![]() In fact, ground-sloth fossils indicate that these animals began living in South America about 35 million years ago, according to the zoo. Like Glyptodon, Megalonyx traveled to North America from South America. It was part of Megalonyx, an extinct ground sloth, MacPhee said. The claw, however, didn't belong to a lion. When President Thomas Jefferson learned about a strange claw fossil found in Ohio, he asked explorers Meriwether Lewis and William Clark to search for giant lions during their western trek to the Pacific. They went extinct about 12,000 years ago. inexpectatus fossil, found in modern-day Texas, to the Pliocene, between 3.2 million and 2.5 million years ago, according to the zoo. Inexpectatus is Latin for "unexpected," giving the big cat a name that translates roughly into "wonderful unexpected cheetah with immobile claws." Researchers named it Miracinonyx inexpectatus - mira means "wonderful" in Latin, and acinonyx and onyx come from the Greek words for "no movement," (based on the false perception that cheetahs don't have retractable claws) and claw, respectively, the zoo said. However, the American cheetah probably wasn't as fast: It had slightly shorter legs, which likely made it a better climber than a runner, according to the zoo. The American cheetah stood a little taller than the modern cheetah, with a shoulder height of about 2.75 feet (0.85 meters) and a weight of about 156 pounds (70 kg). Unlike other canid species that migrated between Eurasia and North America, dire wolves evolved solely in North America, and they didn't interbreed with coyotes or gray wolves, the study found. On the canid family tree, dire wolves split off from wolves about 5.7 million years ago, making them a distant relative of today's wolves, according to 2021 study published in the journal Nature. lupus, suggesting it wouldn't have won any races against its younger relative, the museum reported. However, the dire wolf had shorter limbs than C. These skeletons show that dire wolves ( Canis dirus) were about 25% heavier than modern gray wolves ( Canis lupus), weighing between 130 and 150 pounds (59 to 68 kg), according to the Florida Museum of Natural History. MammothsĪ dire wolf's skeleton (Image credit: Courtesy of the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County)ĭire wolves went extinct about 13,000 years ago, but their bones are plentiful in California's La Brea Tar Pits and Wyoming's Natural Trap Cave. Mammoths, in contrast, sported curlier tusks. However, mastodons had long, curved tusks that measured up to 16 feet (4.9 meters) long. And both had shaggy coats that protected them from the cold. ![]() Mastodons are also a bit shorter than mammoths, but both species reached heights between 7 and 14 feet (2 to 4 meters), according to a 2013 Live Science piece. Related: Mammoth or mastodon: What's the difference? ![]() They also ate wetland plants that weren't full of abrasive material found in terrestrial plants, MacPhee said. For instance, mastodons had less-complex teeth - cone-shaped cusps on their molars - that helped them crunch on the leaves, twigs and branches of deciduous and conifer trees. They were also more primitive than their mammoth cousins. Mastodons ( Mammut) entered North America about 15 million years ago, traveling over the Bering Strait land bridge, long before their relative, the mammoth, according to the Yukon Beringia Interpretive Centre in Canada. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability.A mastodon with its long, curving tusks. Sidebars and extensive back matter material provide more detailed information and context. Artist and former zoologist Howard Gray brings these predators (back) to life with dynamic, humorous, and scientifically accurate illustrations. Stewart's cheeky, humorous voice-along with a comical version of the familiar "comparison man"-put these creatures in perspective. You'll be amazed at the size and the fierceness of these lesser-known predators, many of them ancient ancestors of animals that we still see today. rex and his dinosaur cousins to step aside and let other mega-predators like the terror bird and the giant ripper lizard take the spotlight! Travel back to prehistoric times and meet some of the most impressive creatures to ever roam the Earth. Award-winning nonfiction author and science specialist Melissa Stewart is back with a mega-exploration of little-known prehistoric predators that rival even the mightiest of dinosaurs! It is time for T.
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