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Chimerathedragon — Prehistoric animals

Published: 2013-12-08 19:48:33 +0000 UTC; Views: 7192; Favourites: 22; Downloads: 11
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Description My 4 favourite prehistoric animals  


Meganteron- Meganteron was built similar to a large modern jaguar but much heavier. Meganteron had stocky forelimbs with the lower half of these forelimbs lion-sized.It had a large neck with large muscles designed to deliver a powerful killing bite. The elongated upper canines were protected by flanges at the mandible.Meganteron lived during the early Pilocene to the middle of the Pleistocene. It may have preyed upon horses or the young of rhinos or elephants. 


Thylacoleo carnifex- Thylacoleo was a large carnivorous marsupial that lived in Australia from the late Pilocene to the late Pleistocene. ( 2 Million to 46 thousand years ago.) This creature was about the size of a small lion with large front incisor teeth and blade like premolars at the back of the mouth instead of carnassials like most modern predators have. Research suggests that Thylacoleo could hunt and take down prey much larger than itself. Larger animals like giant kangaroos and Diprotodon. Thylacoleo had very strong forelimbs, retractable claws and incredibly powerful jaws. Mean it may have been possible that Thylacoleo was probably an ambush predator that waited high up in the trees to pounce down on prey from above similar to what modern leopards do.Thylacoleo also had two large hooded claws set on large semiopposable thumbs which might have been used for hunting and defence against opponents. Despite it's name, Thylacoleo is closely related to the herbivorous wombat than to the family Felidae. Meaning Thylacoleo was never really a feline. 


Thylacosmilus antrox- Also known as the "pouched sabre", Thylacosmilus was about the same size as a modern leopard and first appeared during the Miocene. Despite it's apperance, Thylacosmilus was not a felid but a sparassodont, a group closely related to marsupials and only resembled to sabre toothed mammals due to convergent evolution. Thylacosmilus's large saber like upper canines grew throughout the animal's life just like the incisor teeth of rodents. When the mouth was closed, the long upper canines were safely sheathed and protected by a pair of enlongated scabbard like flanges growing from the lower jaw. Thylacoleo's skull was very similar to that of Smilodon Fatalis. In that which Thylacosmilus may have used the same technquies as Smilodon by only using the long saber canines to slash and deliver deep bites into the soft tissue of prey driven by powerful neck muscles.


Haast's eagle- The Haast's eagle was the largest known eagle to have existed. This large bird lived on the South island of New Zealand from the late Pleistocene to the Holocene and preyed upon the famous large Moa.( A giant flightless bird.) Haast's eagles were the largest true raptors, slightly larger than the largest mordern vultures of today.It is estimated that the Haast's eagle could attack at speeds up to 80 km/h (50 mph), often seizing it's prey's back with the talons of one foot and killing with a blow to the head or neck with the other. The Haast's eagle became extinct around the year 1400, when it's major food source, the Moa, were hunted to virtual extinction by the early human settlers. Much of it's dense forest habitat was cleared. 

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