North AmericaNorth America is a continent in the Northern and Western hemispheres. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Caribbean Sea, and to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean. North America covers an area of around 24,709,000 square kilometers (9,540,000 square miles), representing approximately 16.5% of Earth's land area and 4.8% of its total surface area.
NimravidaeNimravidae is an extinct family of carnivorans, sometimes known as false saber-toothed cats, whose fossils are found in North America, Africa, and Eurasia. Nimravids were the first lineage of carnivorans to evolve large body sizes and specialized into hunting large bodied prey. Not considered to belong to the true cats (family Felidae), the nimravids are generally considered closely related and classified as a distinct family in the suborder Feliformia.
CanidaeCanidae (; from Latin, canis, "dog") is a biological family of caniform carnivorans, constituting a clade. A member of this family is a canid (, rarely ), colloquially referred to as dogs. The family includes three subfamilies: the Caninae, and the extinct Borophaginae and Hesperocyoninae. The Caninae are the canines, and include domestic dogs, wolves, coyotes, raccoon dogs, foxes, jackals, and other species.
Global coolingGlobal cooling was a conjecture, especially during the 1970s, of imminent cooling of the Earth culminating in a period of extensive glaciation, due to the cooling effects of aerosols or orbital forcing. Some press reports in the 1970s speculated about continued cooling; these did not accurately reflect the scientific literature of the time, which was generally more concerned with warming from an enhanced greenhouse effect.
EcosystemCommunity of living organisms together with the nonliving components of their environmentLeft: Coral reef ecosystems are highly productive marine systems. Right: Temperate rainforest, a terrestrial ecosystem.An ecosystem (or ecological system) is a system formed by organisms in interaction with their environment, where the biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and energy flows. Ecosystems are controlled by external and internal factors.
EvolutionChange in the heritable traits of populationsEvolution is the change in the heritable characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. It happens when individuals in a population vary in their genetic characteristics and in the numbers of their surviving offspring. Mutation introduces new genetic variation, and processes such as genetic drift, gene flow, and natural selection result in some genetic variants becoming more or less common over time.
Extinction eventAn extinction event (also known as a mass extinction or biotic crisis) is a widespread and rapid decrease in the biodiversity on Earth. Such an event is identified by a sharp fall in the diversity and abundance of multicellular organisms. It occurs when the rate of extinction increases with respect to the background extinction rate and the rate of speciation.
FeliformiaFeliformia is a suborder within the order Carnivora consisting of "cat-like" carnivorans, including cats, hyenas, mongooses, viverrids, and related taxa. Feliformia stands in contrast to the other suborder of Carnivora, Caniformia consisting of "dog-like" carnivorans. The separation of the Carnivora into the broad groups of feliforms and caniforms is widely accepted, as is the assignment of the suborder rank (sometimes superfamily) to Feliformia and Caniformia.
HypercarnivoreA hypercarnivore is a carnivorousanimal that has a diet that is more than 70% meat, either via active predation or by scavenging. The remaining non-meat diet may consist of non-animal foods such as fungi, fruits, or other plant material.
NeogeneThe Neogene ( NEE-ə-jeen) is a geologic period and system that spans 20.45 million years from the end of the Paleogene Period 23.04 Ma (million years ago) to the beginning of the present Quaternary Period 2.58 Ma. It is the second period of the Cenozoic and the eleventh period of the Phanerozoic. The Neogene is sub-divided into two epochs, the earlier Miocene and the later Pliocene.
ToothA tooth (pl.: teeth) is a hard, calcified structure found in the jaws (or mouths) of many vertebrates and used to break downfood. Some animals, particularly carnivores and omnivores, also use teeth to help with capturing or wounding prey, tearing food, for defensive purposes, to intimidate other animals often including their own, or to carry prey or their young. The roots of teeth are covered by gums.
Morphology (biology)In biology, morphology is the study of the form and structure of organisms and their specific structural features. This includes aspects of the outward appearance (shape, structure, color, pattern, size), as well as the form and structure of internal parts like bones and organs, i.e., anatomy. This is in contrast to physiology, which deals primarily with function.
VolcanismVolcanism, vulcanism, volcanicity, or volcanic activity is the phenomenon where solids, liquids, gases, and their mixtures erupt to the surface of a solid-surface astronomical body such as a planet or a moon. It is caused by the presence of a heat source, usually internally generated, inside the body; the heat is generated by various processes, such as radioactive decay or tidal heating. This heat partially melts solid material in the body or turns material into gas.*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.