Scaring Children with Teeth
The teeth of Helicoprion can be somewhat frightening in a number of different ways. However, we should probably make sure that the kids in the audience are not frightened when they look at sites like...
View ArticlePrehistoric Terrors
Helicoprion has appeared in a number of documentaries and has been mentioned in a number of shows that do not really concern the intriguing shark. This short clip from Animal Planet's River Monsters is...
View ArticlePapers for Halloween
Is there a better way to spend Halloween than reading papers about a fascinating and scary looking shark? There might be, but I am not going to tell you how to spend your evening. One could spend...
View ArticleOther Anatomy
The papers yesterday described the anatomy of Helicoprion's tooth whorl and as such, though we usually pick the most interesting anatomy and describe it on Wednesdays, we will have to discuss something...
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All The Pictures
What is the absolute best illustration, scientific image, line drawing, or photograph of a fossil of Helicoprion? If you cannot think of an answer, you are not alone. Is it this image of the estimated...
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November in North America
It is possible that if you are from North America you are aware of the trend in the last 20 or so years to take back holidays celebrating European domination of the native populations of this...
View ArticleThree Sets of Information
My plan for this week is to, unlike other weeks, treat the three endemic species of North American bison as individual animals rather than discussing the genus as a single entity and pulling out...
View ArticleBuffalo (Bison) Papers
Many descriptive papers have been published for Bison latifrons and B. antiquus. Bison occidentalis, however, does not have as many description papers published concerning its remains. There could be...
View ArticleDocumentaries Everywhere
I was considering what to do about the popular culture references today. There are a number of things that I could do, obviously, as we know that modern bison are something that the public is well...
View ArticleIconic Images
Probably the best Bison latifrons image I have seen this past week (before looking tonight as I write this sentence) is that of Davide Bonadonna that I shared on the Facebook version of this page....
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Birds and Thunder
©Nobu TamuraIn general, native peoples of both South and North America have a number of legends and mythologies describing giant flying animals. From the Thunder Bird (a generic term that encompasses a...
View ArticleQuick Facts
Above are some quick facts about Argentavis presented in video form. This very quick video does not reveal much that we will not get into ourselves. There are some cryptozoology documentaries on the...
View ArticleFlying A Great Bird
One of the questions that appears time and again with giant flying animals is "How do they get off the ground and how do they stay off the ground?" Because that is a popular theme with large flying...
View ArticleMassive Eggs and Wings
The egg of Argentavis is estimated to weigh approximately 1 kg and it has been hypothesized that they were laid once every two years. At 1 kg the egg is only a little smaller than that of the Common...
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Finding a Unique Illustration
©Christopher DiPiazzaAlmost every illustration that comes up in a search for Argentavis depicts a bird landing or taking off with the few exceptions that show the animal simply stretching its wings one...
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Furry Friends and Megasymbol
Appearing in the Oligocene and peppering the fossil record into the Miocene (from approximately 25.8 - 10.3 million years ago), Leptocyon is a genus of small bodied canids endemic to North America....
View ArticleAll Your Fox-like Facts
Leptocyon looked something like a fox, regardless of the species. There are no videos that show this fox-like species as scientific illustrations. There are a few videos that briefly mention Leptocyon,...
View ArticlePapers on Dogs
Leptocyon was not much larger than a dachshund, with an estimated weight of approximately 3.26 kg (7.2 lb). The description of many websites stops after mentioning that fact and that its slender jaws...
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Holiday Over
Back from the holiday (in the United States), we are going to end this canid filled week by trying to find a good image of Leptocyon. There are not many illustrations of Leptocyon. There are no well...
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Named Through Sioux
The languages of the Sioux Nation have been sampled and featured extensively in North American paleontology. Examples span from dinosaurs such as Apatosaurus yahnahpin Filla, et al. 1994 (currently...
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