Discovery and species During 1935 the palaeontologist Gustav Heinrich Ralph von Koenigswald visited a Chinese apothecary shop in Hong Kong and discovered an unusually large molar, a tooth similar to the large flat ones that you have towards the back of your mouth. Fossils like this are often found in Traditional Chinese medicine where … Read more
In Depth Further Reading Further reading- The Dance of Tusks: Rediscovery of Lower Incisors in the Pan-American Proboscidean Cuvieronius hyodon Revises Incisor Evolution in Elephantimorpha. – PLOS ONE. – Dimila Moth�, Marco P. Ferretti, Leonardo S. Avilla & S. Leonardo – 2016.
In Depth
In Depth The name Eomanis is a reference to how this ancient pangolin appeared long before the genus Manis, the only known genus of pangolin that is alive today. Unless future discoveries prove otherwise, Eomanis is the first known scaled pangolin, though the scales seem to have covered only the body and not the legs … Read more
In Depth Carolinacetus is a genus of protocetid whale known to have lived around what is now South Carolina during the later half of the Eocene. Carolinacetus appears to have been slightly larger than other protocetids such as Georgiacetus, while also being one of the more primitive protocetid genera known from North America. Further Reading … Read more
In Depth Compared to other giant ground sloths Mylodon is closely related to Glossotherium. While analysis of dung samples has confirmed it was a herbivore, Mylodon would have also been especially resilient to attack from predators due to the presence of thick bony plates called osteoderms. These osteoderms were just under the skin and in … Read more
In Depth Along with Doedicurus, Glyptodon is one of the better known members of the Glyptodontidae, and as you may have already guessed, is the type genus of this group since this was the first genus to be named. Unlike Doedicurus however, Glyptodon did not possess a spiked club on the end of its tail. … Read more
In Depth Sinotherium is a genus of extinct rhinoceros that seems to have been broadly spread across Eurasia between what is now Russia and northern China. The Sinotherium genus is has been believed to have evolved from the earlier Iranotherium. In turn Sinotherium is believed to have given rise to the much better known Elasmotherium. … Read more
In Depth While Machairodus possesses enlarged canine fangs they seem to be intermediate between regular sized canines and the larger canines exhibited by other similar cats. These teeth combined with squat proportions and a robust physique has led to speculation that Machairodus’s hunting behaviour was that of an ambush predator. The popular depiction of Machairodus … Read more
In Depth Protemnodon was in essence very much like a wallaby, though much larger in physical size. Protemnodon fossils are also known from Papua New Guinea making this genus one of the most geographically wide ranging genera of wallaby. Further Reading - Ecological and evolutionary significance of sizes of giant extinct kangaroos - Australian Journal … Read more