Tag Archives: Richard Owen

You only live twice

Posted on December 7, 2018 by twilightbeasts

Australia is a continent full of weird wonders. From kangaroos to koalas, the animals here are unlike anywhere else on the planet. Australia is a landmass that has drifted slowly northwards, alone, across the empty Indian Ocean for over 30 … Continue reading →

Posted in Diprotodon, Giant Short-Faced Kangaroo, Marsupial Tapir, Zygomaturus | Tagged Australia, Diprotodon, Hominidae, Homo sapiens, Kangaroo, Marsupial, Marsupial Lion, Marsupial Tapir, Palorchestes azeal, Paolchestes, Primates, Richard Owen, Zygomaturus | 2 Comments

Turtle Power

Posted on October 6, 2016 by twilightbeasts

In the canonical tale, Big Chuck D’s visit to the Galapagos was a “Eureka!” moment, where he instantly worked out his theory of evolution by natural selection after observing the different species of finches on the archipelago’s varying islands. Almost … Continue reading →

Posted in Meiolania | Tagged Aldabra, Aldabrachelys, Australia, Chelonoidis, Extinction, Florentino Ameghino, Glyptodon, Lord Howe Island, Megalania, Meiolania, Mylodon Cave, New Caledonia, Ninjemys, Niolamia, Overkill, Patagonia, Richard Owen, Thomas Henry Huxley, Ultima Esperanza, Vanuatu | 3 Comments

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 Aepyornis, ancient DNA, birds, cave art, DNA, eggs, Elephant Bird, Extinction, feathers, Homo sapiens, Maori, moa, mummies, New Zealand, Overkill, Pacific, Ratite, Richard Owen, Ross Barnett | 14 Comments

The strangest animals ever discovered

Posted on March 18, 2015 by twilightbeasts

I love reading through Charles Darwin’s diaries. Who wouldn’t? Written in his early 20s, Darwin writes detailed accounts of his days on board HMS Beagle. For me, these are accounts of fantastic, real, adventures: travelling where no Englishman had travelled … Continue reading →

Posted in Macrauchenia, Toxodon | Tagged Charles Darwin, Darwin's Frog, Edentata, Glossotherium sp, Glyptodont, HMS Beagle, Horse, Litopterna, Macrauchenia, Mylodon darwinii, Notoungulata, Pachydermata, Perissodactyla, Rhinoderma darwinii, Richard Owen, Robert Fitzroy, Robert McCormick, Rodentia, Stegomastodon, Toxodon | 12 Comments

A big ass kangaroo

Posted on February 5, 2015 by twilightbeasts

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 Antilopine Kangaroo, Brachycephalic, Darling Downs, Didelphidae, Diprotodon optatum, Dirty Dancing, Dolichocephalic, Dromiciops gliroides, Eastern Grey Kangaroo, Giant Short-Faced Kangaroo, Kangaroo, Koala, Lake Menindee, Macropodidae, Macropus antilopinus, Macropus fuliginosus, Macropus giganteus, Macropus rufus, Marsupial, Marsupial Lion, Megalania, monito del monte, Nullarbor Caves, Opossum, Pangaea, Patrick Swayze, Phascolarctos cinereus, Procoptodon goliah, Queensland, Red Kangaroo, Richard Owen, Sthenurinae, Thylacoleo carnifex, tree-kangaroos, Vombatidae, wallabies, Western Grey Kangaroo, Wombat | 8 Comments

A Very English Panda

Posted on January 14, 2015 by twilightbeasts

I was always rather glad that the delightful cartoon Kung Fu Panda gave suitable publicity to the Red Panda. Veteran actor Dustin Hoffman voiced the feisty little martial arts maestro of the film and I know from my own daughter … Continue reading →

Posted in Red Panda | Tagged Ailuridae, Ailurus fulgens, Arundinaria gigantea, Dinoflagellates, English Red Panda, Foraminifera, Kung Fu Panda, Matuyama event, Musteloidea, Parailurus, Parailurus anglicus, Parailurus hungaricus, Pliocene, Poaceae, Pristinailurus bristoli, Puma pardoides, Red Crag, Red Panda, Richard Owen, William Boyd Dawkins | 7 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

Darwin’s 18 pence

Posted on November 13, 2014 by twilightbeasts

South American Pleistocene beasts were super weird. They owe their peculiar evolution to events that happened deep within the very bowels of the planet, hundreds of millions of years ago. Almost all the land that we know today was squashed together … Continue reading →

Posted in Toxodon | Tagged Charles Darwin, Glossotherium, Glyptodon, Gondwana, Great American Interchange, Macrauchenia, Mastodon, Mylodon, Notoungulata, Pangaea, Richard Owen, Rodenta, Smilodon, Toxodon | 9 Comments

The pouched lion

Posted on October 10, 2014 by twilightbeasts

Australia is a land stripped of megafauna. The largest surviving kangaroo is a dwarf compared to the elephants, giraffes, rhinos, and hippos of Africa. Similarly, the largest living carnivorous marsupial, the Tasmanian devil (Sarcophilus harisii), is a stunted furball when … Continue reading →

Posted in Marsupial Lion | Tagged Australia, Carnassials, Carnivores, cave art, Dasyuromorphia, Diprotodon optatum, Extinction, megafauna, Richard Owen, Sarcophilus harisii, Tasmanian Devil, Tasmanian tiger, Thylacine, Thylacinus cynocephalus, Thylacoleo | 7 Comments

The dragon down under

Posted on October 8, 2014 by twilightbeasts

Not so long ago an enormous lizard dragged it claws through the dried, dead leaves deep in the Australian woodlands. Longer than a black cab, this was the largest lizard (so far discovered) ever to walk on land. Its teeth were around … Continue reading →

Posted in Megalania | Tagged Australia, Diprotodon, Giant kangaroo, Komodo dragon, Komodo Dragons, Lake Callabonna, Megalania, Megalania prisca, Mihirung, monitor lizard, perentie, Richard Owen, Varanidae, Varanus priscus, venom gland | 9 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