Tag Archives: DNA

The Evolutionary History of Extinct and Living Lions

Posted on May 22, 2020 by twilightbeasts

I’m fairly obsessed with cave lions. If one were to open up my head and look at my brain’s RAM it would be something like 70% facts about extinct species of cat, 20% stuff that my wife and kids tell … Continue reading →

Posted in American Lion, Cave Lion, DNA, Homo sapiens | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 19 Comments

The lonely walk to extinction

Posted on September 8, 2017 by twilightbeasts

Our very species is an oxymoron. When Linnaeus added us to the taxonomic ranks of life, he dubbed humans Homo sapiens: literally meaning ‘wise man’. Sometimes I wonder how ‘wise’ we are. We can send people to live in space, … Continue reading →

Posted in Woolly Mammoth, Woolly Rhinoceros | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Lost, as the moa is lost!

Posted on January 22, 2016 by twilightbeasts

Every biologist has a gateway species. The taxon you had never heard of before that just looked so weird and unusual that you had to learn more. So, you looked up a few books, searched some library holdings, maybe photocopied … Continue reading →

Posted in moa | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 14 Comments

The moo of the wild

Posted on November 11, 2015 by twilightbeasts

In a sense, Pleistocene megafauna are still with us even in post-industrial England. It may not seem like it but the humble heifer is probably the most successful species of megafauna on the planet, outnumbering all the elephants, rhinos, whales, … Continue reading →

Posted in Aurochs | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 12 Comments

Who were the Denisovans anyway?

Posted on April 29, 2015 by twilightbeasts

Human evolution used to be the preserve of two groups of academics: the ones who liked fossils and the ones who liked stone tools. Both regarded the other as peculiar for being obsessed with the wrong part of a massive … Continue reading →

Posted in Denisovan | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

Paddington’s dangerous cousin

Posted on January 8, 2015 by twilightbeasts

North and South America were the last continents to be conquered by humans. We have been in Africa since we first evolved, Europe and Asia for over a million years, in Australia for about 60,000 years, but in the Americas … Continue reading →

Posted in Short Faced Bear | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 102 Comments

The bear necessities

Posted on July 2, 2014 by twilightbeasts

Humans and bears have a strange relationship. On the one hand we see them as lovable, smart, curious creatures (think Baloo from the Jungle Book). On the other, we have taken great pains to exterminate them wherever and whenever we … Continue reading →

Posted in Cave Bear | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Mr Darwin’s lost sloth

Posted on May 8, 2014 by twilightbeasts

Ground sloths are weird. The two-toed and three-toed varieties of memetic fame that we are left with only hint at the absurdity of different genera such as Eremotherium, Megalonyx, and Nothrotheriops: bear-sized to elephant-sized behemoths, covered in shaggy fur, and sporting … Continue reading →

Posted in Ground Sloth | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 18 Comments