Today I Learned (TIL)

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TIL that horses went extinct in North America about 10,000 years ago. They were then reintroduced to the continent by the Spanish as early as the 1550s. (www.pbs.org)

submitted 10 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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[–] [email protected] 25 points 10 months ago (1 children)

We had some camels too! I don't know how close they were to what we think of as camels today, but apparently they were closer to Eurasian camels than to South American species life llama or alcapas.

[–] [email protected] 18 points 10 months ago (2 children)

North America also had Cheetahs (called Miracinonyx), which is why Pronghorns are so fast. No current predator can chase one down. They are over-built now.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 10 months ago (1 children)

but recent studies suggest that it was not specialized in chasing like the cheetah was since it retained retractable claws that would have crippled its ability to run fast. Instead, it was more closely related to the cougar, and at least M. trumani might have employed a hunting behavior that has no modern analogues, suggesting that it running fast like the cheetah is a common misconception

From your link

[–] [email protected] 10 points 10 months ago

Yes, I read that after posting the link. That is new info to me. I previously read that the existence of pronghorns, with their massive speed/acceleration, was evidence that this cheetah likely was fast as well, as they wouldn't have need to evolve that speed without a predator putting pressure on them to do so. This contradicts that somewhat.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 10 months ago (1 children)

As someone who used to go pronghorn hunting with my drunk uncles, they still have one predator.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 10 months ago

We prefer to be called "drunkels". Thank you.