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Megafauna

Giant Beasts of Pleistocene South America (Life of the Past)

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Megafauna

By: Richard A. Fariña, Sergio F. Vizcaíno, Gerry De Iuliis
Narrated by: Gary Tiedemann
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About this listen

More than 10,000 years ago spectacularly large mammals roamed the pampas and jungles of South America. This book tells the story of these great beasts during and just after the Pleistocene, the geological epoch marked by the great ice ages. Megafauna describes the history and way of life of these animals, their comings and goings, and what befell them at the beginning of the modern era and the arrival of humans. It places these giants within the context of the other mammals then alive, describing their paleobiology—how they walked; how much they weighed; their diets, behavior, biomechanics; and the interactions among them and with their environment. It also tells the stories of the scientists who contributed to our discovery and knowledge of these transcendent creatures and the environment they inhabited. The episode known as the Great American Biotic Interchange, perhaps the most important of all natural history "experiments," is also an important theme of the book, tracing the biotic events of both North and South America, that led to the fauna and the ecosystems discussed in this book.

©2013 Richard A. Fariña, Sergio F. Vizcaíno and Gerry De Iuliis (P)2023 Tantor
Animals Biological Sciences Earth Sciences Outdoors & Nature Science Palaeontology Natural History
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Really interesting look at South American megafauna, their discovery and impacts. Highly recommend listening.

My only issue is that extracts of diaries and journals in Latin languages are read in those languages, with no accompanying translation into English offered.

I have a basic grasp of French, but I'm lost when it's Spanish.

Fantastic! Highly recommend listening.

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