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Gastornis A successful and ferocious descendant of the dinosaurs, Gastornis was one of the largest animals of its time: a meat-eating bird as tall as a grown man. While it has been the subject of some debate, the latest research suggests Gastornis used its enormous beak to kill prey, gripping an animal in its beak to paralyze it and then shaking its head to break the prey's spine. PRONUNCIATION: GAS-TOR-NIS
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The Sloths are located in Endangered Wildlife Section of this site. |
Megatherium This bear-like creature was so big it could rest its chin on top of a double-decker bus; its shaggy hair hid skin as tough as chain mail, and its claws were the size of daggers. These claws meant that it could not put its feet flat on the ground and so, like a modern anteater, it had to walk on the sides of its feet. Even more extraordinary, its footprints show that it walked mainly on its hind legs. PRONUNCIATION: MEG-AH-THEER-EE-UM
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The armadillo is located in Endangered Wildlife Section of this site. |
Doedicurus Doedicurus was a glyptodont, related to both living armadillos and sloths and anteaters. The size of a small car, with an armored carapace and spiked tail of solid bone, it grazed the grasslands of South America. Its tail was a vicious weapon, probably used for clobbering predators or other Doedicurus. PRONUNCIATION: DEE-DIK-YOO-RUS
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Andrewsarchus A rhino-sized, wolf-like carnivore, Andrewsarchus is actually a relative of our familiar hoofed animals and a distant relative of the early whale, Basilosaurus. Its fossils are usually found around water, and as single specimens, so it seems that these animals might have been solitary scavengers along riverbanks and tide lines. PRONUNCIATION: AND-ROOZ-ARK-US
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Macrauchenia Imagine a creature that looks like a horse, with a camel's fur and a long, muscular nose the size of a boot. This bizarre-looking animal is a member of a group of now-extinct mammals called litopterns, which have only been found in South America. No one knows how they are related to other mammals; until more fossils are found, they are assumed to be distant relatives of our familiar hoofed animals. PRONUNCIATION: MAK-RAW-KEE-NEE-AH
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Leptictidium These strange hopping animals, resembling a cross between a shrew and a large cat, are part of a group that survived the great extinction at the end of the Cretaceous. They became extinct themselves once the lush tropical forests started to disappear about 40 million years ago. PRONUNCIATION: LEP-TIK-TID-EE-UM
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Basilosaurus With a skull as long as a sofa and a total body length equivalent to that of three elephants, this early whale was at the top of the underwater food chain. To maintain its incredible weight — it was as heavy as two tanks — Basilosaurus was an eating machine that could swallow sharks whole. Fossils also show a reminder of its land-animal ancestors: a pair of tiny back legs. PRONUNCIATION: BASS-IL-OH-SAWR-US
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The Fallow deer is located in Endangered Wildlife Section of this site. |
Megaloceros Often confusingly called the "Irish elk," this creature — found across Europe — is technically a deer. Its huge antlers were once thought to have been its downfall; the thinking was that they could have grown so large that either the animal could no longer lift its head or they'd become entangled between trees. Now, though, Megaloceros is thought to have been the victim of sudden climatic changes. PRONUNCIATION: MEG-AH-LOSS-ER-OS
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Propalaeotherium These small, cat-sized forest animals are among the earliest known horses. They had four toes on each of their front feet and three on each of their back feet, and they walked on pads, like dogs. PRONUNCIATION: PRO-PAY-LEE-OH-THEE-REE-UM
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