Welcome to our new post! In this article, I will introduce you to some curiosities about prehistoric animals. Get ready to learn amazing things about these amazing animals and surprise your friends with these interesting facts.
In addition to the dinosaurs, in prehistoric times there were several mammals and a curiosity is that these mammals still exist. Over the years these animals have evolved to achieve a better adaptation to the new atmospheric changes that were emerging.
At the beginning there were simple marine animals that later evolved into bony fish. In this period arthropods arose on earth. Marine animals evolved to the point of leaving the sea, giving rise to four-legged land animals. There arose a whole range of prehistoric animals: dinosaurs, birds, flying reptiles and amphibians.
Did you know that each era of prehistory favored a specific group of animals? The Paleozoic was more prosperous for fish, the Mesozoic was better for reptiles, and the Cenozoic is more favorable for mammals. The Cenozoic period began 66 million years ago and is still ongoing.
Have you already wondered why prehistoric animals were so big? It is thought that the climate of that time had a great influence on it. In colder climates the animals tend to be larger to facilitate heat retention. Dinosaur bones also had air inside, which reduced their weight and made locomotion a bit easier.
Why did these animals go extinct?
The extinction of these giant animals is also related to climate change and some of them coincide with the arrival of humans, so it is thought that their size made it easier to locate and hunt these animals. The large size of these animals made it difficult for them to be agile when escaping from predators.
Increased animal diversity also decreases the amount of food available. If there is greater availability of food, the animals tend to grow, while if there is a shortage of food, these animals do not develop as much. Climatic disturbances also allowed certain foods to thrive in greater quantities than others, leading to food shortages for certain species.
With the decrease in the number of specimens of the species, the remaining individuals are forced to mate with each other, generating a series of mutations that accumulate with each generation and make it difficult for these animals to be healthy.
It is estimated that about 90% of prehistoric animals have become extinct. In addition to these factors, it is estimated that meteorites also had a great influence on the extinction of these animals.
Examples of prehistoric animals
Cave lion
This animal was carnivorous like its current predecessors (lions and panthers) inhabited the region of Eurasia and North America during the Pleistocene period. It had a height of 1.2 meters and a length of 2.1 without the tail. The extinction of these animals is attributed more to illegal hunting than to climatic changes, because a great decline of individuals was not observed in the glacial periods, but rather with the expansion of humans.
Saber-toothed tiger
This large mammal could weigh up to 300 kilograms. It had a large pair of tusks and inhabited our planet during the Pleistocene period. The name saber-toothed tiger encompasses several types of mammals, the best known being the Smilodon, which had fangs from 20 to 26 cm.
Did you know that today's cats are much better runners than saber-toothed cats? This is due to the evolution of the size of the tail, which, being larger today, allows animals to maintain balance during races. Saber-toothed tigers had a tail about 35 cm long. However, the smell of these prehistoric animals was more developed.
Megalodon
It was a huge shark that could measure between 15 and 20 meters. A curiosity about this animal is that it is considered one of the largest predators in history. In fact, one of his teeth measured approximately 18 cm.
Their diet consisted of prey of different sizes, even feeding on whales. These animals used to inhabit the tropics, therefore it is thought that climate change caused a great ice age that caused not only an environment that was not so conducive to megalodon, but also negatively influenced their food chain until they became extinct.
Mammoth
This imposing animal inhabited the regions of Africa, Eurasia and North America during the Cenozoic period. They are relatives of elephants. Its size could reach 5 meters in height, although there were also small ones of only 1 meter. It was a herbivorous animal and its disappearance was relatively recent, approximately 3,700 years ago.
Dodo
This animal was a very large bird that inhabited the Island of Mauritius. It fed mainly on fruits, roots and seeds. He did not have the ability to fly. It was recently extinguished in the year 1960.
The extinction of this animal occurred due to the human invasion on the island of Mauritius. They saw that the animal could not fly, which made it an easy target for hunting and stealing eggs. Diseases, habitat predation and introduction of predatory animals also played an important role in the extinction of this animal.
Tyrannosaurus rex
This carnivorous dinosaur is considered the most dangerous. It was the last dinosaur to go extinct and lived approximately 67 million years ago. It had a height of 11 meters and weighed 7.5 tons. It had very strong legs that allowed it to run very fast.
His head measured 2 meters. It also had a very long tail that allowed it to balance when walking and running.
Prehistoric animals that still inhabit our planet
Alligator snapping turtle
This animal has existed for more than 66 million years. They inhabit the entire American continent. He is 1.52 meters tall and weighs approximately 80 kilograms. A peculiarity of this turtle is that it has three rows of pointed ridges along its shell. They have a very varied diet and can eat: amphibians, fish, birds, plants, small mammals and insects.
Frilled shark
This type of shark arose 140 million years ago. A curious fact about this animal is that it is still stagnant, that is, it has not evolved over the years. It has 300 teeth, but the funny thing is that it prefers to swallow food, so its teeth are not used to cut animals, but to prevent them from escaping from its mouth.
It usually inhabits the maritime areas near Japan, although there are also some specimens in other regions. It usually has a size of 2 meters.
Pelican
This large aquatic bird inhabits coastal regions and arose approximately 30 million years ago. A curiosity about this bird is that American white pelicans develop a temporary horn in mature birds during the breeding season, after this period this structure falls off.
📚 Data source:
https://www.mundoestudiante.com/cuales-eran-los-animales-de-la-prehistoria/
https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Era_cenozoica
https://www.ecologiaverde.com/animales-prehistoricos-ejemplos-de-especies-extintas-y-vivas-4224.html
https://www.ecologiaverde.com/por-que-se-extinguieron-los-mamuts-1090.html
https://www.ecologiaverde.com/por-que-se-extinguieron-los-dientes-de-sable-1099.html
https://misanimales.com/la-tortuga-caiman-todo-lo-que-debes-saber/
https://www.nationalgeographic.com.es/mundo-animal/6-curiosidades-sobre-los-pelicanos_19369
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