Introduction -- Crises in the history of life -- The Ice Age and the megafauna -- Cold case : the search for the Ice Age killer -- Northern Eurasia : woolly rhinos, cave bears, and giant deer -- North America : mastodon, ground sloths and sabertooth cats -- South America : ground sloths and glyptodonts -- Sahul : giant marsupials, a thunderbird, and a huge lizard -- Madagascar : giant lemurs, elephant birds, and dwarf hippos -- New Zealand : land of the Moa -- Island megafauna -- Megafaunal survival : sub-Saharan Africa and Southern Asia -- Summary and conclusions : the global pattern of megafaunal extinctions.
Summary:
"After the extinction of dinosaurs and before the rise of humans, there existed another group of incredible creatures. Among its ranks were woolly rhinos, mastodons, sabre-tooth tigers, giant ground sloths, and many other spectacularly large animals that are no longer with us. Today, we think of these animals as part of a group known as "Pleistocene megafauna," named for the geological era in which they lived, also known as the Ice Age. In Vanished Giants: The Lost World of the Ice Age, palaeontologist Anthony Stuart explores the lives and environments of these animals, moving between five continents and several key islands that showcase their variety and evolution. Stuart examines the animals themselves via what we've learned from fossil remains, and he describes the landscapes, climates, vegetation, ecological interactions, and other likely aspects of their surroundings. It's a picture of the world as it was at the dawn of our arrival. Unlike the case of dinosaurs, however, there is no asteroid to blame for the end of that world. Instead, it seems likely that the giants of the Ice Age were driven extinct by climate change, human evolution, or perhaps both. Stuart discusses the possibilities using the latest evidence provided by radiocarbon dating, a record that is incomplete but vast and growing. Throughout, a question arises: was the extinction of Ice Age megafauna the beginning of the so-called Sixth Extinction, which is happening now? If so, what might it teach us about contemporary climate change and its likely course?"-- Provided by publisher.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.