything meant to intimidate predators (meaning that men with large, pointed horns had a better chance of pairing with females during the mating season). Arsinoitherium was also fitted with 44 flat, stumpy teeth in its jaws that were well adapted to the chewing of extra-hard plants in the Egyptian habitat about 30 million years ago. Astrap losses. Name of Dmitry Bogdanov: Astrapotherium (Greek lightning beast); pronounced AS-Trap-o-THEE-ree-um Habitat: Plains of South America Historical Age: Early-Middle Miocene (23-15 Years Ago) Size and Weight: About Nine Feet Long and 500-1000 Pounds Diet: Plants Plants Characteristics: Long, squat trunk; Long neck and head During the Miocene era, South America was cut off from the rest of the continents of the world, resulting in the evolution of a strange array of mammals megafauna. Astraperia was a typical example: this hoofed hoofed (distant relative of horses) was like a cross between an elephant, a tapir and a rhino, with a short, preset trunk and powerful tusks. The nostrils of Astrapotherium were also set unusually high, a hint that this prehistoric herbivore may have haunted a partially amphibians lifestyle like a modern behemoth. (By the way, the name Astropotherium-Greek for the lightning-fast beast - seems particularly out of place for what must be a slow, heavy plant eater.) Oroch. The cave of Lascko Auroch is one of the few prehistoric animals to be celebrated in ancient rock paintings. As you might have guessed, this ancestor of modern cattle featured on the dinner menu of early humans that helped lead Auroch to extinction. Brontotherium. Nobu Tamura befits its resemblance to the duck-bill dinosaurs that preceded him tens of millions of years, the giant hooved mammal Brontotheria had an unusually small brain for its size, which may have made it ripe gathering for the eocene predators of North America. Camelops. Commons name: Camelops (Greek camel face); pronounced CAM-Ell-ops Habitat: Plains of North America Historical Era: Pleistocene-Modern (2 million-10,000 years ago) Size and Weight: About seven feet tall and 500-1000 pounds Diet: Plants Distinctive characteristics: Large size; The thick trunk with a long-necked Camelops is known for two reasons: first, it was the last prehistoric camel to be indigenous in North America (until it hunted for the extinction of human settlers about 10,000 years ago), and secondly, a fossil specimen was discovered in 2007 during excavations for a Wal-Mart store in Arizona (hence the unofficial name of this man, Wal-Mart). Cave Bear (Wikimedia Commons). Cave bear (Ursus spelaeus) was one of the most common megafauna mammals of the Pleistocene in Europe. A surprising number of cave bear fossils have been discovered, and some caves in Europe have yielded literally thousands of bones. Cave goat. The name of the museum Cosmocaixa: Myotragus (Greek for mousetrap); pronounced MY-oh-TRAY-gus; Also known as the Cave goat Habitat: Mediterranean islands of Mallorca and Minoca Historical Era: Pleistocene-modern (2 million-5000 years ago) Size and weight: About four feet long and 100 pounds Diet: Plants Distinctive characteristics: Relatively small size; eyes forward; perhaps a cold-blooded metabolism you may think it strange that a creature as ordinary and harmless as goats will make headlines around the world, but Myotragus deserves attention: according to one analysis, it's The cave goat adapted to the rare food of its island habitat by developing a cold-blooded metabolism similar to that of reptiles. (In fact, the authors of the paper compared the fossilized bones of Myotragus with the bones of modern reptiles, and found similar growth patterns.) As you would expect, not everyone adheres to the theory that Myotragus was a reptile-like metabolism (which would make it the first mammal in history to ever develop this strange trait). Most likely, it was just a slow, stocky, heavy, small-brained Pleistocene herbivore who had the luxury of not defending himself against natural predators. An important clue is that Myotragus were forward-eyed; such shepherds have wide-set eyes, the better to detect predators approaching from all sides. Cave Hyena. Commons, like other opportunistic predators from the Pleistocene era, Cave hyenas preyed on early humans and hominids, and they were not shy about stealing the hard-earned murders of flocks of Neanderthals and other large predators. Cave lion (Panthera leo spelaea). Heinrich Harder The Cave Lion came under his own name not because he lived in caves, but because pristine skeletons were found in cave bear habitats (Cave Lions preyed on sleeping cave bears, which must have seemed like a good idea until their prey woke up.) Dmitry Bogdanov Why would a one-ton megafauna mammal be named after a pebble rather than a boulder? Simple: The chalicico part of its name refers to pebbles like Chalicotherium teeth, which he used to grind down stiff vegetation.