Monthly Archives: February 2015

When is an aardvark not an aardvark? When it’s from Madgascar!

I think about extinction a lot. Its hard not to when researching Pleistocene mammals. One of the sobering things about this kind of research is that you become aware of the high likelihood of “unknown unknowns”: animals that existed but … Continue reading

Posted in Bibymalagasy | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Just like the weather

North America was a very different place during the Pleistocene. There were no skyscrapers, no highways, no concrete structures at all. Instead the landscape was wild, with grasses and white spruce forests dominating. This rich environment was filled with incredible creatures, including, … Continue reading

Posted in American Lion, Short Faced Bear | Tagged , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Down the rabbit hole

“You’ve got no right to be growing here” said the Dormouse to Alice during her sojourn in Wonderland. “Don’t talk nonsense” Alice replied to the tiny, dozy rodent “You know you’re growing too”. To which the Dormouse retorted “Yes, but … Continue reading

Posted in Giant Maltese Dormice | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

A big ass kangaroo

Marsupials are cool mammals. The youngsters are born very, very early. So early in fact they are the size of a jelly bean. These pink wrinkly little joeys develop for several months outside of the womb protected inside a nice … Continue reading

Posted in Giant Short-Faced Kangaroo | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments