Tag Archives: Isthmus of Panama

The forgotten dogs of South America

Posted on March 19, 2021 by twilightbeasts

Abya Yala was the land of dogs for a long time.* This is where they evolved. On a solitary, large landmass drifting through a vast ocean. A landmass that Europeans would later call North America. These very familiar animals evolved … Continue reading →

Posted in Dog | Tagged Arctotherium angustidens, Berinigia, Borophanginae, camel, Caninae, Canis familiaris, Dog, Giant short faced bead, Glyptodont, Great American Biotic Interchange, Hesperocyoninae, Horse, Isthmus of Panama, jaguar, Panthera onca, puma, Puma concolor, Smilodon, Smilodon populator, Tapir, terror bi, Theriodictis platensis | 2 Comments

Doing the crawl?

Posted on April 25, 2016 by twilightbeasts

The life aquatic has lured many animal groups back into its liquid embrace. Marine iguanas, penguins, whales and dolphins, sea-cows and manatees, seals and sea-lions all returned to the sea from land (and air!) adapted forms. It makes a lot … Continue reading →

Posted in Giant Swimming Sloth, Thalassocnus | Tagged Charles Darwin, Evolution, Isthmus of Panama, Marine Sloth, Origin of Species, Pisco Formation, Pliocene, Ross Barnett, Thalassocnus | 5 Comments

The long reign of terror

Posted on April 16, 2015 by twilightbeasts

Something has survived. Bold capital letters spell out the above chilling sentence on the back cover to Michael Crichton’s sequel to Jurassic Park. No blurb. No description of the novel. Those three words say enough. That short, simple, yet powerful … Continue reading →

Posted in Terror Bird | Tagged Cariamiformes, Cretaceous, Florentino Ameghino, Francisco P. Moreno, Glyptodon, Gompothere, Great American Interchange, Isthmus of Panama, Jurassic Park, K-Pg extinction, K-T extinction, Kelenken guillermoi, Mesembriornis milneedwardsi, Michael Crichton, Museo de la Plata, Paleociconia australis, Paleogene, Phorusrhacids, Phorusrhacos longissimus, Seriemas, Terror Bird, Titanis walleri, Toxodon | 13 Comments

The bizarre elongated llama

Posted on January 2, 2015 by twilightbeasts

In the Hitch-Hikers Guide to the Galaxy, landscape manufacturer Slartibartfast likes to take elements of his favourite geological features and pop them together to make something extra special – allegedly how Scandinavia came about! On finding out about Macrauchenia, the … Continue reading →

Posted in Macrauchenia | Tagged Bahia, Camelidae, Charles Darwin, Great American Interchange, Hitch-Hikers Guide to the Galaxy, HMS Beagle, Isthmus of Panama, Macrauchenia, Macrauchenia patachonica, Mastodon, Monte Verde, Phorusrhacidae, Richard Owen, Ruminantia, Terror-Birds | 12 Comments

The lolloping shovel mouth

Posted on July 16, 2014 by twilightbeasts

My first introduction to gomphotheres was a research critique of a seminal Quaternary paper by Janzen in ‘Science’ journal. Something about these peculiar and ungainly looking distant cousins of today’s noble elephant fascinated me! Everyone has of course heard of woolly … Continue reading →

Posted in Gompothere | Tagged Auel, Beringa, Clovis culture, Cuvieronius, Gomphothere, Gomphotheridiiae, Great American Biotic Interchange, Isthmus of Panama, Land bridge, Mammut americanum, Mammuthus primigenius, Mastodon, Proboscidean Datum Event, Stegomastodon, Woolly Mammoth | 10 Comments

	The most (and least)… on A very brief introduction to…
	The most (and least)… on The Nipple Tooth
	The most (and least)… on The burrowers
	The most (and least)… on The Stuff Of Night-Mares
	The most (and least)… on The beasts within

	The most (and least)… on A very brief introduction to…
	The most (and least)… on The Nipple Tooth
	The most (and least)… on The burrowers
	The most (and least)… on The Stuff Of Night-Mares
	The most (and least)… on The beasts within