Pleistocene Fauna Presented by: AMAAN ALI

PLEISTOCENE Greek (pleistos "most") and (kainos "new"). The Pleistocene Epoch lasted from about 1.65 million until 10,000 years ago. During that time numerous types of animals inhabited the area that is now the midwestern United States. Most of these types of animals are no longer found in the area. Some of these animals are extinct. Others are still around but no longer occur in the area. The Pleistocene was known for its ice ages. An ice age is a time when many glaciers cover many parts of the earth Subdivisions of the Quaternary PeriodPeriod SystemSeriesStageAge (Ma) Quaternary Holocene0– Pleistocene Tarantian (Upper) – Ionian (Middle) 0.126–0.781 Calabrian (Lower) 0.781–1.806 Gelasian (Lower) 1.806–2.588 NeogenePliocenePiacenzianolder

Characteristics Of The Pleistocene Fauna The Rancholabrean Fauna (also known as the Pleistocene or Mammoth Fauna) were unusually large. Fauna were much more diverse. Most were herbivore grazers feeding on grass. Hooves were much smaller for travelling on firm ground. Xeric feeders (equid, proboscidian, and bovid) were replaced by the cervid mesic-adapted species which eat leaves of dycotyledons, twig tips, and lichens. Juvenile mortality was very high due to predation and the cold. Mature species had a high survival rate because of their size.

The dominant Pleistocene fauna are large grazing mammals such as the triad of woolly mammoth, horned bison, and Pleistocene horses. The size of animals during the Pleistocene was very diverse. Rodents such as lemmings and voles roamed Beringia as well. Animals that did survive the end of the last Ice Age are generally smaller today than during the Pleistocene. We immediately think of the beaver, lions, and bears. Diversity and Size

The most significant adaptations would be in response to the very cold temperatures of the Pleistocene. A covering of hair; This kept in the heat and made them warmer. They became smaller; Being smaller requires less food and it allows less heat to escape. Animals migrated equator-ward; There it was warmer, and they could get a bite to eat. Adaptations

Behaviour The Pleistocene Fauna has been repeatedly compared to the modern African savannah fauna. The woolly mammoth is compared to the Elephant, The woolly rhinoceros to the rhinoceros, and The saiga antelope to the antelope.

PLEISTOCENE FAUNA

A. Pleistocene Fauna of Siberia woolly mammoth cave lions tarpans woolly rhinoceros

Woolly mammoth ( Mammuthus primigenius ) This was a cold climate dweller equipped with a thick layer of fat for insulation, and an exterior of long black hair. It was smaller than most mammoths, And had a hump of fat behind its domed head. It fed on low tundra vegetation in which it scraped away snow and ice from with its ivory tusks. Several well preserved remains have been found in Siberia and Alaska and cave paintings in Spain and France show depictions of the Wooly Mammoth as seen by early humans. They went extinct only about 10,000 years ago. Size - 9ft. (2.7m) high

Fossils of woolly mammoth

Cave Lion (Panthera leo spelaea) The cave lion also known as the European or Eurasian cave lion, The cave lion received its common name from the fact that large quantities of its remains are found in caves. The cave lion itself lived from 370,000 to 10,000 years ago, during the Pleistocene epoch. Apparently, it became extinct about 10,000 years ago, during the Würm glaciation, Although there are some indications it may have existed into historic times in southeastern Europe, as recently as 2,000 years ago in the Balkans. Cave lions were widespread in parts of Europe and Asia, from Great Britain, Germany and Spain all the way to the Bering Strait and from Siberia to Turkistan.

Woolly rhinoceros (Coelodonta antiquitatis) Is an extinct species of rhinoceros native to the northern steppes of Eurasia that lived during the Pleistocene epoch and survived the last glacial period. The woolly rhinoceros are members of the Pleistocene megafauna. Many species of Pleistocene megafauna, like the woolly rhinoceros, became Human and Neanderthal hunting is often cited as one cause of extinction

Tarpan (Equus ferus ferus) The name "tarpan" or "tarpani" is from a Turkic language (Kyrgyz or Kazakh) name meaning "wild horse". Tarpan, also known as Eurasian wild horse is an extinct subspecies of wild horse. The last individual of this subspecies died in captivity in Russia in The Tarpan is a prehistoric wild horse type that ranged from Southern France and Spain east to central Russia.

B. Pleistocene Fauna Of South America Megatherium

(Megatherium americanum ) Elephant-sized ground sloths Endemic to Central America and South America that lived from the Pliocene through Pleistocene existing approximately million years. They inhabited woodlands and grasslands. Promegatherium is suggested to be the ancestor of Megatherium. The oldest (and smallest) species of Megatherium is M. altiplanicum of Pliocene Bolivia. It was very similar to the Miocene ground sloth, Species of Megatherium became larger and larger, with the largest species, M. americanum of the late Pleistocene, reaching the size of an African Elephant.

List of Pleistocene Animals Insectivora (shrews and moles) –Arctic Shrew –Northern Water Shrew –Starnose Mole –Hairytail Mole Edentata (sloths, armadillos, and anteaters) –Ground Sloths (extinct) –Beautiful Armadillo (extinct ) Carnivora (lions, tigers, and bears) –Short-faced Skunk (extinct) –Dire Wolf (extinct) –Short-faced Bear (extinct) –American Lion (extinct) –Saber-toothed Cats (extinct) –Jaguar Lagomorpha (rabbits and hares) –Snowshoe Hare

Rodentia (squirrels, rats, mice and beavers) –Giant Beaver (extinct) –Northern Grasshopper Mouse –Northern Bog Lemming –Mountain (Heather) Phenacomys –Boreal Redback Vole –Yellow-cheeked Vole –Porcupine Perissodactlya (horses, rhinos, and tapirs) –Horses (extinct in North America) –Tapirs (extinct in North America) Artiodactyla (deer, cows, sheep, camels, and pigs) –Peccaries (extinct) –Stag-moose (extinct) –Bison –Musk Ox (some types extinct) Proboscidea (elephants) –American Mastodon –Mammoths List of Pleistocene Animals

References gafauna ringia/fauna.html on/ice_age_animals.html