Tag Archives: Pleistocene

Diminishing giants

Posted on December 10, 2021 by twilightbeasts

Island dwarfism is perhaps one of the most beautiful examples of evolution through natural selection. Large animals that arrive on an island, evolve smaller sizes to survive on less food, and because there are fewer (if any) predators. (Similarly, small … Continue reading →

Posted in Cebu Tamaraw | Tagged Bubalus cebuensis, Bubalus mindorensis, Cebu, Cebu Tamaraw, Cretan Dwarf Hippopotamus, Cretan Dwarf Mammoth, Dodo, Dwarf pronghorn, Extinction, Giant Duck, Giant Rabbit, Island Dwarfism, Myotragus balearicus, Philippenes, Pleistocene, Sardinian Dwarf Mammoth | 3 Comments

G(e)nomic Wisdom

Posted on December 4, 2020 by twilightbeasts

When I first started doing ancient DNA way back in two thousand and [polite cough], every base pair was a win. Nature papers were published with less sequence than you’d now expect a fresher to produce in their first lab … Continue reading →

Posted in American Lion, Cave Lion, Cheetah, DNA, European Jaguar, Leopard, Lynx, Sabre tooth Cat | Tagged ancient DNA, felidae, Homotherium, Miocene, Oligocene, Palaeogenomics, Pleistocene, Sabretooth cat, Scimitar Cat | 10 Comments

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 American lion, ancient DNA, Cave Lion, Conservation, DNA, Extinction, Lion, mitochondrial DNA, Nuclear DNA, Phylogeny, Pleistocene, University of Copenhagen Zoological Museum, Zoo | 19 Comments

On the dhole

Posted on August 26, 2019 by twilightbeasts

It’s funny when you think about it. Canids famously have a swimming style named after them but they hardly ever made it to any islands. Compared to elephants, hippos, and tortoises and the ease with which they seem to have … Continue reading →

Posted in dhole, Extinction, Giant Maltese Dormice, Hippopotamus, Mouse Goat | Tagged Canidae, Canids, Cuon, Cynotherium, dhole, Dogs, islands, Mediterranean, Pleistocene, Sardinia, Wolves, Xenocyon | 4 Comments

Smilodon: The Iconic Sabertooth

Posted on February 11, 2019 by twilightbeasts

Smilodon: The Iconic Sabertooth I recently bought this book (with my own money, this is an impartial review: I can’t be bought, man!). “Smilodon” is somewhat of a companion volume to another recent-ish release, namely “The Other Saber-tooths: Scimitar-tooth Cats … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Arctodus simus, Arctotherium tarijense, Giant Ground Sloth, Hippidion, Homotherium, Homotherium latidens, Homotherium serum, llama, Macrauchenia, Pararctotherium, Patagonia, Pleistocene, Smilodon, Smilodon fatalis, Smilodon gracilis, Smilodon populator | 1 Comment

A whorl of difference

Posted on October 26, 2018 by twilightbeasts

C’mon. Hop on into the Beastmobile. Have you been to the loo? Have you charged your phone ok? I’ve got snacks, we can have lunch in this utterly gorgeous wee pub I know. Right then, off we go. I’m taking … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Holocene, Ireland, Mesolithic, Mollusca, Neolithic, Pleistocene, snail | 4 Comments

Standing Proud

Posted on May 2, 2018 by twilightbeasts

ALERT, THIS BLOG IS NOT SUITABLE FOR VERY LITTLE KIDS, AND PROBABLY IS RATED AROUND A PG12! There’s been a huge buzz about the early Mesolithic dates of the Shigir wooden figure, from Ural Russia, and it isn’t too often … Continue reading →

Posted in art, Homo sapiens | Tagged art, Homo sapiens, Mesolithic, Pleistocene, Pre-Boreal, Religion, Spirituality, Wood, Younger Dryas | 6 Comments

Sabertooth

Posted on January 25, 2018 by twilightbeasts

[This review was written in 2014, when the book first came out] I recently read “Sabertooth” by Mauricio Anton. Obviously given my interests, this was one book I had to treat myself to. Anton and Turner’s “Big cats and their … Continue reading →

Posted in Sabre tooth Cat, Uncategorized | Tagged Carnivores, Extinction, felidae, Homotherium latidens, Homotherium serum, Overkill, Pleistocene, Sabre tooth cat, Smilodon, Smilodon fatalis, Smilodon populator | 2 Comments

“Nice Beaver!” (redux)

Posted on December 1, 2017 by twilightbeasts

Beavers! Majestic dam makers of Canada. Living on a diet of maple syrup and poutine. Probably. I don’t know. Much bigger in the past, North America had Castoroides ohioensis, the giant beaver. As big as a bear. With its razor … Continue reading →

Posted in Giant Beaver, Uncategorized | Tagged Castor, Castoroides ohioensis, Europe, Giant Beaver, Pleistocene, Pliocene, teeth, Trogontherium, UK | 2 Comments

Discovering the mammoth: A tale of giants, unicorns, ivory, and the birth of a new science

Posted on August 2, 2017 by twilightbeasts

Mammoth. With one word, we can all conjure up a mental picture of a woolly elephant, tusks curving out and in, possibly in a herd, in a habitat cold and snowy with biting wind and unforgiving snow. Isn’t it weird? … Continue reading →

Posted in Cave art, Columbian Mammoth, Deinotherium, Extinction, Mastodon, Palaeoloxodon, Scientific Art, Stegodon, Woolly Mammoth | Tagged Bering, Blumenbach, book, Georges Cuvier, Leibniz, Mammoth, mummies, Natural History Museum, Pleistocene, Woolly Mammoth | 1 Comment

	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