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Extant Miocene first appearances

  • Great white sharkThe great white shark has 300 teeth in rows, each one replaced all its life.
  • MartenNokia took its name from a type of marten. The Finnish company's name came by way of the river Nokianvirta.
  • FinchMiners carried finches and canaries underground to warn of carbon monoxide. The UK practice lasted until 1986.
  • TytoTyto owls do not hoot, they screech. This owl genus has reached every continent except Antarctica.
  • HyenaHyenas look and hunt like dogs but are actually closer to cats. Their dog-like look came from convergent evolution.
  • FalconFalcons look like hawks and eagles but are not closely related to them.
  • Nile crocodileThe Nile crocodile, Crocodylus niloticus, produced a male shot near Mwanza, Tanzania, that measured 6.45 metres and weighed about 1043 to 1089 kilograms. He is the largest accurately measured male of the species on record. Animals of that…
  • Turkey (bird)Turkeys belong to the genus Meleagris, and only two species survive: the wild turkey of North America and the ocellated turkey of Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula. Each ranks among the largest birds in its home range, and the group is one of the…
  • BeaverThe beaver, a large semiaquatic rodent of the Northern Hemisphere, starts building a dam the moment it hears running water. The sound of a leak sends it straight back to patch the damage. That reflex ties together the two living species,…
  • OspreyThe osprey, Pandion haliaetus, eats almost nothing except fish. Fish account for 99 percent of its diet. Older names capture the habit: sea hawk, river hawk and fish hawk. This large daytime bird of prey lives on every continent except…
  • ColumbidaeColumbidae gathers 353 species of doves and pigeons into 52 genera, and it stands alone as the only family in the order Columbiformes. Its birds are stout-bodied, with small heads, fairly short necks and slender bills. On some species the…
  • EmuThe emu is a flightless bird from Australia that once outran an army. In 1932, soldiers carrying machine guns were sent after emus in Western Australia, and the birds largely avoided the hunters. This is a creature with legs strong enough…

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