In Depth Although only named from isolated teeth, Afrasia was still a significant discovery because the teeth were those of an eosimiid primate. The discovery of Afrasia in Asia lends weight to the theory that the eosimiids evoled in Asia and then radiated out into Africa, though this is still a controversial theory with many … Read more
In Depth Further Reading - Taxonomy and detailed description of Zaglossus hacketti. - Records of the Western Australian Museum 1(3):244-248. - L. Glauert - 1914.
In Depth Sometimes confused with the similarly named ichthyosaur Eurhinosaurus, Eurhinodelphis was a Miocene era cetacean that resembled a long snouted dolphin. Another similarity to dolphins is the asymmetrical brain which means one side was different than the other. Additionally Eurhinodelphis had extremely well developed hearing and is considered to have possibly hunted by echolocation. … Read more
In Depth Further Reading – Third contribution to the Snake Creek Fauna. – Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 50:59-210. – W. D. Matthew – 1924. – The Ground Sloth Megalonyx from Pleistocene Deposits of the Old Crow Basin, Yukon, Canada. – Arctic (Calgary, Alberta: The Arctic Institute of North America) 53 (3): … Read more
In Depth Hippidion is one of the first known horses to actually enter South America, but interestingly while it has been regarded as being directly descended from primitive forms such as Pliohippus, more modern analysis actually draws a link to the Equidae, the group that includes modern horses. One thing that makes Hippidion stand out … Read more
In Depth Despite the name, Borhyaena was in no way related to hyenas, but was instead one of the larger predatory marsupials that roamed South America during the early/mid Miocene periods. As the type genus of the Borhyaenidae, Borhyaena represents one of the main kinds of predators active in South America until they were ultimately … Read more
In Depth Although not very well known, Arctamphicyon might have been one of the last surviving genera of bear dog. This is based upon analysis of the faunal assemblage Dhok Pathan Formation which has yielded a concentration of other animals from these eras. Further Reading – A new amphicyonid (Mammalia, Carnivora, Amphicyonidae) from the late … Read more
In Depth Phiomia was a primitive proboscean of the Eocene/Oligocene that was still quite similar in appearance to a modern elephant. One of the key features about Phiomia was the lower mouth where two tusks grew forwards into a shovel-like structure. This may have been used to shovel up plants from out of the ground, … Read more
In Depth Artiocetus was an important transisitional find because individuals of this genus still possessed artiodactyl-like ankles. In modern palaeontology whales have long been thought to have descended from land living artiodactyl ancestors, specifically anthracotheres, and the observation of artiodactyl ankles in a primitive whale is further proof of this theory. Although a whale ancestor, … Read more
In Depth One of the hyaenodonts, Tritemnodon means ‘three cutting tooth’ and is a reference to how the teeth were formed for greater slicing efficiency, something that hyaenodonts have a reputation for being able to with the greatest ease. The relatively small stature and gracile build of Tritemnodon means that these were most likely predators … Read more