In Depth Notharctus is easily the best known of the arboreal primates of the Eocene, a popularity thanks largely to the number of fossil specimens for this genus as well as its frequent inclusion in books about prehistoric animals. Notharctus was a small lightly built and flexible primate that is often described as lemur-like. The … Read more
In Depth Afropithecus is one of the better known primates of Miocene era Africa and the current fossils for this primate suggest that it was similar to the even more numerous Proconsul. However despite a body similarity to Proconsul, Afropithecus is thought to have had a head more like Aegyptopithecus (which may actually be Propliopithecus) … Read more
In Depth Agorophius seems to have been one of the early toothed whales of the Odontoceti, but unfortunately the holotype remains of this genus have now been lost. This makes further study of the genus with more modern methods and techniques impossible until either the holotypes are found or new fossils are recovered from the … Read more
In Depth Albicetus is a genus of whale that lived in Pacific Ocean during the Miocene. Further Reading - A fossil physeteroid cetacean from Santa Barbara County California. - Proceedings of the United States National Museum 66(27):1-8. - R. Kellogg - 1925. - Albicetus oxymycterus, a New Generic Name and Redescription of a Basal Physeteroid … Read more
In Depth Although Afrosmilus superficially looks like an African big cat, it is actually a barbourfelid, a group of mammals that appeared before the big cats of the Felidae. However exactly how close barbourofelids are to true cats is actually a matter of debate amongst palaeontologists with some claiming that they are not related at … Read more
In Depth A relative of other primitive whales such as Dorudon and Zygorhiza, Ancalecetus would have been a toothed predatory whale that hunted other marine organisms for food. In fact, Ancalecetus is seen to be very similar to Dorudon atrox with the exception of the fore limbs of Ancalecetus being much smaller and closer to … Read more
In Depth Although not the largest of prehistoric elephants, Anancus stands out from the crowd with its greatly elongated tusks which could reach lengths of up to four meters, almost as long as the body. These tusks which were like in all elephants modified teeth, are thought to have been used to root up plants … Read more
In Depth One of the better known bears in the worlds fossil record, the Agriotherium genus is also easily one of the largest currently known. With this large size it would be tempting to portray Agriotherium as a savage killers of any animal that might be unfortunate enough to be in its way, yet like … Read more
In Depth Arsinoitherium fossils were first found in the Faiyum area of Egypt, and to date these fossils are the best preserved with some specimens being almost complete. Arsinoitherium now seems to have been spread further across Africa as well as parts of the Middle East, while fossil material from Europe and Asia has revealed … Read more
In Depth Aulophyseter was a predatory whale similar to a modern day sperm whale, although it probably had a more diverse diet. Aulophyseter was related to other predatory whales such as Acrophyseter and the large Livyatan. Some Aulophyseter however bear a resemblance to another whale called Orycterocetus raising the possibility that these fossils could be … Read more