Monthly Archives: October 2014

Short-Faced bear

 

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The short-faced bear was an extinct animal that lived in North America, mainly in California.

The short-faced bear was the largest bear that lived on earth.

It was 2 or 3 times bigger than the Grizzly Bear.

The short-faced bear first appeared about 800,000 years ago and became extinct about 11,600 years ago.

It could be 11 to 12 feet tall on its hind legs and could be 5 to 6 feet high from foot to shoulder when it was on all 4 legs.

An adult short-faced bear needed about 16kg of meat per day for it to survive.

The short faced bear’s long legs made it run swiftly, so the short faced bear could hunt down prey such as a wild horse easily.

Here is a video showing a short-faced bear hunting a Ground Sloth.

 

 

Archaeopteryx

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Archaeopteryx was the first bird ever to live on earth.

Archaeopteryx was the size of a crow.

The first fossil remains of Archaeopteryx was found in 1868

Archaeopteryx lived in Southern Germany about 150 million years ago in the late Jurassic Period.

Archaeopteryx’s German name Urvogel  means “first bird” or “original bird” but Archaeopteryx in latin means “ancient wing”.

It could grow up to about one foot long and could weigh from 11 to 18 ounces.

Archaeopteryx was so light because its bones were hollow.

Archaeopteryx’s wingspan was about 1 and a 1/2 feet long.

Although it was not a strong flyer, it could glide from tree to tree.

Here is a video about Archaeopteryx.