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Extinct Animals News
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The human theory brings about the question of population. Did H. sapien migrate in enough numbers to cause such drastic changes all around the world? If we've got some facts to discuss and debate, let's bring it here: http://wildfact.com/forum/topic-what-cau...extinction
Gigantopithecus is one of the weakest species identities we have on record. Mandible and teeth is all there has been found according to what I have read. A mandible makes it very difficult to accurately reconstruct the entire animal. Its true size is extreme guesswork in my opinion. 
Also, maybe that both climate change and human pressure were the culprits that driven Gigantopithecus into extinction.
And the Homo erectus from China went into extinction prior to Gigan's extinction, so it cannot be the perpetrator. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peking_Man 
An early Oligocene fossil demonstrates treeshrews are slowly evolving “living fossils"
Ptilocercus kylin Li & Ni, 2016  *This image is copyright of its original author Reconstruction credits: Xijun Ni Abstract: "Treeshrews are widely considered a “living model” of an ancestral primate, and have long been called “living fossils”. Actual fossils of treeshrews, however, are extremely rare. We report a new fossil species of Ptilocercus treeshrew recovered from the early Oligocene (~34 Ma) of China that represents the oldest definitive fossil record of the crown group of treeshrews and nearly doubles the temporal length of their fossil record. The fossil species is strikingly similar to the living Ptilocercus lowii, a species generally recognized as the most plesiomorphic extant treeshrew. It demonstrates that Ptilocercus treeshrews have undergone little evolutionary change in their morphology since the early Oligocene. Morphological comparisons and phylogenetic analysis support the long-standing idea that Ptilocercus treeshrews are morphologically conservative and have probably retained many characters present in the common stock that gave rise to archontans, which include primates, flying lemurs, plesiadapiforms and treeshrews. This discovery provides an exceptional example of slow morphological evolution in a mammalian group over a period of 34 million years. The persistent and stable tropical environment in Southeast Asia through the Cenozoic likely played a critical role in the survival of such a morphologically conservative lineage." Other articles related: Earliest-known treeshrew fossil found in Yunnan, China 
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/a...-myth.html
The Siberian rhinoceros, Elasmotherium sibiricum (artist's impression pictured), is nicknamed the Siberian Unicorn due to the huge horn it is thought to have had on its head. Scientists previously thought it died out 350,000 years ago, but a new discovery suggests they survived in some areas until 26,000 years ago Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/a...z44Ebc1O94 Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/index.html
Both the gigantic ( 15 feet long ) Elasmotherium and the woolly rhinoceros may have lived in Siberia 26,000 years ago. Would you suspect that the Siberian tiger might have hunted these giants or at least the juveniles? I feel certain that the grizzly very likely avoided mammoths and rhinos.
 *This image is copyright of its original author
A new otter from the Early Pleistocene of Pantalla (Italy), with remarks on the evolutionary history of Mediterranean Quaternary Lutrinae (Carnivora, Mustelidae)
Lutraeximia umbra Cherin, Iurino, Willemsen & Carnevale, 2016  *This image is copyright of its original author Reconstruction credits: D.A. Iurino Abstract: "Here we describe a well-preserved sub-complete lutrine cranium from the late Villafranchian (Early Pleistocene) of Pantalla (Italy) and we assign it to the new taxon Lutraeximia umbra, gen. et sp. nov. The new genus Lutraeximia is characterized by a relatively short and large cranium, with a peculiar shape of the postorbital area and a short and vertical muzzle in lateral view. We refer to the same genus the partially complete skeleton of Lutra trinacriae from the Middle-Late Pleistocene of Sicily. Lutraeximia umbra was a medium-large otter (predicted body mass larger than 13.5 kg) with a unique combination of characters in the upper dentition. A phylogenetic analysis based on craniodental characters places Lutraeximia umbra in a monophyletic clade including the living Lutrogale perspicillata plus the extinct Lutrogale cretensis and three Pleistocene otters from Italy: Sardolutra ichnusae and the sister taxa Lutraeximia trinacriae and Lutraeximia umbra. The recognition of this clade evidences the broad diversity of peri-Mediterranean Lutrinae during the Pleistocene." Full article
Osteology Supports a Stem-Galliform Affinity for the Giant Extinct Flightless Bird Sylviornis neocaledoniae (Sylviornithidae, Galloanseres) Worthy et al., 2016
 *This image is copyright of its original author Reconstruction credits: Trevor H. Worthy et al. Abstract: "The giant flightless bird Sylviornis neocaledoniae (Aves: Sylviornithidae) existed on La Grande Terre and Ile des Pins, New Caledonia, until the late Holocene when it went extinct shortly after human arrival on these islands. The species was generally considered to be a megapode (Megapodiidae) until the family Sylviornithidae was erected for it in 2005 to reflect multiple cranial autapomorphies. However, despite thousands of bones having been reported for this unique and enigmatic taxon, the postcranial anatomy has remained largely unknown. We rectify this deficiency and describe the postcranial skeleton of S. neocaledoniae based on ~600 fossils and use data from this and its cranial anatomy to make a comprehensive assessment of its phylogenetic affinities. Sylviornis neocaledoniae is found to be a stem galliform, distant from megapodiids, and the sister taxon to the extinct flightless Megavitiornis altirostris from Fiji, which we transfer to the family Sylviornithidae. These two species form the sister group to extant crown-group galliforms. Several other fossil galloanseres also included in the phylogenetic analysis reveal novel hypotheses of their relationships as follows: Dromornis planei (Dromornithidae) is recovered as a stem galliform rather than a stem anseriform; Presbyornis pervetus (Presbyornithidae) is the sister group to Anseranatidae, not to Anatidae; Vegavis iaai is a crown anseriform but remains unresolved relative to Presbyornis pervetus, Anseranatidae and Anatidae. Sylviornis neocaledoniae was reconstructed herein to be 0.8 m tall in a resting stance and weigh 27–34 kg. The postcranial anatomy of S. neocaledoniae shows no indication of the specialised adaptation to digging seen in megapodiids, with for example, its ungual morphology differing little from that of chicken Gallus gallus. These observations and its phylogenetic placement as stem galliforms makes it improbable that this species employed ectothermic incubation or was a mound-builder. Sylviornis neocaledoniae can therefore be excluded as the constructor of tumuli in New Caledonia." Full Article 
I do remember seeing an article about the ancient mammoth of both Crete and Malta, they both went through severe insular dwarfism. They kind of explain this article as well (although those two proboscideans were quite the robust ones, and heavy for their height too).
Humans as prey animals: http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and...nakes.html
In the developed world, we live in the most peaceful, healthful time in history. The murder and violent crime rate is dropping; we are vaccinated against the most deadly diseases of previous generations; our houses protect us from most storms; relatively few people go hungry. The average lifespan is longer than it has ever been. Then why do we walk around so anxious, so full of fear? The answer is not terrorists, TV, Republicans, or Democrats. The answer is our legacy of ancient fears, the result of having spent millions of years running from predators. Our fear response is more influenced by the ancient species we struggled to escape than any modern challenges. We live in a demon-haunted world.
Megalictis, the Bone-Crushing Giant Mustelid (Carnivora, Mustelidae, Oligobuninae) from the Early Miocene of North America Valenciano et al., 2016
 *This image is copyright of its original author Figure 9. Sequential reconstruction of the head of Megalictis ferox based on F:AM 25430. A, life appearance; B, reconstructed skull and mandible; C, Skull and mandible F:AM 25430. Artwork by Adam Hartstone-Rose. Abstract: "We describe cranial and mandibular remains of three undescribed individuals of the giant mustelid Megalictis ferox Matthew, 1907 from the latest Arikareean (Ar4), Early Miocene mammal fauna of Nebraska, and Wyoming (USA) housed at the American Museum of Natural History (New York, USA). Our phylogenetic hypothesis indicates that Ar4 specimens assigned to M. ferox constitute a monophyletic group. We assign three additional species previously referred to Paroligobunis to Megalictis: M. simplicidens, M. frazieri, and “M.” petersoni. The node containing these four species of Megalictis and Oligobunis forms the Oligobuninae. We test the hypothesis that Oligobuninae (Megalictis and Oligobunis) is a stem mustelid taxon. Our results indicate that the Oligobuninae form the sister clade to the crown extant mustelids. Based on the cranium, M. ferox is a jaguar-size mustelid and the largest terrestrial mustelid known to have existed. This new material also sheds light on a new ecomorphological interpretation of M. ferox as a bone-crushing durophage (similar to hyenas), rather than a cat-like hypercarnivore, as had been previously described. The relative large size of M. ferox, together with a stout rostrum and mandible made it one of the more powerful predators of the Early Miocene of the Great Plains of North America."
Would Megalictis have been similar to a jaguar-sized wolverine? That would have been a horrific predator!
First North American fossil monkey and early Miocene tropical biotic interchange
Panamacebus transitus Bloch et al., 2016  *This image is copyright of its original author Reconstruction credits: Bloch at al. Figure 4: Palaeogeographic reconstruction showing hypothetical dispersal route of Panamacebus across the CAS in the early Miocene. Yellow and ochre colours indicate subaerial environments, blue colours indicate marine environments (dark, coastal and platform; light, abyssal). Criteria used to arrive at this reconstruction include regional tectonic reconstructions, local and regional palaeomagnetic data, and regional strain markers and piercing points (see Extended Data Fig. 8, Methods, and Supplementary Methods). Fm., formation; Fms, formations. Abstract: "New World monkeys (platyrrhines) are a diverse part of modern tropical ecosystems in North and South America, yet their early evolutionary history in the tropics is largely unknown. Molecular divergence estimates suggest that primates arrived in tropical Central America, the southern-most extent of the North American landmass, with several dispersals from South America starting with the emergence of the Isthmus of Panama 3–4 million years ago (Ma)1. The complete absence of primate fossils from Central America has, however, limited our understanding of their history in the New World. Here we present the first description of a fossil monkey recovered from the North American landmass, the oldest known crown platyrrhine, from a precisely dated 20.9-Ma layer in the Las Cascadas Formation in the Panama Canal Basin, Panama. This discovery suggests that family-level diversification of extant New World monkeys occurred in the tropics, with new divergence estimates for Cebidae between 22 and 25 Ma, and provides the oldest fossil evidence for mammalian interchange between South and North America. The timing is consistent with recent tectonic reconstructions2, 3 of a relatively narrow Central American Seaway in the early Miocene epoch, coincident with over-water dispersals inferred for many other groups of animals and plants. Discovery of an early Miocene primate in Panama provides evidence for a circum-Caribbean tropical distribution of New World monkeys by this time, with ocean barriers not wholly restricting their northward movements, requiring a complex set of ecological factors to explain their absence in well-sampled similarly aged localities at higher latitudes of North America." Full Article Other articles related: Paleontologists find first fossil monkey in North America – but how did it get here?
http://www.eartharchives.org/articles/ou...years-ago/
We pride ourselves on being the world’s greatest predators but once in our long history, we were the hunted and not the hunters. Bones from Morocco reveal the shocking tale of how some human ancestors met their match at the hands of bone-crushing teeth. (04-28-2016, 05:30 PM)brotherbear Wrote: http://www.eartharchives.org/articles/ou...years-ago/ Really interesting, very nice article. Thanks @
Oligocene primates from China reveal divergence between African and Asian primate evolution
Yunnanadapis folivorus Ni, Li, Li & Beard, 2016 Yunnanadapis imperator Ni, Li, Li & Beard, 2016 Laomaki yunnanensis Ni, Li, Li & Beard, 2016 Gatanthropus micros Ni, Li, Li & Beard, 2016 Oligotarsius rarus Ni, Li, Li & Beard, 2016 Bahinia banyueae Ni, Li, Li & Beard, 2016  *This image is copyright of its original author The Eocene-Oligocene transition (EOT) functioned as a critical filtering episode during the evolutionary history of primates. Comparing the composition of the early Oligocene primate faunas from Asia reveals that surviving this Eocene-Oligocene evolutionary filter entailed a high degree of taxonomic and ecological selectivity: later Eocene primate assemblages tend to be dominated, both in terms of taxonomic richness and numerical abundance, by stem anthropoids, whereas the Oligocene primate tend to be dominated by lemur-like strepsirrhine primates. A similar comparison of the late Eocene-early Oligocene primates from Afro-Arabia shows a very different pattern of selectivity in response to the EOT: very few strepsirrhine primates survived the EOT, whereas anthropoids diversified both taxonomically and ecologically. The divergent responses shown by Afro-Arabian and Asian primates across the EOT evolutionary filter constrained the subsequent course of primate macroevolutionary pattern across the Old World. Africa became the geographic nexus of anthropoid evolution, whereas Asia shows a strong break between Paleogene and Neogene anthropoid assemblages. Credit: Xijun Ni Abstract: "Profound environmental and faunal changes are associated with climatic deterioration during the Eocene-Oligocene transition (EOT) roughly 34 million years ago. Reconstructing how Asian primates responded to the EOT has been hindered by a sparse record of Oligocene primates on that continent. Here, we report the discovery of a diverse primate fauna from the early Oligocene of southern China. In marked contrast to Afro-Arabian Oligocene primate faunas, this Asian fauna is dominated by strepsirhines. There appears to be a strong break between Paleogene and Neogene Asian anthropoid assemblages. Asian and Afro-Arabian primate faunas responded differently to EOT climatic deterioration, indicating that the EOT functioned as a critical evolutionary filter constraining the subsequent course of primate evolution across the Old World." Full Article Other articles related: Six new fossil species form 'snapshot' of primates stressed by ancient climate change Could these new fossils solve 'paradox' of primate evolution? |
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