ANIMAL ANCESTORS

ANIMAL ANCESTORS

ANIMALS FROM ANOTHER TIME Can you imagine a world with horses the size of small dogs, whales that walk and birds three metres tall? They all lived on Earth at some time in the last 60 million years. They are now extinct but their relatives live on - and you'lll probably know them very wel! ! Fossils like this tell us what the ancestors of today's animals looked like.

In this book you'll find out about some amazing animal ancestors from long ago. You'll also find out about their closest living relatives. There is a size guide on each page showing the animal ancestor next to an adult human. You may be surprised by the size of the animals! Can you guess what the ancestors of these animals looked like?

THE IN-BETWEEN DOG or Amphicyonid (say: am-fee-sy-on-id) Another name for the in-between dog is the bear-dog, because it's an ancestor of both bears and dogs. Bear-dogs lived across Asia and North Americo until about nine million years ago. Scientists have found footprint fossils which show that the bear-dog walked like bears do now. It moved its two left legs together first, then the two right legs. The bear-dog lived in underground dens and fed on smaller animals. It was a strong digger and could burrow after its prey. closest living relatives: bear and dog

THE ARGENTINE BIRD or Argentavis (say: ar-jen-tay-vis) The remains of this huge bird were found in Argentina, in South America. It lived there until about five million years ago. It was the largest ever flying bird. It was1. 5 metres high, with wings that measured 7. 5 metres across. Each wing feather could be as long as 1. 5 metres. This ancient bird ate small animals such as lizards, mice and rabbits. It also ate fish. closest living relatives: stork and vulture

THE INDRIK BEAST or Indricotherium (say: in-drik-oh-theer-ee-um) This animal lived in Asia about 30 million years ago. It was the largest ever mammal to walk on land. The very biggest of these creatures grew to about 4. 5 metres high. It had a long neck that made it even taller, so that it could reach leaves high up in the trees. It was also a very heavy animal. A really big one weighed 15, 000 kilograms -that's much heavier than the largest rhino! closest living relative: rhinoceros