In Depth Oreopithecus is a paradox as while it is amongst the best known of fossil apes, there is still much confusion over how this primate lived and was related to other primates. This confusion is down to how Oreopithecus displays features that both suggest an arboreal life where it swung through the tree canopy, … Read more
In Depth Trigodon seems to have been a large heavily built herbivore of the late Miocene of South America. Combined with reasonably long legs for its build, Trigodon is considered to have inhabited wetland swamps were it browsed upon softer vegetation. The most striking feature of Trigodon is the spiked horn that rises from the … Read more
In Depth Zygophyseter was a raptorial sperm whale that is sometimes called the ‘killer sperm whale’. Discovered in southern Italy, Zygophyseter is confirmed to have been active in the Paratethys Sea which today is represented by the Mediterranean, Black, Caspian and Aral Seas. However back in the Miocene the sea levels were much higher which … Read more
In Depth Although it had a skull more like that of a big cat, Epicyon was an early ancestor to canines. Epicyon is noted for having an incredibly powerful body that may have weighed up to one hundred and seventy kilograms (for Epicyon haydeni). Its unusually shaped skull meant that Epicyon had a very short … Read more
In Depth Ocucajea is a genus of basilosaurid whale that lived in the waters around South America during the Eocene. Further Reading - New Middle Eocene Whales from the Pisco Basin of Peru. - Journal of Paleontology 85 (5): 955–69. - Mark D. Uhen, Nicholas D. Pyenson, Thomas J. Devries, Mario Urbina & Paul R. … Read more
In Depth With a length of four meters Doedicurus is easily one of the larger members of the glyptodonts, armoured herbivores that are related to modern day armadillos. Like other glyptodonts, Doedicurus had an armoured shell made from osteoderms that grew to surround its body. This shell was most strongly fixed around the pelvis, with … Read more
In Depth Witwatia is a genus of bat that at the time of writing only known to have inhabited North Africa during the late Eocene. The type species, W. schlosseri as well as W. eremicus are both known from the Birket Qarun Formation of Egypt. A third species named in 2012, W. sigei, is known … Read more
In Depth Barbourofelis is easily one of the largest of the ‘false sabre-toothed cats’ which were carnivorous mammals that through convergent evolution evolved to be very much like cats in form even though they are in fact quite distantly related. For this reason Barbourofelis is often quoted as being a member of the Nimravidae, a … Read more
In Depth During the Pleistocene there was an island called Santa Rosae off the southern coast of California between the areas that are today known as Point Conception and Ventura. At some point, perhaps when the sea levels were particularly low, Columbian mammoths (M. columbi) crossed over from the mainland to colonise Santa Rosae. Although large … Read more
In Depth Prosansanosmilus is similar to another European genus of barbourofelid called Sansanosmilus, but is known from deposits that are dated to being a few million years older than the earliest currently known fossils of Sansanosmilus, hence the addition of ‘Pro’ to the genus name. The early appearance of Prosansanosmilus is also revealed in its … Read more