Struthionidae is a family of flightless birds, containing the extant ostriches and their extinct relatives. The two extant species of ostrich are the common ostrich and Somali ostrich, both in the genus Struthio, which also contains several species known from Holocene fossils such as the Asian ostrich. The common ostrich is the more widespread of the two living species, and is the largest living bird species. The extinct genus Pachystruthio from the Late Pliocene-Early Pleistocene of Eurasia is one of the largest birds ever.
Arowanas are freshwater bony fish of the subfamily Osteoglossinae, also known as bony tongues. In this family of fish, the head is bony and the elongated body is covered by large, heavy scales, with a mosaic pattern of canals. The dorsal and anal fins have soft rays and are long based, while the pectoral and ventral fins are small. The name "bonytongues" is derived from a toothed bone on the floor of the mouth, the "tongue", equipped with teeth that bite against teeth on the roof of the mouth. The arowana is a facultative air breather and can obtain oxygen from air by sucking it into its swim bladder, which is lined with capillaries like lung tissue.
Homo is a genus of great ape that emerged from the genus Australopithecus and encompasses only a single extant species, Homo sapiens, along with a number of extinct species classified as either ancestral or closely related to modern humans; these include Homo erectus and Homo neanderthalensis. The oldest member of the genus is Homo habilis, with records of just over 2 million years ago. Homo, together with the genus Paranthropus, is probably most closely related to the species Australopithecus africanus within Australopithecus. The closest living relatives of Homo are of the genus Pan, with the ancestors of Pan and Homo estimated to have diverged around 5.7-11 million years ago during the Late Miocene.
Paleoanthropology or paleo-anthropology is a branch of paleontology and anthropology which seeks to understand the early development of anatomically modern humans, a process known as hominization, through the reconstruction of evolutionary kinship lines within the family Hominidae, working from biological evidence and cultural evidence.
Elephas is one of two surviving genera in the family of elephants, Elephantidae, with one surviving species, the Asian elephant, Elephas maximus. Several extinct species have been identified as belonging to the genus, extending back to the Pliocene or possibly the late Miocene.
Ostriches are large flightless birds. Two living species are recognised, the common ostrich, native to large areas of sub-Saharan Africa, and the Somali ostrich, native to the Horn of Africa.
Paraceratherium is an extinct genus of hornless rhinocerotoids belonging to the family Paraceratheriidae. It is one of the largest terrestrial mammals that has ever existed and lived from the early to late Oligocene epoch. The first fossils were discovered in what is now Pakistan, and remains have been found across Eurasia between China and the Balkans. Paraceratherium means "near the hornless beast", in reference to Aceratherium, the genus in which the type species P. bugtiense was originally placed.
Hylomys is a small genus of the family Erinaceidae. Hylomys species, like all species in the subfamily Galericinae, are known as gymnures or moonrats. Their closest relatives include the fossil Lantanotherium and Thaiagymnura and the living Neotetracus and Neohylomys. Members of this genus are found in Southeast Asia and Eastern Asia.
Sinornithomimus is a genus of ornithomimid that lived in Asia during the Late Cretaceous period. The first remains were found in 1997, in the Late Cretaceous strata of the Ulansuhai Formation located at Alshanzuo Banner, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Northern China.
Kulceratops is a genus of ceratopsian dinosaur from the Early Cretaceous. It lived in the late Albian stage. It is one of the few ceratopsians known from this period. However, the fossils from this genus have been sparse: only jaw and tooth fragments have been found so far.
The evolution of the horse, a mammal of the family Equidae, occurred over a geologic time scale of 50 million years, transforming the small, dog-sized, forest-dwelling Eohippus into the modern horse. Paleozoologists have been able to piece together a more complete outline of the evolutionary lineage of the modern horse than of any other animal. Much of this evolution took place in North America, where horses originated but became extinct about 10,000 years ago, before being reintroduced in the 15th century.
Stylemys is the first fossil genus of dry land tortoise belonging to the order Testudines discovered in the United States. The genus lived in temperate to subtropical areas of North America, Europe, and Asia, based on fossil distribution. The genus was first described in 1851 by Joseph Leidy. The tortoise was common in the prehistoric Badlands, especially Nebraska and South Dakota. The species has also been found in the formations in and around Badlands National Park. Fossil fragments have also been found in the Palm Park Formation of New Mexico.
Hadrianus is an extinct genus of tortoise belonging to the Testudinidae found in the United States, the Yolomécatl Formation of Mexico, the Alai Beds of Kyrgyzstan and Spain and believed to be the oldest true tortoise known. The genus is thought to be closely related to the genus Manouria. The genus may have evolved in the subtropics of Asia and subsequently migrated to North America and Europe. Evangelos Vlachos (2018) reassessed the North American species attributed to the genus, and determined only two as accepted namely H. corsoni & H. majusculus. The remaining species were identified as either junior synonyms, moved to other genera or considered nomen dubium do to incomplete fossils.
Tapiroidea is a superfamily of perissodactyls which includes the modern tapirs and their extinct relatives. Taxonomically, they are placed in suborder Ceratomorpha along with the rhino superfamily, Rhinocerotoidea.The first members of Tapiroidea appeared during the Early Eocene, 55 million years ago, and were present in North America and Asia during the Eocene. Tapiridae first appeared during the early Oligocene in Europe, and are thought to have originated from the tapiroid family Helaletidae.
Biretia is an extinct genus of Old World monkey belonging to the extinct family Parapithecidae. Fossils are found from Late Eocene strata in Egypt.
Sirindhorna is a genus of hadrosauroid ornithopod dinosaur from Early Cretaceous deposits of northeastern Thailand.
Pekania is a genus of mustelid that contains a single living species, the fisher (Pekania pennanti). Formerly placed in the genus Martes, it was determined to be distinct enough to be placed within its own genus. A 2013 study also identified several fossil species formerly in Martes that are more closely related – and probably ancestral – to the fisher, moving them into Pekania as well.
Paradolichopithecus is an extinct genus of cercopithecine monkey once found throughout Eurasia. The type species, P. arvernensis, was a very large monkey, comparable in size to a mandrill. The genus was most closely related to macaques, sharing a very similar cranial morphology. The fossils attributed to Paradolichopithecus are known from the Early Pliocene to the Early Pleistocene of Europe and Asia. The East Asian fossil genus Procynocephalus is considered by some to represent a senior synonym of Paradolichopithecus.
Promephitis is an extinct genus of mephitid, of which several species have been described from the Miocene and early Pliocene of Europe and Asia.
Sibirotitan is a genus of somphospondyl sauropod from the Ilek Formation of Russia. The type and only species is S. astrosacralis.
