#paleocene period
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A FOSSIL GINKGO LEAF
Colorado, USA
From the Paleocene (circa 58 - 55 million years ago) the clearly defined 31⁄4-inch wide Ginkgo cranei with well preserved striations, on original matrix. Reverse of matrix three further partial specimens of Ginkgo cranei.
63⁄4 x 67⁄8 x 3⁄4in. (17.1 x 17.5 x 1.9cm.).
#A FOSSIL GINKGO LEAF#colorado#paleocene period#ginkgo cranei#fossils#archeology#archeolgst#history#history news#ancient artifacts#nature
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my life's work as someone who definitely didn't go to college and will have no impact on the earth is largely ignoring the existence of the Jurassic and Cretaceous period in order to prop up the history of life on Earth that is not the constantly presented non-scientific dinosaurs depicted in every piece of popular art. I do not wish to speak of the Triceratops, I wish to speak of when nearly all life onland was Lystrosaurus, big old cow-like synopsid with fangs. get your sauropods out of here, i want to talk about when crocodiles had land genuses and how we almost lived in a world where some still survived. i never want to see a fucking t-rex ever again, but the world should be as obsessed with sloth bears like megatherium as i am. get these fucking dinosaurs out of my face i want OTHER EXTINCT ANIMALS TO TAKE THE SPOTLIGHT AND I WILL BREAK THE WORLD IN ORDER TO SHOW YOU ALL----
#dinosaurs are a dead meme#kinda cringe to post them tbh#Dinosaurs#Megatherium#Synopsids#Permian Period#Permian Extinction#Triceratops#Crocodiles#Alligators#Jurassic#Triassic#Cretacious#Devonian#carboniferous#Cenozoic#Paleocene#Eocene#Oligocene#Neogene#Miocene#Pliocene#Pleistocene#Mammals#Reptiles#Birds#T-Rex#tyrannosaurus rex#Sauropod#i don't know how to tag this
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ITS ALMOST FOSSIL NOVEMBIRB!!!!!
We're going to have a CELEBRATION of FOSSIL NEORNITHINES for this November!!! The extinct members of the only group of dinosaurs we have today!
Each day will have a prompt inspired by the evolution of crown-birds and the amazing forms they have taken over the past 68 million years!
You can respond to each day's prompt however you wish - with drawing and painting, writing, sculpting, music, videos, whatever! Just tag it "#Fossil Novembirb" for me to find it, and it'll get reblogged!
I'm so excited to see the art you guys create!
NOVEMBER 1 - THE CHOSEN ONES
Crown-Birds (Neornithes) known from the Mesozoic Era!
Options include Asteriornis, Teviornis, Vegavis, and "Styginetta"!
These are the only dinosaurs that survived the asteroid!
Theoretically there were also early Palaeognaths and Neoavians - if you want to do some spec evo and hypothesize what you think they might have looked like, go ahead! Follow your dreams!
NOVEMBER 2 - THE SURVIVORS
The earliest birds known after the K-Pg boundary!
Options include Conflicto, Tsidiiyazhi, Australornis, Qinornis, and Qianshanornis!
Birds diverged rapidly after the extinction, so also feel free to dive into spec evo into some of the forms we don't have fossils of!
NOVEMBER 3 - RACE TO THE SEA
The first Marine Neornithines and how they evolved in the early Paleocene!
Includes tons of early penguins like Waimanu, Kumimanu, Sequiwaimanu, Muriwaimanu, and Kupoupou
Also includes the first Pseudo-toothed bird, Protodontopteryx, and the earliest known Tropicbird, Clymenoptilon!
RISE OF THE PENGUINS!
NOVEMBER 4 - THE MEGAFOWL
Gastornis (aka "Diatryma", aka "Zhongyuanus") appeared in the mid-Paleocene and was a feature of the Cenozoic landscape until the end of the Eocene - so we have a whole day JUST FOR IT
Show your love for the Megafowl Gastornis! This giant herbivorous bird was fascinating, and has captured imaginations for decades because of it!
Gastornis is also present in many of the ecosystems described below, such as Willwood, Green River, and Messel, so we also just wanted to make sure people didn't keep picking Gastornis over and over again xD
NOVEMBER 5 - IT'S GETTING HOT IN HERE
The Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum was the most dramatic incident of rapid global warming in the world since the Permian... until today!
It majorly affected the evolution of many things, possibly including birds!
The Willwood Formation straddles the time period of the warming, and has tons of birds that were evolving during that time period! So, for this day, create things involving birds of the Willwood Formation!
Options include the flighted Palaeognaths Lithornis promiscuus and Lithornis plebius; the possible stem-Ostrich Paragrus, the early half-screamer-half-duck Anachronornis, the early owl Primoptynx, and the fascinating stem-mousebird Sandcoleus! And many more!
NOVEMBER 6 - TROPICAL DENMARK
Birds of the Fur Formation, one of the best collections of bird fossils from the early Eocene!
Includes such friends as Scandiavis (an early shorebird), Septencoracias (an early roller), Pellornis (an early rail-esque thing), the utterly mysterious Morsoravis, and the early swift-hummingbird Eocypselus!
This was a tropical shoreline environment with many of the first members of major bird groups we see today!
NOVEMBER 7 - ANCIENT LONDON TOWN
Across the shore from Fur was the London Clay Formation, a lush tropical forest near the warm shallow ocean
In addition to a truly alarming quantity of plant fossils, this is a notable locality for early birds, featuring many early members of major groups much like the Fur Formation
Options include Dasornis (a pseudotoothed bird), Pulchrapollia (one of the Parrot-Passerines of Prey), Nettapterornis (another stem-duck), Nasidytes (an early loon), Charadriisimilis (an early shorebird), Archaeodromus (a trogon-like member of Strisores), Eotrogon (an actual early Trogon), Lithornis vulturinus (another flighted Palaeognath), Prophaethon (another early Tropicbird), and Ypresiglaux (an early owl) - and so many more!
NOVEMBER 8 - THE RAPTORS ARE BACK
Turns out "Predatory Feathered Thing with Really Sharp Foot Claws" is a very successful niche - not only was there potentially one right after the end of the Cretaceous (Qianshanornis), but other raptors were some of the first birds to succeed around the world in the Eocene
So this day is dedicated to the early raptors of the Cenozoic!
Any "raptor" from the Paleogene is valid - so here are some suggestions:
Early Cariamiformes (Seriemas and Kin) like Bathornis, Dynamopterus, Strigogyps, and the first potential Terror Birds like Paleopsilopterus
Early Owls like Ypresiglaux and Palaeoglaux
Early Accipitriformes like Horusornis
Early Falcons like Antarctoboenus, Masillaraptor, and Danielsraptor
And of course the ever popular "Parrot-Passerines of Prey" like Tynskya and Messelastur
NOVEMBER 9 - GETTING A GRIP
Half of all living birds are Passeriformes - aka "Perching Birds" - but this wasn't always the case! For most of Earth's history, many other kinds of tree birds were extremely common
Where did this behemoth group of tiny dinosaurs come from? That's the subject of this day's prompt!
In the Eocene, the first birds closer to Passeriformes than to Parrots evolved, and they came in a huge variety of forms! So on Nov 9th, we're going to celebrate this group's interesting beginnings!
Options for this include Parapsittacopes, Eofringillirostrum, Pumiliornis, Psittacopes, Zygodactylus, Primozygodactylus, Psittacomimus, Sororavis, Morsoravis, and Eozygodactylus! Go wild!
NOVEMBER 10 - BAYOU IN THE BADLANDS
Back to specific ecosystems! We're visiting the world-famous Fossil Lake of the Green River Formation!
This environment, during the Early Eocene, was a thriving tropical lake and forest ecosystem filled with tons of early Neornithines as well as mammals and other animals
Gorgeous fossils have come out of this lake, showing truly amazing detail of feathers and other features for these birds!
So here you can feature Prefica (a potential early Oilbird), the flighted Palaeognath Calciavis, the stem-turaco Foro, the early mousebird Celericolius, the possible shore-bird Nahmavis, a potential cuckoo roller Plesiocathartes, the Flamingo-Duck Presbyornis, the early landfowl Gallinuloides, the swift-hummingbird Eocypselus, and the Frigate Bird Trying at being a Gull Limnofregata - and so many more!
NOVEMBER 11 - A NEW DAWN
We're finally moving on to the middle Eocene - and the Messel Lake ecosystem, famous from the first episode of Walking with Beasts (hence the name of the day)!
(If you're going "wait, that episode acts like nothing happened between the K-Pg and Messel, but here you have 10 days worth of stuff" .... yeah. Walking With Beasts skipped the Paleocene and early Eocene and I am... very pissed. Still.)
You know about the tons of early mammals from this tropical lake ecosystem, but it was filled with tons of early birds as well!
There's the early ostrich Palaeotis, the crane-rail Messelornis, the almost-flamingo Juncitarsus, the freshwater Booby Masillastega, the early hoopoe Messelirrisor, Selmes (a mouse bird with stubby toes), the early ibis Rhynchaeites, the early nightbird Hassiavis, the early swift Scaniacypselus, an early roller with known colors Eocoracias, and the early potoo Paraprefica - and many others!
NOVEMBER 12 - PEAK PENGUIN PARTY
As the Eocene continued, penguins achieved true megafaunal status - there were tons of them, they were huge, and they were all over the oceans of the Southern Hemisphere
While penguin diversity never did recover after the Eocene-Oligocene extinction event, this golden age deserves celebration!
Some of these fascinating peak penguins include Palaeeudyptes, Anthropornis, Icadyptes, Inkayacu, Perudyptes, and Kairuku!
NOVEMBER 13 - FRENCH SAVANNAH
As the Eocene began to dry up and cool down, plains grew across the world where the tropical forests once had been
One of the most famous later-Eocene fossil sites for birds is the Quercy Phosphorites location, a French formation with tons of interesting fossil birds!
Here we start to see the early forms of Neornithine Dinosaurs we saw in the Paleocene-Early Eocene diverge and specialize further - often in particularly weird or interesting ways!
So here we have the duck-ish chicken Paraortyx, the secretarybird Pelargopappus, you can also bring back Dynamopterus from earlier, there is the stem-chicken Quercymegapodius as well as stem-parrots like Quercypsitta, the seriema-like Strigogyps, the sandgrouse relative Archaeoganga, Archaeotrogon shows up again, the swift relative Aegialornis, a potential woodpecker relative Sylphornis, and more owls like Palaeoglaux! Lots of cursorial predators in this ecosystem!
NOVEMBER 14 - LOST IN THE WOODS
As the Oligocene dawned, forests did grow back in Europe, though they were now temperate and dry as opposed to the paratropical rainforests of before
This lead to wide diversification of tree-dwelling birds, and so here we will celebrate the birds of the Oligocene of Europe!
We start to really see modern-esque birds at this point, though of course we still have 30 million years of evolution to go!
Here you can feature the early eagle/hawk Aviraptor, the European Hummingbird Eurotrochilus, the seabird relative Rupelornis, the early woodpecker-toucan Rupelramphastoides, the tody Palaeotodus, the proper Passerine Wieslochia, the possible shorebird Turnipax, the mousebird Oligocolius, the hoopoe Laurillardia, and the trogon Primotrogon which we know the colors of!
NOVEMBER 15 - OASIS IN THE DESERT
The Jebel Qatrani Formation of Egypt shows the beginnings of the famous African Grassland animals, as well as many early members of iconic African animal groups such as primates - and, of course, birds!
Taking place in the early Oligocene, this formation was a tropical/subtropical lowland plain filled with ponds and streams and other waterways - aka, tons of swamps surrounded by plains
As such, this place is infested with waterbirds!
Here we have a fossil relative of the Shoebill Goliathia, as well as the jacanas Janipes and Nupharanassa, the giant stork Palaeoephippiorhynchus, the herons Nycticorax and Xenerodiops, and the mystery Palaeognath Eremopezus!
NOVEMBER 16 - AMONG THE GIANTS
Once again we're just fully committing to the Walking With Beasts nostalgia bc these are the birds we wish were in it more okay we said it
Anyways there were some interesting large birds in the plains of the "Land of Giants" episode so picture these guys alongside the Indricothere etc.
In general we're covering the latest Eocene through the Oligocene of Central Asia
Here we have the enigmatic ratites Ergilornis and Sonogrus, the pseudo-toothed bird Caspiodontornis, the owl Heterostrix, and the stem-flamingo Agnopterus
NOVEMBER 17 - IF THE WIND WAS IN OUR WINGS
We all focus on penguins, but over the Cenozoic, plenty of weird birds have evolved for marine life, and boy are they bizarre!
So for Nov 17, we're focusing on the unusual marine birds of the Cenozoic!
This includes any members of the Pelagornithids - aka the Pseudo-toothed birds - as well as the Plotopterids - the Boobies that became Penguins! Pelagornis and Copepteryx are the best known taxa from each, respectively, but there are plenty more!
But that's not all! We have the flightless auks Miomancalla and Mancalla, the large flightless marine duck Chendytes, and who can forget the weird flightless marine swan Annakacygna! Tons of options to choose from!
NOVEMBER 18 - MARCHING IN THE MARSHES
We're now starting our transition from the Paleogene into the Neogene, beginning with the brackish marsh ecosystem preserved at Saint-Gerand-Le-Puy in France!
This Miocene locality preserves a wide variety of birds that are near modern, but not quite - a sort of "uncanny valley" of bird evolution, all set in a somewhat-salty somewhat-not wetland ecosystem
Options for dinosaurs here include Harrisonavis, a transitional flamingo; the early gull/tern Laricola, the enigmatic duck Mionetta, the stork Grallavis, the pratincole Becassius, the swimming-flamingo Palaelodus, the early cormorant Nectornis, the seed-eating pheasant Palaeortyx, the early loon Colymboides, and the mysterious shorebird Elorius!
NOVEMBER 19 - FERN GULLY
Riversleigh is one of the most famous fossil sites in the world, preserving the evolution of the strange and unique animals known today in Australia, during the Oligocene to Miocene transition
Most often, we focus on the bizarre mammals found at Riversleigh, and for good reason - it's a Marsupial Party! - but the birds here are fantastic as well
This ecosystem was a rich rainforest that transitioned over the period of deposition into a semiarid grassland, and covers 20 million years of animal evolution during that transition
Options for birds here include the butcherbird Kurrartapu, the fossil Sittella Daphoenositta trevorworthyi, the Mihirungs ("Demon Ducks") Dromornis and Barawertornis, the Emuwary Emuarius, the early magpie-goose Eoanseranas, the raptor Pengana with flexible ankles, the earliest known species of lyrebird (Menura tyawanoides), the corvid-like Corvitalusoides, the first known cockatoos, the flightless rail-like bird Australlus, the stiff-tailed duck Pinpanetta, the early logrunner Orthonyx kaldowinyeri, and so many more!
NOVEMBER 20 - LAND OF GIANTS
Y'all were probably wondering when we'd get to the Terror Birds and other interesting dinosaurs of South America, so - here we are!
South America, isolated from the rest of the world until the Great American Interchange, featured a wide variety of bizarre and unique animals - not just mammals, but birds and other reptiles as well!
So for Nov 20th, we're looking at the interesting dinosaurs of the "lost continent" during the Miocene epoch, prior to the invasion of North American taxa!
Any Miocene South American Terror Bird (Phorusrachid) is fair game here, so that includes Brontornis, Patagorhacos, Paraphysornis, Devincenzia, Kelenken, Phorusrhacos, Patagornis, Andalgalornis, Psilopterus, Mesembriornis, and Procariama! Note that they did not all live at the same time or even close to each other in location, so do your research on the taxa you pick!
But Terror Birds weren't the only strange dinosaurs in South America at the time! We have the large Teratorn (vulture-like-thing) Argentavis, the *giant* swimming-flamingo Megapaloelodus, the giant Anhinga Macranhinga, the rhea Opisthodactylus, the penguins Palaeospheniscus, Arthrodytes, and Paraptenodytes, the Cathartid Dryornis, the Jacamar Galbula hylochoreutes, fossil Hoatzins like Hoazinavis and Hoazinoides, the giant stork Leptoptilos patagonicus, and the owl Yarquen!
NOVEMBER 21 - FIRST OF THE MANU
Aotearoa has one of the most unique avifaunas in the world today, and I often call it "Mesozoic 2" because of its almost entirely dinosaur-dominated fauna, especially in the past
All great things have to start somewhere or when, and for Aotearoa, that somewhen was after the landmass resurfaced from the ocean for the first time in millions of years - and was quickly inhabited by all kinds of birds and other reptiles (including tuatara) in the Miocene
This ecosystem was a lake bordered by grassy wetland floodplains and subtropical forests, a bit warmer than Aotearoa today
Dinosaurs here include the early Kiwi Proapteryx, an unnamed early Moa, a truly alarming number of waterfowl including shelducks like Miotadorna, stiff-tailed ducks like Manuherikia, and the possible swan Notochen, the small swimming-flamingo Palaelodus aotearoa, pigeons like Rupephaps and Deliaphaps, an early adzebill Aptornis proasciarostratus, flightless rails like Priscaweka, the lake-wanderer Hakawai melvillei, the herons Pikaihao and Matuku, the giant parrot Heracles, proto-keas Nelepsittacus, and the New Zealand Wren Kuiornis. Tons of fun species to choose from!
NOVEMBER 22 - LAND OF CONFUSION
In the Late Miocene to Early Pliocene, the Italian province of Gargano was cut off from the mainland due to rising sea levels, turning it into an island - an island with lots of really strange birds!
This island was cut off from everything else and completely lacked large predators, allowing for a weird variety of animals to evolve and thrive prior to the island rejoining the mainland during the Ice Age
Strange birds of this ecosystem include the extremely old pigeon Columba omnisanctorum, the giant hawk Garganoaetus, the giant flightless goose Garganornis, the giant barn owl Tyto gigantea, the pheasant Palaeortyx volans, and the swift Apus wetmorei!
NOVEMBER 23 - MAKE A BIRD OUT OF YOU
The iconic animals of the Ice Age and recent prehistory had to come from somewhere, and much of this transition is recorded in the Chinese Ecosystem of the Liushu Formation, deposited between 11 and 6.4 million years ago
As grasslands expanded, this ecosystem transitioned from a forest to a wide plains, and many animals adapted for the grasslands accordingly, leading to the appearance of such mammals as Elasmotheriines, Sabercats, Hyenas, Ambelodonts, and a truly alarming quantity of hoofed mammals
Dinosaurs (Birds) adapted to this ecosystem change as well, of course! While most focus on the mammals of Liushu, we're here to showcase the interesting birds that appeared here as well!
Options here include the the very well preserved Falcon Falco hezhengensis, the vultures Mioneophron and Gansugyps, the diurnal owl Miosurnia, the vocally fancy pheasant Panraogallus, the sandgrouse Linxiavis, the Ostrich Struthio (or Orientornis) linxiaensis, and the probable-Ostrich Sinoergilornis
NOVEMBER 24 - ANCIENT SOUTH PACIFIC
Penguins are Bouncing Back! As the Miocene continued and the Pliocene began, many new types of marine birds showed up and were fossilized in locations in Chile (Pisco) and Aotearoa (Tangahoe)
Tons of interesting birds were preserved in this sort of transitional ecosystem, showcasing how birds adapted to changing conditions as the Miocene-Pliocene climatic turmoil continued
These near shore environments are probably more famous for their other animals - things like the giant shark "megalodon", as well as weird whales like Livyatan and Odobenocetops and aquatic giant sloths (like Thalassocnus) and marine crocodilians - but we're here for those dinosaurs!
Options here from the Pisco Formation include the "Toucan-Booby" Ramphastosula, the Cathartid Perugyps, the Booby Sula figueroae, Pelagornithids, Pelicans, and the penguins Spheniscus urbinai and Spheniscus megaramphus, whereas birds from the Tangahoe Formation include the narrow-beaked albatross Aldiomedes, the giant petrel Macronectes, the more regular-sized petrel Procellaria altirostris, the little penguin Eudyptula wilsonae, and the crested penguin Eudyptes atatu!
NOVEMBER 25 - LAST OF A DYING BREED
We all love Megafuana, even though they are usually the "Live Fast Die Young" kind of species - gobbling up resources and growing too big will do that to you
Usually when we hear the term "Megafauna" we think of Mammals and Non-Avian Dinosaurs, but birds have had their share too - and have lost their share as well
So, mainly to cater to the Megafauna Fanbase, here we dedicate a whole day to the giant birds of recent times - Pliocene through Pleistocene - that we have lost to the dramatic climate change of the Ice Age Era. (Those lost in the Holocene will get their own days, see below)
Options for this day include the giant ostrich Pachystruthio, the Mihirung Genyornis, the Terror Bird Titanis, the giant stork Leptoptilos robustus, the giant swan Cygnus falconeri, the giant Anhinga Giganhinga, and of course - we can't forget our friend - the last of the Pseudotoothed Birds, Pelagornis
NOVEMBER 26 - HIGH AS A KITE
In many ways, the real dinosaur winners of the Ice Age were the flying Birds of Prey, as there were many kinds of raptors during the Ice Age and they exploited the new environment expertly
Nothing like being able to traverse huge distances to find places where there are food, amiright?
So this day is dedicated to the fantastic Raptors of the Ice Age, both volant and not!
Here we have some of the last of the Teratorns like Teratornis itself, the Giant Australian Raptor Dynatoaetus, the Australian Vulture Cryptogyps, Woodward's Eagle Buteogallus woodwardi, the tiny Condor Wingegyps, the large Cuban Eagle Gigantohierax, the wandering vulture Neogyps, the Walking Eagle Buteogallus daggetti, the Giant Cuban Stilt-Owl Ornimegalonyx, and one of the last Terror Birds, Psilopterus
NOVEMBER 27 - BEGINNING OF THE END
Oh Holocene Extinctions. As upsetting as they are, they include some of the best known fossil/subfossil birds, so we decided to spend a little extra time on them than they should have based solely on the time length
Here, we highlight the early losses of the Holocene - those dinosaurs that went extinct at the start, largely due to direct human activity such as hunting in addition to the warming caused by the end of the last Ice Age/Glacial Maximum
Days will be dedicated to both Hawai'i (see below) and Aotearoa (again, below), so this is for everyone else!
So options here include the previously mentioned marine duck Chendytes, the giant flightless landfowl Sylviornis from New Caledonia, the famous Elephant Birds of Madagascar, the flightless clubbing-ibis Xenicibis, the weird puffin Fratercula dowi, the giant Bahama Eagle Titanohierax, the Californian Turkey Meleagris californica, and the flightless "Cave Rail" Nesotrochis of the Greater Antilles
NOVEMBER 28 - OLD HAWAI'I
Many, many, MANY unique dinosaurs live on islands. The islands of Hawai'i are no exception, and these islands have lost many unique and fascinating birds over the years - thanks to human activity, invasive cats, colonialism, and climate change
We couldn't possibly ignore them, so for this day, we are hilghlighting these amazing animals found across the archipelago
There are tons of options, but some of our recommendations include the reverse-platypus/Mole Duck Talpanas, the Stilt-Owl Grallistrix, the flightless ibis Apteribis, the Moa-Nalo like Chelychelynechen, Ptaiochen, and Thambetochen, the Wood Harrier Circus dossenus, Hawai'ian Honeycreepers like Drepanis, Aidemedia, Hemignathus, Chloridops, Akialoa, Rhodacanthis, Dysmorodrepanis, Telespiza, and Vangulifer, the Oloma'o and ʻĀmaui thrushes, ʻōʻō's/Hawai'ian Honeyeaters like the Kioea, Kauaʻi ʻōʻō, and Oʻahu ʻōʻō, the giant Hawai'i Goose, the nēnē-nui/wood-walking goose, the Robust Crow, the flightless Laysan Rail, and the O'ahu Petrel
NOVEMBER 29 - OLD AOTEAROA
We're finally here: Pre-Human Holocene Aotearoa, aka Mesozoic 2, aka The Land Where Mammals Ain't Shit
I love Aotearoa so much. Why wasn't I born there. The universe isn't fair.
The ecosystems were very similar to today - podocarp forests and southern beech forests, grass and tussock plains and shrublands, and plenty of coastal habitats, all usually temperate in terms of climate
All named Moa are fair game. All of them, all named members of Dinornithiformes. So the North Island Giant Moa, the South Island Giant Moa, the Bush Moa, the Eastern Moa, the Broad-Billed Moa, the Heavy-Footed Moa, Mantell's Moa, the Crested Moa, and the Upload Moa. Follow your Moa-Filled Dreams!
Obviously there were more than Moa - not just the living species of Aotearoa still with us, but tons of other extinct forms for Fossil Novembirb. This includes the Adzebills, Haast's Eagle (of course), the whēkau/Laughing Owl Ninox albifacies, the New Zealand Goose Cnemiornis, the New Zealand Owlet-Nightjar, the mehonui Diaphorapteryx, the Long-Billed Wren Dendroscansor, the piopio Turnagra, and the Huia
NOVEMBER 30 - SIXTH EXTINCTION
And, for our last day, we cover recent Holocene extinctions (not on Hawai'i or Aotearoa) - the birds/dinosaurs we have lost in the living past, due largely to colonialism, capitalism, globalism, and climate change
Any bird extinct since 1492 not previously covered is fair game, and there are a lot of them. Today, we honor them, however we can.
Some suggestions include the Dodo (of course), the Cuban Macaw, the Pink-Headed Duck, the Northern Curlew, the Great Auk, the Passenger Pigeon, the Carolina Parakeet, the Ivory-Billed Woodpecker, the Labrador Duck, the Saint Helena Hoopoe, and the Spectacled Cormorant; though there are of course many otherse to choose from as well
Kind of a bummer note to end on, but here we are
Living Birds already get tons of time and attention, so we really don't want to include them here - we love them, but the fossils of the Neornithes world deserve love too! So we tried to cover all of the bases, as best as we could!
Remember, Wikipedia, the Paleobiology Database, The Works of Gerald Mayr, the third volume of "Earth Before Us", and the blogs of myself and @albertonykus and @otussketching are all fantastic resources to look for information about these wonderful animals! Also check out Through Time and Clades' "Dinosaurs: The Second Chapter" series and the Raptormaniacs blog from Albert as well!
HAVE FUN! CREATE WHAT YOU DREAM! AND LOVE CENOZOIC DINOSAURS!
HAPPY FOSSIL NOVEMBIRB!
#Fossil Novembirb#Novembirb#Dinovember#birblr#palaeoblr#Birds#Dinosaurs#Cenozoic Birds#Neornithines#Dinovembirb
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Time Travel Question 32: Pre-history. I forget what number....3? 4?
In honor of @kraetac.
Please add new suggestions below if you have them for future consideration. All cultures and time periods welcome.
#Nanotyrannus#Time Travel#Tyrannosaurus Rex#Dinosaurs#Paleontology#Lystrosaurus#Paleocene/Eocene Thermal Maximum#Hateg Island#Arthropluera#Tetrapods#Argentinosaurus#Prototaxites#Fungi#Spinosaurus#Icthyosaurs#The Luning Formation#Snakes#Evolution
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FOSSIL FRIDAY: LAST OF THE AMMONITES
Today will be the last of the ammonites, the order aptly named: ammonitida.
These ammonites spanned the Jurassic and Cretaceous Periods (and possibly the earliest Paleocene before they choked and went extinct.)
This order had the most complex sutures of all the ammonites, having branching saddles and lobes that resemble manganese dendrites.
Manganese Dendrites
Ammonitida sutures
I hope this month you have learned something new about ammonites and next month we will be looking at my favorite rock formation: the Morrison Formation!
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The orbit of Earth around the Sun is always changing. It doesn’t change significantly from year to year, but over time the gravitational tugs of the Moon and other planets cause Earth’s orbit to vary. This migration affects Earth’s climate. For example, the gradual shift of Earth’s orbit and the changing tilt of Earth’s axis leads to the Milankovitch climate cycles. So if you want to understand paleoclimate or the shift of Earth’s climate across geologic time, it helps to know what Earth’s orbit was in the distant past.Fortunately, Newtonian mechanics and the law of gravity work backward in time as well as forward. We can use Newtonian dynamics to predict eclipses and the trajectories of spacecraft to the outer solar system, but we can also use it to turn back the clock and map Earth’s orbit into the deep past. Within limits.Since there is no exact solution for the orbital motion of more than two bodies, we have to run our calculations computationally. A bit of chaos comes into the works, so any uncertainty we have in the current positions and motions of large solar system bodies decreases the accuracy of our retrodiction the further back in time we go. Fortunately with radar ranging and other measurements, our computations are so accurate we can trace Earth’s orbit back 100 million years into the past with some confidence. Or so we thought because a new paper demonstrates we’ve been overlooking the gravitational effect of passing stars.The uncertainty of Earth’s orbit 54 million years ago. Credit: N. Kaib/PSIMost stars are too distant to have any measurable effect on Earth’s orbit. They tug upon our world no more than the distant rocks of the Oort Cloud. But now and then a star will make a close approach. Not close enough to throw our solar system into chaos, but close enough to give the solar planets a gravitational nudge. The most recent close approach was HD 7977. Right now the star is about 250 light-years away, but 2.8 million years ago it passed within 30,000 AU or half a light-year of the Sun. It may have passed as close as 4,000 AU from the Sun. At the larger distance, the gravitational effect of HD 7977 would be negligible, but at the closer end of the range, it would be significant. When you add this into the computational mix, the uncertainties of Earth’s past orbit make it difficult to be confident more than 50 million years. And that has a significant impact on paleoclimate studies.For example, about 56 million years ago Earth entered a period known as the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum, where global temperatures rose 5 – 8 °C. Orbital models point to the fact that Earth’s orbit was particularly eccentric during that time, which could be the underlying cause. But this new study raises the uncertainty of that conclusion, meaning that other factors such as geologic activity may have played a major role.It’s estimated that a star passes within 10,000 AU of the Sun every 20 million years or so. This means that as we map Earth’s orbital motion deeper into the past, we must also look for effects that may be written in the stars.Reference: Kaib, Nathan A. and Raymond, Sean N. “Passing Stars as an Important Driver of Paleoclimate and the Solar System’s Orbital Evolution.” Astrophysical Journal Letters 962 (2024): L28.The post Passing Stars Changed the Orbits of Planets in the Solar System appeared first on Universe Today.
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Europe's Oldest Gecko Species Lived in Belgium
Paleontologists have described a new extinct gecko species from Belgium. The lizard Dollogekko dormaalensis lived 56 million years ago, making it the oldest gecko species in Europe. 'This discovery provides new evidence for the early history of geckos in Europe,' says Annelise Folie, paleontologist at the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences (RBINS). The scientists named the new species after the famous Belgian paleontologist Louis Dollo.
Living geckos are found worldwide in tropical and subtropical regions. Most species are adapted to warm climates, so in Europe you will only find them around the Mediterranean Sea. But during the Eocene epoch, 56 to 34 million years ago, it was much warmer in our regions and a lot of thermophilic animals, including geckos, could be found in more northern latitudes than today.
An international team of paleontologists examined a fossil of such a prehistoric gecko from the collections of the RBINS. The fossil was found in Dormaal, a borough of the Belgian town of Zoutleeuw in Flemish Brabant. As it turns out, the fossil belongs to a hitherto unknown species, and represents the oldest remains of geckos known in Europe, together with indeterminate material from Portugal. The new species, Dollogekko dormaalensis, is therefore the earliest living gecko species from Europe described so far.
The only part of this individual that the scientists found was the fossilized frontal bone. However, due to its unique shape and external surface sculpture, it provided enough information to conclude that it was a previously unknown species. This forehead bone therefore immediately became the official type specimen - the (part of the) individual used to describe the species - and will continue to be preserved in the collections of the RBINS.
Greenhouse world
Dollogekko dormaalensis lived during a period known as the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (56 million years ago), when Belgium, which today has a temperate marine climate, was much warmer. The new gecko was part of a diverse reptilian fauna of the so-called "Greenhouse World" of this period.
Tropical and subtropical conditions then extended much farther to the poles. In addition, the rise in temperatures during the early Eocene led to a rise in sea level, and many areas of Eurasia were flooded. Europe was an archipelago consisting of several islands. "Given future global climate change and predicted sea-level rise, it is of great importance to understand the distribution of thermophilic, tropical species of the past, as well as the distributions of certain infectious diseases such as malaria," says Andrej Čerňanský, lead author of the study.
What's in a name
When scientists describe a new species, they naturally give it a name. In this case, it was not only a new species epithet (the second part of the scientific name), but also a new genus name (the first part). The species could not be classified in an existing genus because it does not resemble nor lived in the same area than any other gecko species from that period.
The scientists found their inspiration for the species epithet at the location of the discovery of the type specimen: dormaalensis means ‘from Dormaal’. The genus name, Dollogekko, is a tribute to the famous Belgian paleontologist Louis Dollo (1857-1931), best known for his research on dinosaurs, including the Iguanodons, housed at the RBINS. His specialty was the anatomy of extinct fishes and reptiles, including turtles, mosasaurs, snakes, lizards, and dinosaurs.
The study was published in the journal Royal Society Open Science.
This project is a collaboration between researchers from multiple institutions, including the Comenius University in Bratislava, Slovakia (Andrej Čerňanský), Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences (Annelise Folie, Thierry Smith, and Richard Smith), Sam Houston State (Juan Diego Daza) and Villanova University (Aaron M. Bauer) in the United States.
Images 1, 2 and 3 © 2022 The Authors. Published by the Royal Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. Images 4 and 5 © Annelise Folie, RBINS
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Passing stars altered orbital evolution of Earth and other planets, astronomers find
Stars that pass by our solar system have altered the long-term orbital evolution of planets, including Earth, and, by extension, modified our climate.
"Perturbations—a minor deviation in the course of a celestial body, caused by the gravitational attraction of a neighboring body—from passing stars alter the long-term orbital evolution of the sun's planets, including Earth," said Nathan A. Kaib, Senior Scientist at the Planetary Science Institute and lead author of "Passing Stars as an Important Driver of Paleoclimate and the solar system's Orbital Evolution" that appears in The Astrophysical Journal Letters. Sean Raymond at the Laboratoire d'Astrophysique de Bordeaux also contributed to this work.
"One reason this is important is because the geologic record shows that changes in the Earth's orbital eccentricity accompany fluctuations in the Earth's climate. If we want to best search for the causes of ancient climate anomalies, it is important to have an idea of what Earth's orbit looked like during those episodes," Kaib said.
"One example of such an episode is the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum 56 million years ago, where the Earth's temperature rose 5-8 degrees centigrade. It has already been proposed that Earth's orbital eccentricity was notably high during this event, but our results show that passing stars make detailed predictions of Earth's past orbital evolution at this time highly uncertain, and a broader spectrum of orbital behavior is possible than previously thought."
Simulations (run backward) are used to predict the past orbital evolution of the Earth and the sun's other planets. Analogous to weather forecasting, this technique gets less accurate as you extend it to longer times because of the exponential growth of uncertainties. Previously, the effects of stars passing near the sun were not considered in these "backward forecasts."
youtube
As the sun and other stars orbit the center of the Milky Way, they inevitably can pass near one another, sometimes within tens of thousands of au, 1 au being the distance from the Earth to the sun. These events are called stellar encounters. For instance, a star passes within 50,000 au of the sun every 1 million years on average, and a star passes within 10,000 au of the sun every 20 million years on average. This study's simulations include these types of events, whereas most prior similar simulations do not.
One major reason the Earth's orbital eccentricity fluctuates over time is because it receives regular perturbations from the giant planets of our solar system (Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune). As stars pass near our solar system, they perturb the giant planet's orbits, which consequently then alters the orbital trajectory of the Earth. Thus, the giant planets serve as a link between the Earth and passing stars.
Kaib said that when simulations include stellar passages, we find that orbital uncertainties grow even faster, and the time horizon beyond which these backward simulations' predictions become unreliable is more recent than thought.
This means two things: There are past epochs in Earth's history where our confidence in what Earth's orbit looked like (for example, its eccentricity or degree of circularity) has been too high, and the real orbital state is not known, and the effects of passing stars make regimes of orbital evolution (extended periods of particularly high or low eccentricity) possible that past models did not predict.
"Given these results, we have also identified one known recent stellar passage, the sun-like star HD 7977, which occurred 2.8 million years ago, that is potentially powerful enough to alter simulations' predictions of what Earth's orbit was like beyond approximately 50 million years ago," Kaib said.
The current observational uncertainty of HD 7977's closest encounter distance is large, however, ranging from 4,000 au to 31,000 au. "For larger encounter distances, HD 7977 would not have a significant impact on Earth's encounter distance. Near the smaller end of the range, however, it would likely alter our predictions of Earth's past orbit," Kaib said.
IMAGE....Illustration of the uncertainty of Earth's orbit 56 million years ago due to a potential past passage of the Sun-like star HD7977 2.8 million years ago. Each point's distance from the center corresponds to the degree of ellipticity of Earth's orbit, and the angle corresponds to the direction pointing to Earth's perihelion, or closest approach distance to the Sun. 100 different simulations (each with a unique color) are sampled every 1,000 years for 600,000 years to construct this figure. Every simulation is consistent with the modern Solar System's conditions, and the differences in orbital predictions are primarily due to orbital chaos and the past encounter with HD 7977. Credit: N. Kaib/PSI.
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Gastornis
(temporal range: 61.6-41.2 mio. years ago)
[text from the Wikipedia article, see also link above]
Gastornis is an extinct genus of large flightless birds that lived during the mid Paleocene to mid Eocene epochs of the Paleogene period. Fossils have been found in Europe, Asia and North America, with the remains from North America originally assigned to the genus Diatryma.
Gastornis species were very large birds, and have traditionally been considered to be predators of small mammals. However, several lines of evidence, including the lack of hooked claws in known Gastornis footprints and studies of their beak structure and isotopic signatures of their bones have caused scientists to reinterpret these birds as herbivores that probably fed on tough plant material and seeds. Gastornis is generally agreed to be related to Galloanserae, the group containing waterfowl and gamebirds.
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Geological Time Scale
Introduction
The Earth is a planet with a rich and complex history that spans billions of years. To understand this history, scientists have developed a tool known as the Geological Time Scale. This scale allows us to divide Earth's history into distinct eras, periods, and epochs, providing a framework for comprehending the vast timeline of our planet's existence.
Understanding Geological Time
Geological time is not measured in days, months, or years. Instead, it is quantified in eons, eras, periods, and epochs. These units help scientists categorize the vast expanse of Earth's history into manageable segments.
1. Eons
The largest division on the Geological Time Scale is the eon. Earth's history is divided into four eons: Hadean, Archean, Proterozoic, and Phanerozoic. The Hadean eon, the earliest, begins with the formation of Earth about 4.6 billion years ago. During this time, our planet was a hostile, molten world. The Archean eon, lasting from about 4 billion to 2.5 billion years ago, saw the formation of oceans and the emergence of life in the form of single-celled organisms. The Proterozoic eon, from 2.5 billion to 541 million years ago, witnessed the development of more complex life forms. Finally, the Phanerozoic eon, which began 541 million years ago and continues to the present day, is characterized by the proliferation of multicellular life and the evolution of diverse ecosystems.
2. Eras
Each eon is further divided into eras. For example, the Phanerozoic eon is divided into three eras: the Paleozoic, the Mesozoic, and the Cenozoic. The Paleozoic era, known as the "Age of Invertebrates," spans from 541 to 251 million years ago and is marked by the emergence of the first fish, amphibians, reptiles, and insects. The Mesozoic era, the "Age of Dinosaurs," extends from 251 to 65 million years ago and is characterized by the dominance of reptiles. Finally, the Cenozoic era, which began 65 million years ago and continues to the present day, is known as the "Age of Mammals" and is marked by the rise of mammals and the evolution of primates, including humans.
3. Periods
Eras are subdivided into periods. In the Cenozoic era, for instance, you can find the Paleocene, Eocene, Miocene, and many more. Each period is associated with distinct geological and biological events. The Miocene, for example, is known for the evolution of various modern plant and animal groups, while the Pleistocene is famous for the Ice Age.
4. Epochs
The finest division of the Geological Time Scale is epochs. The Holocene epoch, which began around 11,700 years ago and continues to the present, is of particular interest to us as it represents the current phase of Earth's history. It's characterized by a relatively stable climate and the rise of human civilization.
Why the Geological Time Scale Matters
The Geological Time Scale is more than just a historical catalog; it's a vital tool for understanding our planet's evolution and predicting its future. Here are a few key reasons why it matters:
1. Earth's Evolution: By breaking down Earth's history into manageable units, scientists can study the geological and biological changes that have occurred over time. This allows us to trace the evolution of life, the movement of continents, and the climate changes that have shaped our world.
2. Climate Change Insights: The Geological Time Scale helps us grasp the long-term patterns of climate change. Understanding past climate shifts can provide valuable insights into current and future climate trends, aiding in the fight against global warming.
3. Resource Exploration: The scale is used in the exploration of Earth's resources, such as minerals, fossils, and oil. By understanding the geological history of an area, scientists and geologists can make informed decisions about resource extraction.
4. Environmental Conservation: Knowing how ecosystems have changed over time can inform conservation efforts. It's essential to understand what natural conditions were like before human intervention and how they've been impacted.
Conclusion
The Geological Time Scale is a testament to the incredible journey our planet has undertaken over billions of years. From the fiery beginnings of the Hadean eon to the rise of complex life forms in the Phanerozoic, this scale offers us a comprehensive view of Earth's geological and biological history. Moreover, it equips us with essential tools for understanding the past, addressing the challenges of the present, and preparing for the future. By appreciating the significance of the Geological Time Scale, we can better comprehend our planet's story and make more informed decisions about its future.
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Multituberculate Earth: Paleocene
This where the timeline diverges.
The first five million years of the Paleocene occur as in our timeline. After a slow recovery multituberculates explode in diversity, dominating the mammal faunas of the north hemisphere. Meanwhile, in the southern continents, gondwanatheres and dryolestoids do the same. Therians radiate in the background, placentals in particularly producing a myriad of forms.
But while in our timeline multituberculates rapidly decline at the end of the Danian (circa 61 million years) and therians take hold, this doesn’t happen here. Instead, multituberculates continue their trajectory as dominant land mammals, while therians decline in their stead. Whatever caused the decline of multituberculates in our timeline doesn’t affect them here; it instead cuts the branches of the therian family tree, and by the end their brief period of exploration comes to an end.
The climate is temperate, warming as the era goes on. Flowering plants dominate the scene, but not as much as in our world, there being also a wealth of conifers, ferns, horsetails and ginkgos among others (this could explain why multituberculates have not declined, but fails to explain why therians did…) In these conditions various groups have prospered in the post-Cretaceous world, including the sole surviving dinosaurs, birds, as well as crocodylomorphs, turtles, amphibians and the mysterious choristodere reptiles. Squamates aside from snakes were strongly impacted by the KT event, and it took them over ten million years to recover in our timeline; this recovery does not happen here, making them join therians on the path to damnation.
In the north hemisphere, cimolodont multituberculates are the dominant mammals. Kogaionids make a brief tour throught Europe, but increasing competition from recently-arrived North American and Asian clades force them back to the isolation of Balkanatolia. Taeniolabidoids dominate herbivorous guilds, taeniolabidids as large sized herbivores across the northern continents and lambdopsalids as a myriad of digging, running and even hopping forms in Asia. Ptilodontoideans diversify across the canopies, and go on to produce the first largest multituberculate carnivores. Microcosmodontids remain largely small sized insectivores, but already vie for large sized predatory roles in some environments. Meniscoessids, inversely, occupy herbivorous roles and don’t diversify as much. Djadochtatheroideans, which evolved in Asia’s desert environments during the Cretaceous, have a hard time ajdusting to a greener world, but still succeed as the mostly predatory eucosmodontids and herbivorous boffiids.
In the trifecta of South America, Antarctica and Australia, gondwanatheres and dryolestoids continue the reign they enjoyed in the Cretaceous. The former are mostly herbivorous, while the latter fulfill all manner of roles from sengi-like runners to large carnivores to long-necked leaf-eaters that earn the title of largest land animal… for now at least. Curiously, some northern mammal groups penetrate into South America from North America much as in our world, but unlike our timeline marsupials are not the ones leaving a lasting legacy. And unlike our timeline, ferugliotheriid gondwanatheres invade the north successfully.
Africa stands as an isolated oddity. Here, a sole lineage of gondwanatheres, the galulatheriids, dominate herbivorous niches, while kogaionids diversify as carnivores and insectivores; whereas the latter have been here all along since the Cretaceous or are recent immigrants from Europe and/or Balkanatolia is unknown. Also weird are Madagascar and India, two isolated landmasses bearing a similar gondwanathere/kogaionid fauna, though the former are composed of sudamericids and adalatheriids instead. India is marching northwards at great speeds, and soon contact between the two faunas will begin…
Table of contents
Example Site: Santa Lucia Formation
Heavy Feetsies
Example Site: Khashat Formation
PETM this, PETM that
#multituberculate#multituberculata#multituberculate earth#spec evo#speculative zoology#speculative biology#speculative evolution#paleocene#palaeocene#paleontology#paleoart#palaeontology#palaeoblr#paleoblr
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60-million-year-old Snail Fossil Found in Turkey
A snail fossil dating to the age of 60 million was found in Mersin’s Toroslar district.
The snail fossil discovered by Süleyman Uygun was examined by Professor Deniz Ayas from Mersin University Faculty of Fisheries. Professor Deniz Ayas said that “that the snail fossil dates back 60 million years”
Snail Fossil, Belonging to the Paleocene Period
“The snail fossil is a rare species and belongs to the Paleocene period from 60 million years ago,” said Professor Deniz Ayas, a faculty member at the Faculty of Fisheries at Mersin University, who studied the snail fossil found in the Arslanköy District of Mersin’s Taurus district.
“A large number of fossils are found in the Taurus Mountains. Anatolia was the bottom of the Tethys sea in ancient times. Anatolia is a region that rose as a result of the African continent hitting Eurasia. For this reason, it is natural to find a large number of marine fossils. This is a snail fossil from the Paleocene period. Since these are limestone skeletons, they can easily be fossilized. We see a lot of fossils in this region, but these are one of the rarer ones,” he said.
Donate to the Museum
Saying that they will exhibit the fossil in the museum, Ayas said, “The Paleocene period is 60 million years ago. We cannot talk about Anatolia in this period. It passes as the base of the Anatolian Tethys Sea. A marine creature fossil from those times. There are many examples, which prove that Anatolia is a seafloor. Mersin is very rich in terms of fossils. People come across these fossils while wandering in nature. It sounds interesting to people and they house it at home. This is not true, because fossils have scientific significance. Museums are an opportunity for fossils to be seen by other people. “I am calling for those who have fossils to donate to the museum” he spoke.
#60-million-year-old Snail Fossil Found in Turkey#fossil#paleocene period#paleontologists#science#science news#interesting#interesting news#archeology#archeolgst#history#history news
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will never stop thinking of that line from What the Caves are Trying to Tell Us, “This world wasn’t in its infancy; it was already complete.” we tend to see the past as incomplete, and our own period of time as the only “complete” version of history. deep time is funny, it makes us perceive the current time as static, and everything else just a steady march to what exists now. 2 million years in the future is as difficult for us to process as it would be for any of our ancestors. but every period of human history, and before it, was in itself a complete world to those that lived in it. the dinosaurs knew a world that was already whole to them. an australopithecine knew a world that was, to her, already finished. the vast and complex ecosystems of the early paleocene and eocene were as “finished” as those of the mesozoic that had “concluded”. we see it as the beginning of the age of mammals, but to everything living in it, it was a universe already full and done. every mass extinction was the loss of a world. in many ways, the ediacaran extinction is as tragic as the dinosaurs; the vast majority of a world gone, the survivors to make the next, and know it as their own.
#beside myself thinking abt the lives of prehistoric people and animals#will you remember that i stood next to you
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Fossil Novembirb 4: The Megafowl
By @thewoodparable
One of the *most* iconic dinosaurs of the Cenozoic has got to be Gastornis, often referred to as "Diatryma", the giant fowl of the Early Paleogene. This animal first appeared between 60 and 56 million years ago in Europe, and spread to Asia and North America during the earliest Eocene. In the hot temperatures of the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum, it even lived up in the Arctic Circle, in the Tropical Polar Forests of the period. This single genus lasted a while, living until the middle Eocene, around 45 million years ago.
Gastornis is most famous due to its size, growing as tall as 2 meters height and up to 175 kilograms in mass. This made it one of the largest birds known, with a giant head and extremely tall beak. The skull itself was very powerfully built, with the beak compressed and lacking the raptorial hook of the later appearing terror birds.
By Ashley Patch
This is important to note, because for a long time - until 2014, really - we thought Gastornis was a predator. Turns out, however, it was an herbivore, probably feeding on a generalistic diet of plants similar to other macroherbivorous dinosaurs. In fact, not only did it not have a predatory beak, but footprints that are probably from Gastornis suggest it did not have talons or raptorial feet adapted for hunting, either.
Feathers of Gastornis are not definitively known, however, a feather impression from the Green River Formation may be that of Gastornis due to its large size, and resembled feathers found on flighted birds, rather than the shaggy feathers of ratites. This is notable, as it seems that Gastornis was closely related to the "Fowl", aka Galloanserae, rather than the modern flightless ratites of today. Whether it's closer to ducks or to chickens is a question, hence the generic moniker of "Megafowl".
By @quetzalpali-art
Why did Gastornis go extinct? The answer is unclear. It seemed to have disappeared from North America and Asia at the end of the early Eocene, possibly due to the dropping temperatures. It persisted in Europe for longer, which was isolated at the time and may have thus been more habitable for Gastornis. That said, there is some evidence that the Mihirungs of Australia - who we'll get to know later - are related to Gastornis, and they are found in the Oligocene to Pleistocene of Australia - so maybe Gastornis didn't go away quite as soon as we thought!
Unfortunately, the behavior of this dinosaur is not particularly well known - it's uncertain if it lived in groups, how it nested, or what its foraging method would have been, as there are no living animals similar to it. Hopefully, more fossils of Gastornis will paint a clearer picture of the Megafowl of the Paleogene.
Sources:
Mayr, 2022. Paleogene Fossil Birds, 2nd Edition. Springer Cham.
Mayr, 2017. Avian Evolution: The Fossil Record of Birds and its Paleobiological Significance (TOPA Topics in Paleobiology). Wiley Blackwell.
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i’m glad you asked! the paleocene-eocene thermal maximum (PETM) was a period of abrupt and extreme climate change that occurred at the end of the paleocene epoch, around 55 million years ago. during this time, global temperatures abruptly rose by 5 - 8 degrees celcius! the event was hypothesized to be caused by the destablisation of methane clarates on the ocean floor, which released massive amounts of methane into the atmosphere-- at least 0.24 gigatonnes per year! to put that into perspective, humans release around 10 gigatonnes of carbon into the atmosphere per year! another fun fact is that, during the PETM, the earth was ice-free, and the oceans were acidified and made anoxic in large areas :D
no reason why the nord stream pipeline blast releasing 400,000 tonnes of fucking methane into the atmosphere brought this to mind, just a funny coincidence i guess
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Paleocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum
whoooooooooooo
Did I scare you?
You are not going to scare any of us by simply mentioning a historical period, aside from perhaps a few of the more foolish grunts.
-Winter Admin Firn (they/them)
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