The Creatures Animals That Early Humans Never Met Pre Historic Humans Documentary

There are over 2 million species of animal alive on the planet today. That's a staggering number, a tremendous degree of diversity, and that's but one snapshot in natural history's timeline. Now, modern humans, or Homo sapiens, the species we will be regarding in this video, have been on Earth around 300,000 years, and many animal species have been and gone in that time. The first hominids appeared on the scene about 6 million years ago, a time when wildlife on planet Earth was very different to the wildlife of the modern age, with only scattered similarities. In other words, humans and their immediate relatives have encountered a staggering number of amazing animals, plenty of which are still with us today. Many more, however, are lost to the annals of time, extinct, vanished, gone. Among these species are creatures that early humans either narrowly missed out on meeting, or existed long before, which would surely have been inconceivable to our ancestors. Today, we will be focusing on these species, the animals that Homo sapiens missed out on meeting. Some of these animals had become extinct just before modern humans reached their locations, while some of them are much older. Creatures who existed long before hominids even began to evolve. We will be taking an in-depth look at some of the most spectacular and extreme examples of these animals, creatures that our ancestors surely would have been astounded by. Join us as we take a trip through natural history to discover the creatures that early humans missed out on seeing. We'll start our journey way, way back in time, to the end of the Mesozoic era. A segment of natural history that ended with the end Cretaceous extinction, that wiped out the non-avian dinosaurs around 66 million years ago. It might sound obvious, but human beings, or their immediate relatives, have never coexisted with the mighty terrible lizards of the Triassic, Jurassic, and Cretaceous periods. The age of dinosaurs came long before the age of mammals, and humans only learned the truth about non-avian dinosaurs in 1842, when British paleontologist Richard Owen described them as giant lumbering lizards, depicted waging terrifying battles across a volcano-strewn landscape. Modern human discoveries of dinosaurs have proved Owen wrong. Obviously, the dinosaurs did exist, but not in the manner he described. Agile feathered creatures, bulky armored tanks, and vibrant colors noted in modern discoveries, have shown these creatures in a new light. But that's a story for another time. While humans did not coexist with the likes of Tyrannosaurus or Triceratops, as a select few old black and white films may have led earlier generations to believe, we do currently share the planet with over 10,000 species of avian dinosaur, the birds. Birds are not just related to dinosaurs, they are dinosaurs. And every time you see a robin or blackbird from your garden window, you're looking at a lineage of creatures that broke off from theropod non-avian dinosaurs about 150 million years ago. Remove the feathers and flesh from a bird, and the skeleton you see will closely resemble that of a theropod dinosaur. These terrible lizards are still among us, but they're perhaps not as terrible as some of their ancestors. That being said, human beings missed out on some true natural wonders with the dinosaurs. Never again have creatures quite like the mighty theropod carnivores evolved, and terrestrial creatures as large as the biggest sauropods have been missing from the world, ever since they disappeared for good. Along with the disappearance of the dinosaurs, we lost a number of different ancient reptile groups that today are nowhere to be seen. Nothing on earth today resembles a pterosaur, the ubiquitous flying reptiles of the Mesozoic. Our waters are today void of ichthyosaurs, plesiosaurs, and mosasaurs, although remnants of the latter can be observed in creatures such as monitor lizards and large snakes. The Mesozoic was almost an alien world in comparison to our own, and one can only wonder what it would have been like to experience it. Back to the birds though. Birds evolved into some truly bizarre shapes and sizes after their non-avian relatives were wiped out by the Ancretaceous extinction event, and the ensuing Cenozoic era ushered in some of the most glorious and terrifying avian dinosaurs ever to live. That brings us nicely to our next segment. Before homo sapiens made it to the Americas, the grassland and plains-covered landscapes were ruled by birds. Terrorbirds. Before their place in the ecosystem was essentially usurped by saber-toothed cats such as Smilodon, giant flightless birds of prey were the top predators, and early humans just missed out on falling prey to them. Some 25 or so species of terrorbirds from the family Furus rachidae were present across the late Cenozoic and primarily existed in South America before the Great American Faunal Interchange allowed one species, Titanus, to migrate north via the Central American land bridge of what is now composed of countries such as Mexico, Nicaragua, and Honduras. All of the terrorbirds stood on long, powerful legs which were void of feathers. Muscular and in larger species almost pillar-like, these hind limbs allowed these giants a tremendous degree of speed, enabling them to pursue mammals across the plains and open grasslands. Their bodies, necks, wings, tails, and heads, however, were feathered and provided the bird with insulation against the elements, and perhaps also the means of displaying to their prospective mates. Not all of them were giant apex predators. Silopterus, the one meter tall dwarf of the family, likely hunted smaller mammals and reptiles, hiding in the tall grasses of South America's pompous plains. The larger species, however, earned their common namesake. Kalenken, the largest terrorbird to live, was almost three meters tall and weighed over 100 kilograms, making it one of the largest birds ever to live. The most striking feature of a terrorbird, taken to the largest extreme on Kalenken, was the beak. In Kalenken, the skull alone was almost a meter in length, with the beak making up a substantial proportion of that. It was both long and axe-shaped, with a deadly curved hook at the end of the upper jaw. While Kalenken's legs could administer fatal kicks while hunting, and were likely used in this way to initially bring down prey, it is the beak that delivered the final blow. Paleontologists theorize that once larger terrorbirds brought down their prey, they could use their beak as a bladed weapon, one that could break bone, sever vital organs, and disembowel with relative ease. The larger terrorbirds were capable of bringing down hoved mammals. Small horses and relatives of modern ungulates were fair game for these giants, and they persisted to rule the roost up until around 2 million years ago. Perhaps it's a good job humans managed to steer clear of them. From around 20 million years ago, up until as recently as 3 million years ago, huge shadows would occasionally appear at the surface of the oceans across the world. While this might still occur today, as the world's numerous whale species break the surface of the seas, the shadows we are talking about were slightly more sinister. Topped with a huge dorsal fin, this was no whale, but a shark. Otodus megalodon, commonly referred to as just Megalodon, was the largest shark ever to exist on planet Earth, and our ancestors just missed it. Growing to an adult length of around 15 to 18 meters from nose to tail, Megalodon was not just the largest shark ever, it was one of the largest predators ever. Megalodon bore a resemblance similar to a modern great white shark. Large powerful jaws, a powerful sense of smell, and large beady eyes at the forefront of a massive body wrapped in layers of muscle. This was a seriously massive shark, so what did it live with that could have possibly satiated such a fish? Large predators require large prey, and Megalodon found theirs in whales. Not just young whales either, it is estimated that Megalodon could have taken cetacean prey as large as a modern day humpback whale. Dolphins, large fish, birds, amphibious mammals such as and even other sharks would have been on the menu, and there was relatively little that could compete with such a huge predator. Among its prey was the bizarre whale Odobenocetops, a species of early shellfish eating whale with huge tusks that were used for defense and display. Megalodon likely hunted from below. As large marine creatures swam close to the surface, the shark would have typically remained hidden further down, using its dark body to help it camouflage in the darker waters. When large mammals such as whales and seals surfaced for air, they were vulnerable. Their outlines could easily be picked out by Megalodon against the sunlight above, and more often than not, they would have no idea of the approaching danger. Once close enough, the shark could bolt up from the blue, ensnaring its quarry and jaws with a bite force of 18,000 kilograms per square inch. It was a successful and deadly predator, top of its game in the Pliocene seas for several million years. Ultimately, however, it died out before modern humans arrived on the scene. Surely if such a creature was sighted in the waters off the coast, it would have played a part in the myths and folklore of early humans for millennia. Today, three species of proboscidean exist. The African Bush Elephant, the African Forest Elephant, and the Asian Elephant. They make up some of the most iconic creatures of the modern age, appearing in popular culture, children's books, television shows, and films, and are instantly recognizable by all. Elephants were not always so recognizable, however, and many species existed before Homo sapiens came along. Ancient proboscideans started their evolutionary journey as squat, pig-like creatures, who lived around the waterline in swamps and forests. Erytherium, a creature that first appeared shortly after the dinosaurs went extinct, was the first elephant ancestor on record, and grew to just less than a meter in length. Its ears were tiny, its tusks were short and down-curved, and its trunk was nothing more than a short tapir-like nose, helpful in stripping vegetation and pushing it into the mouth. From here, elephants evolved quickly, and ancient elephant relatives are more diverse than you might expect. Before humans arrived on the scene, a number of different proboscidean species were extremely strange. Merytherium, from the Eocene of North Africa, was much more hippo-like, and likely spent much of its time wallowing in water and mud in mangrove swamps and forests. Theomaya, from the swamps of Egypt, was one of the first large elephants, at around 3 meters in length, but only possessed a short trunk, reminiscent of a poor drawing of a modern elephant. Later on in the Cenozoic, however, things took an even stranger turn. As proboscideans began to migrate out of Africa and into Eurasia, and even the Americas, their forms bulged out into the giant herbivores we know today. Their trunks typically grew, their ears got larger, they took on a much more elephantine form, not too dissimilar from one we would recognize today. Much of the strange differences were in their skull structure, which would have been very noticeable, however. Gomphotherium, known from Africa, Eurasia, and North America, possessed two downward curved tusks, and a long flat jaw, tipped with two long sharp teeth, for digging up the earth for buried vegetation. Platybelodon, a close relative, was stranger still, and was almost like a duck-billed elephant. A wide flat trunk was met by a wide flat jaw, with huge broad shovel-like teeth for scooping vegetation from swamps. Africa's Deinotherium, which our earliest australopithecine ancestors met, had two downward curved tusks situated under its chin, which were used for scraping tree trunks of their bark. One of the most spectacular of all, was Anancus, known from Africa and Europe, whose tusks were absurdly long, nearly four meters, and were used for digging and sifting through forest leaf litter. Elephants evolved to suit their surroundings, and many spectacular species cropped up, before our ancestors had a chance to meet them. Our ancestors did meet some of them, however. The mammoths and mastodons of the northern hemisphere were strange enough in their own rights, and clearly played a huge part in the culture and evolution of our own species. By the time the Oligocene Epoch rolled around, around 33 million years ago to 23 million years ago, mammals had evolved into all sorts of bizarre shapes and sizes, and megafaunal biotas were cropping up around the Earth's vast open scrublands and deserts. Nowhere was this more noticeable than Central Asia, where our ancestors missed out on meeting some true spectacles of natural history. The most famous creature from this point in time, was Paraceratherium, the largest terrestrial mammal ever to live. While it resembled a massive bulky giraffe with its long neck and legs, it was in fact more closely related to rhinoceroses. It measured over 8 meters in length, and possibly weighed around 12 tons. It was twice as tall as a modern African bush elephant. It likely formed scattered groups across the plains of Central Asia, namely Mongolia and Pakistan, where it fed in open woodland with its tough teeth. Despite the numerous predators that shared the land with Paraceratherium, an adult was pretty much impervious to attack, and feared nothing but a rival Paraceratherium. Today, even toad ungulate mammals such as antelope and sheep are more often than not strict herbivores. Territorial, yes, but many species are more likely to scatter when faced with a threat than stand and fight. Enter Entelodon, a creature often referred to as the hell pig. Present across Eurasia for much of the Oligocene, these hoofed mammals were related to the aforementioned hoofed mammals, and very much resembled large bulky warthogs, but ate much more meat than their relatives. Fully grown adults were 3 meters in length, and were well equipped to deal with predators, with powerful long jaws that made it look part pig, part crocodilian in facial structure. While they did likely feed on plant matter, Entelodon and its relatives were capable of killing and eating small mammals, and likely fed on the carcasses of larger mammals brought down by apex predators such as creodons. Small groups of hell pigs were probably able to overpower the original claimant of the carcass, bullying their way to victory across the scrubland. As for the creodons, they made up some of the most powerful and efficient mammalian predators ever to live. The most notable creodon predator from this time and place was the infamous Hyenodon, a 2-3 meter long dog-like carnivore with a long tail and huge muscles wrapping its limbs and body. Its teeth were equipped for crunching through bone, and its canines were long in order to deliver a powerful killing blow. Unusual for a creodon, Hyenodon's legs were long, implying that a chase after prey often impacts. Prior to the saber-toothed cats encountered by our ancestors, it was creatures like Hyenodon that made up the most powerful carnivorous mammal stock of the world. The Eocene, which began shortly after the Paleocene, not long after the wake of the dinosaurs, saw our planet heat up, with tropical forests and warm oceans appearing over the world. In these warm seas, the coast was clear in the absence of mosasaurs and plesiosaurs for a new apex predator to evolve. In some places, giant sharks took over. But in the Tethys Sea, an area which is now made up of the Middle East and parts of North Africa, a new group of creatures began to emerge. Their ancestors were unremarkable furry creatures, with long snouts and slender legs, which fed in and around rivers and lakes. As the seas opened up and aquatic food sources became more and more available, some of them evolved a crocodile-like appearance and became amphibious. Eventually, they were able to exploit food sources out in the seas in large numbers and grew immense off of them. They lost their legs, which atrophied into paddles, and became known as the whales, the largest animals ever to live. Whales were not always gentle giants. As they transitioned from land dwellers to rulers of the waves, many of them hung on to their original predatory traits, and some of them became apex predators, true terrors up to 18 meters in length. One such animal was Bacillosaurus, a creature so large and so unfamiliar at the time it was discovered, that people of the time believed it to be a giant reptilian sea monster, hence the translation of the name into English as King Lizard. While humans have shared the world with many deadly aquatic predators, they missed out on these early apex predator whales, who were known for preying on other whales. Bacillosaurus shared the waves with Dorodon, a species of much smaller whale, and an adult Bacillosaurus would have been more than capable of dispatching one. With its wide jaws and huge crushing teeth, it would have been a formidable adversary for almost anything in the water, from the smallest fish to the largest mammals. Whales have undergone perhaps the most extreme degree of evolution among mammals, and they have done it in a remarkably short amount of time, relatively speaking. Bacillosaurus was just one example of the wonders of the cetacean world, prior to the times when humans appeared on the scene. What we have talked you through in this video so far, are just small snapshots of relatively brief times and places in Earth's natural history. A whole lost world of wonder exists in the fossil record, and ancient humans missed out on so much of it. Complex life first appeared on our planet just over 2 billion years ago, and Homo sapiens have been around for just 300,000 years. In the times before us, billions upon billions of species have come and gone, taking on all shapes and sizes. Prior to the dinosaurs, our earliest ancestors began to haul themselves out of the Paleozoic swamps, and evolved legs from fins. A time when giant invertebrates and monstrous fishes were writhing in the swamps below. Then came the scrublands and deserts of the Permian period, when giant protomammals ruled the world, some of which were our earliest ancestors. The dinosaurs first appeared around 252 million years ago, so even they have been around for a relatively short time in Earth's overall history. Whole biotas and orders of animals arrived on the scene, and were wiped out by extinction events, including seemingly unshakable monsters of the sky, land, and sea alike. What stings the most for natural history enthusiasts, however, is the degree of life that we didn't get to see, which occurred just several million years before we appeared in the Cenozoic. Mammal evolution throughout the most recent era of Earth's history is undeniably amazing, and to have missed it by such a relatively narrow margin is a shame. But evolution happens the way it does for a reason. Just some of the biotas lost to the Cenozoic before us include the mysterious Paleocene forests of Europe, where the ancestors of all modern mammals wrestled for their places in the ecosystem. Bizarre Cryodonts, early horses, Xenarthrins, and Pantodonts all coexisted in the packed warm woodlands, while modern birds began to find their footing in the treetops and waterways. The western coastlines of the Americas in the Miocene were another key biota our ancestors missed. Here, giant relatives of modern seals coexisted with ancient seabirds, and even aquatic sloths. All over the world, life was bursting into its modern form, and the world was becoming more and more recognizable over the millennia. It was a planet filled with life, and to see it would surely have been awe-inspiring. Whilst it's exciting to ponder the existence of worlds gone by, it's important to remember just what our planet looks like today, with us in it. In the wilds of every corner of the world, amazing creatures, many of whom remain understudied, exist. It's hard to deny the beauty of a tropical coral reef, or the amazing diversity of a rainforest. The expansive plains of Africa still hold some of the last remnants of Earth's megafauna, while the mountains and tundras of the world hold some of the hardiest, toughest creatures the world has ever seen. Our deepest oceans remain a mystery, and new species are discovered across the world year upon year. Our world is one of wonder, and to experience it as human beings is one of the most exciting things imaginable. We certainly missed out on witnessing some spectacular creatures. But perhaps next, it's best to take a moment to look at the diversity of what exists in the world today, before these species too go extinct.