Post by Vodmeister on Feb 24, 2014 21:44:22 GMT 5
Kodiak Brown Bear
Kodiak bears are the largest subspecies of the brown bear. They have lived isolated from other bears for over 10,000 years. They were recognized as subspecies Ursus arctos middendorffi by C. Hart Merrium in 1896.
In the wild, Kodiak bears are found only on the islands in the Kodiak Archipelago off the south coast of Alaska. They are believed to have been isolated there since the last Ice Age over 10,000 years ago. Because of the abundance of food on Kodiak Island, they have smaller home ranges than any other brown bears and have no need to defend territories.
A large adult male Kodiak bear stands five feet at the shoulder when on all four and can measure over 10 feet when standing upright. Although on average, they stand about 8 feet tall bipedal, and are roughly 4 feet tall shoulder height. The average male weighs around 360 kg (800 lbs). Between the springtime when they leave hibernation and the fall, their weight can increase by more than 50 percent. Females are about 20 percent smaller in size and weigh 30 percent lighter than males. Kodiak bears vary in color from beige to dark brown. Although there are Kodiak bears on record for having dimensions measuring larger than that of the polar bears', the polar bear on average is still by far the largest species of bear alive. Bears that die of natural causes live to be 20 to 25 years on average.
Kodiak bears are omnivorous (eating a variety of foods). The bear's large size is mainly due to the abundance of food readily available to them on Kodiak Island. In general, Kodiak bears are solitary creatures, though they often feed in large groups when food is plentiful.
After hibernation, they feed on vegetation and animals that died the past winter. Starting in May, the bears feast on a salmon run that lasts into October. All five species of Pacific salmon run wild throughout most of Kodiak Archipelago. Fish are an important part of their diet. However, Kodiak bears will more often spend their time feeding on vegetation rather than put in the time and effort required to kill animals. They also feed on several types of berries, seaweed, and invertebrates.
Machairodus kabir
Machairodus kabir belonged to the genus Machairodus of large machairodontine saber-toothed cats that lived in Europe, Asia, Africa and North America during the Miocene through Pleistocene living from 11.6mya—126,000 years ago, existing for approximately 11.5 million years.
Machairodus kabir, perhaps the largest species known within the genus Machairodus, was a large saber-toothed cat with elongated upper canines and cheek teeth efficiently adapted for slicing meat. The animal is known mostly from fragmentary fossils found in Chad, Africa.
The fossil species assigned to the genus Machairodus were divided by Turner into two grades of evolutionary development - M. aphanistus and the North American "Nimravides" catacopis representing the more primitive grade, and M. coloradensis and M. giganteus representing the more derived grade. The characteristics of the more advanced grade include a relative elongation of the forearm and a shortening of the lumbar region of the spine to resemble that in living pantherine cats. These trends would be taken further in Homotherium, which is thought to have evolved from Machairodus.
The skull of Machairodus was noticeably narrow compared with the skulls of modern pantherine big cats, and the orbits were relatively small. The canines were long, thin and flattened from side to side but broad from front to back like the blade of a knife, as in Homotherium. The front and back edges of the canines were serrated when they first grew, but these serrations were worn down in the first few years of the animal's life.
Machairodus kabir n. sp., described here, comes from the Late Miocene hominid locality of TM 266, Toros-Menalla, Chad. This species is more derived than the previously described Machairodus in having a more developed mental apophysis and more reduced premolars relatively to m1. Machairodus kabir n. sp. is the largest mammalian predator from the Toros-Menalla fossiliferous area, with an estimated body mass reaching 350–490 kg (770 - 1080 lbs), which certainly allowed this felid to prey on large herbivores present at Toros-Menalla.
Kodiak bears are the largest subspecies of the brown bear. They have lived isolated from other bears for over 10,000 years. They were recognized as subspecies Ursus arctos middendorffi by C. Hart Merrium in 1896.
In the wild, Kodiak bears are found only on the islands in the Kodiak Archipelago off the south coast of Alaska. They are believed to have been isolated there since the last Ice Age over 10,000 years ago. Because of the abundance of food on Kodiak Island, they have smaller home ranges than any other brown bears and have no need to defend territories.
A large adult male Kodiak bear stands five feet at the shoulder when on all four and can measure over 10 feet when standing upright. Although on average, they stand about 8 feet tall bipedal, and are roughly 4 feet tall shoulder height. The average male weighs around 360 kg (800 lbs). Between the springtime when they leave hibernation and the fall, their weight can increase by more than 50 percent. Females are about 20 percent smaller in size and weigh 30 percent lighter than males. Kodiak bears vary in color from beige to dark brown. Although there are Kodiak bears on record for having dimensions measuring larger than that of the polar bears', the polar bear on average is still by far the largest species of bear alive. Bears that die of natural causes live to be 20 to 25 years on average.
Kodiak bears are omnivorous (eating a variety of foods). The bear's large size is mainly due to the abundance of food readily available to them on Kodiak Island. In general, Kodiak bears are solitary creatures, though they often feed in large groups when food is plentiful.
After hibernation, they feed on vegetation and animals that died the past winter. Starting in May, the bears feast on a salmon run that lasts into October. All five species of Pacific salmon run wild throughout most of Kodiak Archipelago. Fish are an important part of their diet. However, Kodiak bears will more often spend their time feeding on vegetation rather than put in the time and effort required to kill animals. They also feed on several types of berries, seaweed, and invertebrates.
Machairodus kabir
Machairodus kabir belonged to the genus Machairodus of large machairodontine saber-toothed cats that lived in Europe, Asia, Africa and North America during the Miocene through Pleistocene living from 11.6mya—126,000 years ago, existing for approximately 11.5 million years.
Machairodus kabir, perhaps the largest species known within the genus Machairodus, was a large saber-toothed cat with elongated upper canines and cheek teeth efficiently adapted for slicing meat. The animal is known mostly from fragmentary fossils found in Chad, Africa.
The fossil species assigned to the genus Machairodus were divided by Turner into two grades of evolutionary development - M. aphanistus and the North American "Nimravides" catacopis representing the more primitive grade, and M. coloradensis and M. giganteus representing the more derived grade. The characteristics of the more advanced grade include a relative elongation of the forearm and a shortening of the lumbar region of the spine to resemble that in living pantherine cats. These trends would be taken further in Homotherium, which is thought to have evolved from Machairodus.
The skull of Machairodus was noticeably narrow compared with the skulls of modern pantherine big cats, and the orbits were relatively small. The canines were long, thin and flattened from side to side but broad from front to back like the blade of a knife, as in Homotherium. The front and back edges of the canines were serrated when they first grew, but these serrations were worn down in the first few years of the animal's life.
Machairodus kabir n. sp., described here, comes from the Late Miocene hominid locality of TM 266, Toros-Menalla, Chad. This species is more derived than the previously described Machairodus in having a more developed mental apophysis and more reduced premolars relatively to m1. Machairodus kabir n. sp. is the largest mammalian predator from the Toros-Menalla fossiliferous area, with an estimated body mass reaching 350–490 kg (770 - 1080 lbs), which certainly allowed this felid to prey on large herbivores present at Toros-Menalla.
