By using this site, you agree to our Privacy Policy and our Terms of Use. Close

Forums - General Discussion - Extinct animals

OTBWY on 21 April 2018
Slimebeast said:
OTBWY said:



Third: Elasmotherium. Look at that ridiculous giant horn. 



Extra: Paraceratherium. The largest land mammal that ever lived. This animal towered over elephants. It was actually part of the rhinoceros family.



There are so many cool extinct animals to talk about, like the megafauna of Australia (Andrewsarchus, Megalania). An interesting topic to talk about is why so much of the giant animals died out so fast.

The megafauna who lived until 10,000 years ago (like the mammof, sabre tooth tigre, cave bear, whoolly rhinocerous and so on), died because of humans hunt and eated them.

Not really the only reason. Climate change would have been the primary reason. But in cases like the sabretooth tigers, it is really still a mystery. Loss of habitat, loss of prey, disease. It could all have played a part.



Around the Network
curl-6 on 22 April 2018

Ambulocetus, the missing link between whales and their land-dwelling predecessors

 

Meganeura, a dragonfly the size of an eagle from before the time of the dinosaurs

 

Archaeopteryx, transitional animal between dinosaurs and birds



konnichiwa on 23 April 2018
curl-6 said:

 The leading theories as to the cause of their extinction are the cooling of the oceans and the decline of the large cetaceans they depended on for food.

Their prey went to shallow waters and orca's/great white were the only ones to reach them. The ice age decreased their prey sizes aswell in the end the only things they could find to eat was another Megalodon and basically killed their own species.






curl-6 on 23 April 2018
konnichiwa said:
curl-6 said:

 The leading theories as to the cause of their extinction are the cooling of the oceans and the decline of the large cetaceans they depended on for food.

Their prey went to shallow waters and orca's/great white were the only ones to reach them. The ice age decreased their prey sizes aswell in the end the only things they could find to eat was another Megalodon and basically killed their own species.

Yeah, something that big would have required a huge amount of food to survive, so disruption to its food supply would be fatal. There were likely a whole host of contributing factors, but shortages of suitable prey and climate change were probably the leading causes.