“In the course of twenty million years, mammals got more and more successful until they were the biggest, fiercest, and most spectacular animals on the planet. Whatever the climate, whatever the habitat, mammals made it their own. Their great strength was their ability to adapt. They grew to gigantic sizes, they evolved into powerful killers like the famous sabre-tooth cats, and they even laid claim to the oceans.”
- Kenneth Branagh, prologue to “Walking with Beasts”
Sketches of some of the incredible wildlife of the Cenozoic Era. None of the animals are exactly shown to scale. From left to right, bottom to top:
Arctocyon, Barylambda, Coryphodon, Titanoboa
Uintatherium, Notharctus, Mesonyx, Eobasileus
Leptictidium, Gastornis, Propaleotherium, Titanomyra, Godinotia, Pakicetus, Ambulocetus
Apidium, Arsinotitherium, Andrewsarchus, Embolotherium, Moeritherium, Dorudon, Basilosaurus, Perucetus
Megacerops, Cainotherium, Merycoidodon
Cynodictis, Paraceratherium, Hyaenodon gigas, Chalicotherium, Paraentelodon
Gentilicamelus, Amphicyon, Daeodon, Moropus, Dinocrocuta, Platybelodon, Gomphotherium, Pelagornis, Purussasaurus, Odobenoceratops, Otodus megalodon
Phoruschracos, Astrapotherium, Teleoceras, Synthetoceras, Samotherium, Livyatan
Australopithecus afarensis, Deinotherium, Ancylotherium, Dinofelis
Mammuthus columbi, Smilodon fatalis, Bison latifrons, Aenocyon dirus, Arctodus simus, Panthera atrox, Titanotylopus, Equus hersternus, Sivatherium, Gigantopithecus, Paleoloxodon
Smilodon populator, Macrauchenia, Doedicurus, Megatherium, Glyptodon, Toxodon
Mammuthus primigenius, Megaloceros giganteus, Coelodonta antiquitatis, Bos primigenius, Homo neanderthalensis, Elasmotherium, Bison bonasus
