End of the Megafauna: The Fate of the World's Hugest, Fiercest, and Strangest Animals

End of the Megafauna: The Fate of the World's Hugest, Fiercest, and Strangest Animals
Author :
Publisher : W. W. Norton & Company
Total Pages : 386
Release :
ISBN-10 : 9780393249309
ISBN-13 : 0393249301
Rating : 4/5 (301 Downloads)

Book Synopsis End of the Megafauna: The Fate of the World's Hugest, Fiercest, and Strangest Animals by : Ross D E MacPhee

Download or read book End of the Megafauna: The Fate of the World's Hugest, Fiercest, and Strangest Animals written by Ross D E MacPhee and published by W. W. Norton & Company. This book was released on 2018-11-13 with total page 386 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The fascinating lives and puzzling demise of some of the largest animals on earth. Until a few thousand years ago, creatures that could have been from a sci-fi thriller—including gorilla-sized lemurs, 500-pound birds, and crocodiles that weighed a ton or more—roamed the earth. These great beasts, or “megafauna,” lived on every habitable continent and on many islands. With a handful of exceptions, all are now gone. What caused the disappearance of these prehistoric behemoths? No one event can be pinpointed as a specific cause, but several factors may have played a role. Paleomammalogist Ross D. E. MacPhee explores them all, examining the leading extinction theories, weighing the evidence, and presenting his own conclusions. He shows how theories of human overhunting and catastrophic climate change fail to account for critical features of these extinctions, and how new thinking is needed to elucidate these mysterious losses. Along the way, we learn how time is determined in earth history; how DNA is used to explain the genomics and phylogenetic history of megafauna—and how synthetic biology and genetic engineering may be able to reintroduce these giants of the past. Until then, gorgeous four-color illustrations by Peter Schouten re-create these megabeasts here in vivid detail.


End of the Megafauna: The Fate of the World's Hugest, Fiercest, and Strangest Animals Related Books

End of the Megafauna: The Fate of the World's Hugest, Fiercest, and Strangest Animals
Language: en
Pages: 386
Authors: Ross D E MacPhee
Categories: Science
Type: BOOK - Published: 2018-11-13 - Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

The fascinating lives and puzzling demise of some of the largest animals on earth. Until a few thousand years ago, creatures that could have been from a sci-fi
Megafauna
Language: en
Pages: 458
Authors: Richard A. Fariña
Categories: Science
Type: BOOK - Published: 2013-05-22 - Publisher: Indiana University Press

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

“An enjoyable read that provides a substantial amount of detail on the biology, ecology, and distribution of these fantastic animals . . . Highly recommended.
The Strongest Animals in the World Are Herbivores
Language: en
Pages: 54
Authors: Paul E. Widmayer
Categories: Juvenile Nonfiction
Type: BOOK - Published: 2014-02 - Publisher: WestBow Press

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

This book contains a bit of science, philosophy, nature, and beauty. It provides some concepts of life involving the source of all energy--the sun--and how its
Vanished Giants
Language: en
Pages: 317
Authors: Anthony J. Stuart
Categories: Science
Type: BOOK - Published: 2021-01-28 - Publisher: University of Chicago Press

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Featuring numerous illustrations, this book explores the many lessons to be learned from Pleistocene megafauna, including the role of humans in their extinction
Ice Age Mammals of North America
Language: en
Pages: 0
Authors: Ian M. Lange
Categories: Science
Type: BOOK - Published: 2017 - Publisher: Mountain Press

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Lange untangles the complex evolutionary lineages of mammal families, including the gomphotheres, elephant-like creatures that coexisted with humans at the end