A guide To Extinct Animals Of North America

As a child I was always drawn to book about space and science. Learning about what used to be and what one day could be always fascinated me. Part of that fascination was learning about extinct animals that once roamed the world. This article talks about some of the more interesting animals, primarily from North America that are now extinct. They are quite unique and although we may see some smaller similar versions of many mega fauna some of these creatures are now lost forever and exist only as skeletal remains and in history books.

This enormous creature resembled an armadillo except for the fact that it could grow to be the weight of a large car and had a shell large enough to be used as a human shelter. It also had a long tail with spikes at the end. It was often hunted by humans who found the Glypodon a great feast. Try as I might I can't imagine something like this with such a large fitting into the current ecosystem of North America. I really wouldn't want to run into something like this on a walk in the woods!

So long before DNA manipulation there were some very weird looking animals that seem to us to be different combined animals. The bear dog as it is known was an animal with a head similar to that of a bear but with a body similar to a dog. These carnivorous animal skeletons have been found throughout North America. The artists drawing in this case seems a littl funny to me, looks more like the head of a cat to me!

Something like elephants these creatures grazed throughout North America as well. Although similar in size in structure to elephants their tusks were often straight and the had a very large jutting out bottom jaw. To me it almost looks like it has a huge beak. The lower jaw seems so out of place. These larger animals often found themselves prey for humans that undoubtedly eventually ended with their extinction.

Last but not least the Woolly Mammoth needs no introduction having been used in pulp culture, film, literature for a very long time. Many of these creatures skeletons have been found over time. These "mammoth" tusked hairy monsters roamed all across North America at one point and became a prime source of food for humans. Something interesting I read about these creatures is that when preserved hair was found and genes identified scientist discovered that the coat of the mammoth can be black, brown but for some with recessive genes they could also have been blonde. How come they don't put that in the films?

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