The Pleistocene

Too short to be named as a Period, the Pleistocene Epoch lasted from around 2.6 million years ago to around 13,000 years ago. It may have been rather short, but it was an incredibly interesting time in Earth’s recent past.

All the continents were more or less where they are today during the Pleistocene. But there were big differences! This was a time when the climate went through some very extreme conditions. Over the last two and a half million years, there were rapid changes in the temperature, where much of the Northern Hemisphere looked like the frozen tundra of Siberia. A few tens of thousands of years later, the scenery transformed to resemble that of Africa!

Other continents were undergoing changes too. Australia was slowly becoming drier, losing most of its rainforests. The lonely drifting continent of South America had recently collided with North America creating a corridor for animals to move up and down exploring the new lands. In Africa, one group of odd ape began to walk on two legs.

This was one awesome time in the history of the planet. Some of the most incredible beasts ever to have existed owned this short Epoch. This blog will show you just how incredible these creatures were.