Terror Birds are carnivorous birds that could not fly.
They were about 1 to 3 metres tall and can run up to 3mph.
Their beaks were maybe 46cm long and represented the curved beak of an eagle.
They also had a very long and flexible neck.
Terror Birds pretty much eat everything they want.
Scientists think that they became endangered 2.5 million years ago, and soon, Terror Birds became extinct.
This is a video about Terror Birds.
The Polar Bear is the largest land predator in the world.
It only lives in the North Pole.
You may not know, but a Polar Bear can actually swim!
The Polar Bear has blubber (layer of fat) and fur to keep it warm.
The Polar Bear eats a large variety of things. They mainly feed on Ringed and Bearded seals. They also eat harp and hooded seals, Beluga whales, walruses, Narwhals e.t.c.
A male adult Polar Bear is called a boar and a female adult Polar Bear is called a sow.
Here is a video showing a baby Polar Bear!
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 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.
Condors are large birds that live in America
There are two types of condors:the Andean Condor and the California Condor.
Both condors live in America.
Andean Condor
The Andean Condor lives in the Andes.
The Andean Condor’s wingspan is 3.2 metres wide.
It is a scavenger and eats carrion.
California Condor
The California Condor is the largest North American land bird, the North America’s widest wingspan and lives up to 60 years.
The California Condor’s wingspan is a mighty 3 metres, and is also a scavenger and also feeds mostly on carrion.
The California Condor of course lives in California.
It is one of the world’s rarest bird species.
Here is a 2 minute video about Condors.
Pachyrhinosaurus was a large dinosaur that lived in the Late Cretaceous period.
It was as big as an elephant, and could weigh 4 tonnes and 8 metres long.
They lived in Alberta and Alaska 70 million years ago.
On the bony crest there were 2 horns pointing opposite directions.
At first, I thought its horns were used as defence, but when I watched a documentary, I discovered that all Ceratopsians (Horned dinosaurs) used their horns to represent their age.
This is the documentary I watched.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yfa6dBZS6-w
Here is a short video about Pachyrhinosaurus.
Brontotherium is an extinct animal that is more related to horses and tapirs than rhinos.
They were 2 times bigger than the modern rhino, 16 feet tall and could weigh up to 2 tonnes.
They lived in North America 30 to 38 million years ago.
The word brontotherium means “thunder beast” in greek.
On their snout there was a pair of horns made of bone and they had a hard skull to protect the brain while fighting for a mate.
To lift the heavy skull they had an extra long dorsal vertebrae.
They were very protective of their newborn.
Brontotherium had been given a new name. The name is Megacerops meaning “giant horned face”.
Mastodon is an extinct mammal related to elephants.
They lived in Central and North America.
They became extinct 10,000 to 11,000 years ago due to hunting by humans and predators.
Mastodons are estimated to be 2 to 3 metres tall, their bodies 5 metres long and their bodies 4 to 5 tonnes.
In the picture below, on the left is a mastodon and on the right is a woolly mammoth.
Obviously the mastodon is bigger and stronger than the woolly mammoth.
The Pistol shrimp is 1-2 inches long, and is the loudest animal in the world.
The Pistol shrimp gets its name because of its claw-like hammer.
The hammer is used to hunt for larger fish, and is strong enough to break glass objects such as small glass jars.
Here is a video about Pistol shrimps.
The Alligator snapping turtle is the world’s heaviest freshwater turtle.
The Alligator snapping turtle has the second strongest bite force in the world.
The Alligator snapping turtle hunts by keeping its mouth open in the water and using its tongue as bait, and when a fish swims in the turtle’s mouth, the turtle will snap its mouth shut.
The Alligator snapping turtle eats fish,molluscs,carrion, amphibians, snakes,worms,crayfish,water birds,aquatic plants and even other turtles!
Here is a video about Alligator snapping turtles.
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