Animal Adaptations to Climate
Animals were also on the move in other parts of the world. The mammoths continued to migrate over Europe and Asia. The woolly mammoth developed a thick fur aThe term Pleistocene is derived from two Greek words, pleistos (meaning “most”) and kainos (meaning “new” or “recent”). Sir Charles Lyell introduced this term in 1839 to describe strata in Sicily that had at least 70% of their molluscan fauna still living today. This distinguished it from the older Pliocene Epoch, which Lyell had originally thought to be the youngest fossil rock layer. It represents the first epoch of the Neogene Period, which is itself the last of the Cenozoic Era.
Between 1839 and 1846, after general acceptance of the glacial theory (which first suggested the existence of ice ages), geologist Ed Forbes redefined the Pleistocene to make it synchronous with glacial epochs. Although this new, glacial-age definition seemed reasonable at the time, it is now inaccurate to view the Pleistocene as equivalent to the occurrence of glaciation. The reasons for this are twofold. First, full-scale continental glaciation began around 1 million years ago, well after the start of the Pleistocene at 1.8 million years ago, and not all parts of the Earth were affected at the same time. Second, the existence of pre-Pleistocene glacial events was not known by Lyell or Forbes, but it is now known that glacial conditions existed periodically throughout Earth's history, even in Precambrian times.
The Pleistocene is a unique epoch because it is the period during which our own species, Homo sapiens, evolved. It is also marked by climatic fluctuations that culminated in widespread continental glaciers. Many species of vertebrates, especially large mammals, went extinct during the Pleistocene, but much of the modern flora and fauna are survivors from this epoch. nd began to graze in the spruce forests that bordered the ice. The rhinoceros also moved into Europe and central Asia and developed a coat of thick fur for surviving in the cold conditions. Its front horn grew to extreme lengths, reaching nearly a meter, and some researchers have suggested that legends describing the survivors of this species may have led to the myth of the unicorn. The massive and dangerous archaeocyonids, or bear dogs, were enormous predators whose bones are still found in caves today. In Europe, Panthera leo spelaea, a large species of cave lion, roamed the mountains in search of bison and other prey. In North America, Smilodon, the saber-toothed cats, traveled over the more warm and savanna-like regions of what is now the southwest United States
Animal Adaptations to ClimateAnimals were also on the move in other parts of the world. The mammoths continued to migrate over Europe and Asia. The woolly mammoth developed a thick fur aThe term Pleistocene is derived from two Greek words, pleistos (meaning “most”) and kainos (meaning “new” or “recent”). Sir Charles Lyell introduced this term in 1839 to describe strata in Sicily that had at least 70% of their molluscan fauna still living today. This distinguished it from the older Pliocene Epoch, which Lyell had originally thought to be the youngest fossil rock layer. It represents the first epoch of the Neogene Period, which is itself the last of the Cenozoic Era.Between 1839 and 1846, after general acceptance of the glacial theory (which first suggested the existence of ice ages), geologist Ed Forbes redefined the Pleistocene to make it synchronous with glacial epochs. Although this new, glacial-age definition seemed reasonable at the time, it is now inaccurate to view the Pleistocene as equivalent to the occurrence of glaciation. The reasons for this are twofold. First, full-scale continental glaciation began around 1 million years ago, well after the start of the Pleistocene at 1.8 million years ago, and not all parts of the Earth were affected at the same time. Second, the existence of pre-Pleistocene glacial events was not known by Lyell or Forbes, but it is now known that glacial conditions existed periodically throughout Earth's history, even in Precambrian times.
The Pleistocene is a unique epoch because it is the period during which our own species, Homo sapiens, evolved. It is also marked by climatic fluctuations that culminated in widespread continental glaciers. Many species of vertebrates, especially large mammals, went extinct during the Pleistocene, but much of the modern flora and fauna are survivors from this epoch. nd began to graze in the spruce forests that bordered the ice. The rhinoceros also moved into Europe and central Asia and developed a coat of thick fur for surviving in the cold conditions. Its front horn grew to extreme lengths, reaching nearly a meter, and some researchers have suggested that legends describing the survivors of this species may have led to the myth of the unicorn. The massive and dangerous archaeocyonids, or bear dogs, were enormous predators whose bones are still found in caves today. In Europe, Panthera leo spelaea, a large species of cave lion, roamed the mountains in search of bison and other prey. In North America, Smilodon, the saber-toothed cats, traveled over the more warm and savanna-like regions of what is now the southwest United States
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