The weight of the sloth has evolved over time helping them to adapt to life in the trees. The sloth is also the world’s slowest mammal, so slow that algae grows on its furry coat. The plant gives it a greenish that is useful camouflage in the trees of its Central and South American rainforest habitat. All sloths are built for life in the treetops and they spend nearly all their time in the trees. They hang from the branches, gripping with their long claws. Most sloths sleep some 15-20 hours a day. When they are awake, the barely move so the appear to still be asleep.(6) Their forearms are longer than their thighs so when on land, the crawl with their elbows and their claws. They also have thighs that are spaced so widely that they cannot …show more content…
Around 10,000 years ago, giant sloths were common throughout the Americas. Sloths used to be the size of elephants, weighing up to 4 tonnes.(2) Their claws reached up to a foot long. The current sloth species represent a very small amount of the sloth diversity that used to exist. Four three-toed species exist and two species of two-toed sloths remain. The fossils record over 50 sloth species which happen to spread over 8 different species. Results of some studies of sloth evolution suggest that environmental conditions during a period of time are responsible for increasing body size. Some species even showed an average increase in mass of 129 kg per million years. These trends were also seen in the family which includes the modern day two toed sloths, there was an average increase of 2.6kg every million years.(5) Researchers think this could have been due to the climate or competition with other animals. The sloths we see today do not reflect the “normal” sloth during their evolution. They are so much different than their ancestors. Almost 90% of sloths went extinct around 10,000 years ago. Humans are also thought to be part of this mass extinction. Although it’s possible that the last Ice Age contributed as well. Existing sloths are thought to be the “black sheep” of their
The Smilodon, the most recent type of saber tooth cats, went extinct about 10,000 years ago, around the time when Pangea began separating and breaking up. Sabertooth Cats did not go extinct due to lack of prey. However, around 12,000 years ago (end of the late Pleistocene) sabertooth cats, american lions, wooly mammoths and other gigantic creatures considered the “megafauna” went extinct. A die-off called the Quaternary extinction. A popular theory for the extinction is that the changing in climate during the end of the last ice age, human activity, or a combination of both killed off most large
As of now, the Pygmy three-toed-sloth are critically endangered and weak law enforcement, deforestation, and poachers are to blame. The Pygmy three-toed sloths are described to have buff-colored faces with dark circles that surround the eye and go outwards to their temples. Like all sloths, they are always in doldrums, which can be very unbeneficial to them. They have clay-orange fur that covers their face and their hair is long and bushy. “Long hair hangs forward to the forehead, giving the impression of a hood” (Grzimek 161).
The question of what caused the extinction of megafauna during the Late Pleistocene period is one that archaeologists have struggled to answer for decades, but why should it matter? Discovering with certainty the cause of megafaunal extinction would simultaneously prove or disprove any of the proposed implications of each existing theory regarding this massive extinction.
The re-wilding of North America is basically a conservation strategy (Donlan 2005), aimed at restoring the Pleistocene era (Donlan 2005, Rubenstein et al. 2006). This could be achieved by reintroducing African and Asian megafauna, these species are phylogenetically known to be direct descendents of the extinct Pleistocene species or animals of similar taxa (Donlan 2005, Rubenstein et al. 2006). Re-populating North America is essential for both ecological and evolutionary potential (Donlan 2005) and also economic gain (Donlan 2005, Rubenstein et al. 2006). In this paper I will be discussing the main arguments presented by two papers regarding the Pleistocene North America re-wilding. The first paper is written by Donlan (2005), it is a commentary paper in which he proposes the plan of re-wilding North America based on his opinions. The second paper is by Rubenstein et al. (2006), it is a research paper where he outlines some facts contrary to Donlan (2005)’s paper, unlike Donlan (2005)‘s paper his arguments were supported by variety of recent Scientific published papers which are relevant to the topic discussed.
It also extends the process of learning about food chains and food webs. The first step in this lab is that the pellet was described as small, brownish-gray, round, furry, and soft. The second step the pellet was placed in the tray and carefully it was taken apart. Our fingers were used to rub together the fur of the owl that was then used to find the pH level of the owl. Distilled water was poured on the fur. Then pH paper was placed in the distilled water and then compared to find the pH level. The owl pellet was then taken apart carefully and the bones found were placed in a separate dish. A picture was then taken of the remains. The amount of remains was then recorded in the chart below. The materials that were obtained for this lab were one owl pellet, answer sheets, dishes and trays, forceps and probes, ruler, white paper, and an owl pellet bone
It’s hard to believe in 2015 that there are parts of the world yet to be explored, but a new species of monkey discovered in Peru demonstrates just how much of planet earth we still haven’t seen. This discovery sheds light on not only what exists untouched in the most remote parts of the World, but also what we may lose without ever knowing thanks to human development. This entire species and others like it have the potential to disappear forever without ever being discovered if conservation efforts are not enhanced.
Since jaguars are able to adapt quickly and keep up the pace of living in an environment with such biodiversity, the preservation of these rainforest habitats will provide the organic atmosphere that jaguars need. Elizabeth Kolbert, author of The Sixth Extinction, explains one theory as to why species, like jaguars, reside and thrive in jungles “One theory holds that more species live in the tropics because the evolutionary clock there ticks faster”, (Kolbert 153). Here Kolbert elaborates on the blurry details of the rate of evolution in the tropics versus other biomes on the planet. Jaguar’s large claws for catching prey, thick skull for protection, and narrow rib cages for speed are all evidence of a rapidly ticking ‘evolutionary clock’;
Origin - The Maine Coon is a natural breed, however currently the actual origin of the Main Coon is still underway. The "myth" of the Maine Coon coming about from the mating of raccoon and domestic cat is amongst the most popular. Although this is genetically and scientifically impossible to achieve, it first came about to be believed due to its unique brown raccoon-like markings and big bushy tail. "Maine Shags" were the name given to those that had markings any other color besides the brown coat. Theory of Maine Coons coming about from Viking's bringing these animals over into North America has been one of many popular theories. However, the most common theory is that of Marie Antoinette. Many believe when she tried to escape to North America, but did not succeed, she had left her long-haired cat on board, which then came to North America and bred
In today’s society, most individuals misunderstand the vice of sloth for mere physical laziness. Very few would say sitting on a couch eating a bowl of ice cream is a sin, let alone something that belongs on the list of deadly vices. Sloth does not only belong on the list of the seven deadly vices, but it is in fact the most destructive of all the vices.
With a touch of humor, geology, evolutionary theory, biology, cartoon characters and even some references to baseball, The Panda’s Thumb definitely makes excellent reading for people with all types of interests. The old cliché, “Don’t judge a book by its cover,” or in this case, title, holds true for The Panda’s Thumb. Theories concerning adaptations of the panda are only a fraction of the many exciting facts held within the pages of this publication. Gould is able to put what he writes about in words that are easy to understand without compromising the quality of the information. Many questions are raised in this book. Some questions that science just can’t answer at the moment. Time is a major theme in some of the essays in The Panda’s Thumb. I found these essays of utmost interest.
Shreeve, jamie “Species Revival: Should We Bring Back Extinct Animals?” ngm.nationalgeographic.com 5 March 2013, 22 March 2014
The fossil record of horses extends back to an odd-toed ungulate mammal belonging to the taxonomic family Equidae, a dog-like ancestor 55 to 42 million years ago in the genus Hyracotherium in North America. Hyracotherium had a primitively little face , four-toed forefeet, three-toed hind feet, an arched back, small brain, and higher hindquarters than forehand. Later genus has increased in body size, brain complexity, the size of cheek teeth, lengthening of the face, and reduction of toe number. However, even though horses got larger over time but these trends are not seen in all of the horse lines. Genus such as Hipparion existed from 23 to 2 million years ago, showed gains in size, But some later genus such as Archeohippus, and Calippus got smaller again (Boundless, 2016),(Encyclopedia of Life,2015), (equineworld.co.uk, 2014), (Molen, M.
They are so well adapted to arboreal life that they cannot place their feet on
Holcomb, D. 2005. "Pseudoryx nghetinhensis" (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. Accessed March 14, 2014 at http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/accounts/Pseudoryx_nghetinhensis/
Sikes, Roberts. and William L. Gannon. "Guidelines of the American Society of Mammalogists for the Use of Wild Mammals in Research." Journal of Mammalogy 92.1 (Feb. 2011): 235-253. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 5 Oct. 2011.