Chapter 1 part 2: new dawn
North America,
early Eocene, 49 million years ago
A new day dawns on a beautiful Eocene forest.
Earth is slowly but surely recovering the the apocalyptic aftermath of the impact some 16 million years before. The huge lumbering monsters who once ruled here are now a long forgotten memory, there bones long turned to dust or crushed underneath of earth and rocks, lying undisturbed, trapped forever in there death poses as fiery, chocking death descended upon them.
But that was long ago.
In the place of the great plains of the late Cretaceous great forests of palm and Deciduous trees now smother the earth in in thick carpet of green, with these forests ranging from pole to pole. The earth is now the warmest it will ever be post K-T, the conditions at the south pole subtropical and palm trees growing in modern day Europe. Even far up north, here in what will one day be the arctic circle, where tiny, subtle changes in CO2 levels is causing a massive expansion in the Ice caps and the gradual decline in temperatures, the heated oceans continue to transport warm ocean currents to support a sprawling, ice-capped forest. Littered through these forests are great lakes of warm, crystal clear water, packed with trapped Co2 and full of huge crocodiles, determined to retain there niche, and thick mangrove swamps full of strange, exotic insects and amphibians that would be alien to us. Next to these lakes are fields of growing grassland, not yet the great Savannah's they will one day develop into, full of a vast rainbow of different colored flowers, mainly early angiosperms. (1) These new types of plants developed in the mid- Cretaceous around 110 Million years ago and now due to their ability to use fruits and seeds to transport of spring it is able to support a wide range of newly evolved animals and insects, such as early moths and butterflies.
The rising morning sun's rays are blocked by the thick canopy of trees, letting only a trickle of light onto the dark, damp floor below. Amongst the canopy there is a cacophony of noise from a vast array of different bird songs, each one calling out for a mate, for food, or a warning. Birds suffered badly during the mass extinction, with most species going extinct, but there superior ability to adapt and search out food meant that they were able to expand and reoccupy the vacant skies left by the pterosaurs. Lower down amongst the branches are small, furry mammals like Adapidae who swing through the leaves by grabbing on branches with there small, clasping hands,and nails as opposed to claws- creatures we might call primitive primates.
But it is the forest floor that is truly alien. Marching amongst decaying plants and bones are vast armies of giant army ants, who strip all in there path, be carcass or unprotected eggs. Leaping through the bushes we can see a small, bipedal shrew like animal, a weasel like carnivore called Miacis , desperately searching for scraps for it's young before the bigger competitors appear, using it's small snout and short claws to sniff out food.
It's foraging is disturbed by the snapping of leaves that announce the arrival of a small group of ravenous Eohippus , the early ancestors of what we would have called in modern day horses, with small hooves for protecting it's feet and moving faster and long, gangling legs for moving fast and big ears for detecting the slightest sound of an approaching predator(2)
and in this forest, there are many predators.
And one of them is stalking one of the young Eohippus, large, yellow eyes peering out through the undergrowth to check out and evaluate it's victim, the eyes connected to one of the most advanced brains in the natural kingdom, a brain that can make, balanced, calculative decisions, that can devise complex hunting strategies, that cared for it's fellow clan mates.
A brain without any equivalent in the Eocene forest. A brain fueled by meat, by 16 million years of relative isolation, by the need to survive.
This hunter however is young, arrogant, inexperienced...
and impatient. He lunges forward bursting out of the undergrowth in a blur of reptilian skin, and grey feathers leaping out at his prey intending to pin it down and finish it with a swift blow with it's sharp, curved claws.
The Eohippus, despite its senses being dulled by the oppressive heat and a minor dosage hallucinogenic berries, lunges out of the way with ease with it's finely tuned prey instincts and immediately turns and runs towards it's herd, trusting it's long legs to guide it to safety. The young hunter, his immediate attempt foiled, angrily gives pursuit. He tares through the undergrowth, enabling us to fully view and understand his body. We can see it's long, reptilian legs covered in a thin layer of greyish-white feathers, another clue to its arctic origins, with a scaly, turkey like foot with three pertruding serrated claws, designed to first pin and kill it's victim.
It has long arms tucked underneath it's thin body, with hollow bones underneath like birds to add speed. It has a narrow, beak like snout, perfectly designed for searching out narrow places for food, with rows of balanced teeth inside, sharp teeth for tearing tough meat, blunter molars for chewing nuts, berries and other jungle fruits, giving it a balanced diet-another gained trait due to lack of prey animals, and a frill of purple feathers scaling down it's back to attract a mate or scare off rivals. It is a creature without parallel.
It is a Agilodon abavus - the last dinosaur.(3)
After several minutes of running through the thick, non ending undergrowth the Agilodon is beginning to tire, he is best at quick ambushes, not long distance running! The Eohippus seeing it's peruser tire, summons it's last reserves of energy and sprints the last leg of the chase towards a clearing up ahead and apparent safety. The grassland is in site, the sun is peering through disappearing shrub, the herbivore has made it.
But it's a trap- the pack leader of the young Agilodon's clan-an old, wizened female- had guessed that the male would do something stupid- and deployed accordingly.
As the bursts into the clearing, she springs her trap, leaping out of the bush and slams into the side of the fleeing animal, knocking the wind out of the already exhausted creature and sinking her tight jaws onto it's neck. The surprised animal rears in panic and tries to throw her off, as other Agilodon take advantage and attack from different sides to confuse it's prey, with one experienced male able to sink it's curved claw into the exhausted animals neck. The Eohippus , tired from it's long chase, crushed and worn down by constant attacks, resighnes itself to its fate and crumples. With downward slice by the female, it is over.
And then, deep from the bellows of the forest,The whooping, high pitched victory cry of the Agilodon echo through the picturesque Eocene morning, heralding the beginning of a new day.
And a new era.
==========================================================
(1): An interesting piece here on the origins of flowering plants: http://steurh.home.xs4all.nl/engplant/eblad4.html
(2): It was commonly assumed until recently that Hyracotherium was the ancestor of all horses, but now it seems that it was a paleothere and the ancestor of Brontotheres as opposed to horses proper. Despite popular misconception, Eohippus was NOT the size of a jack Russel-it was twice the size. And finally, Eohippus TTL will have longer legs due to increased competition from Agilodon and also due to the increase in open grassland. A lack of fellow grazing herbivores this far north would also explain its difference in size and shape.
(3) Agilodon (greek: Agile tooth) + Abavus ( Latin: Forefather)
"It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change."
-Charles Darwin
-Charles Darwin
North America,
early Eocene, 49 million years ago
A new day dawns on a beautiful Eocene forest.
Earth is slowly but surely recovering the the apocalyptic aftermath of the impact some 16 million years before. The huge lumbering monsters who once ruled here are now a long forgotten memory, there bones long turned to dust or crushed underneath of earth and rocks, lying undisturbed, trapped forever in there death poses as fiery, chocking death descended upon them.
But that was long ago.
In the place of the great plains of the late Cretaceous great forests of palm and Deciduous trees now smother the earth in in thick carpet of green, with these forests ranging from pole to pole. The earth is now the warmest it will ever be post K-T, the conditions at the south pole subtropical and palm trees growing in modern day Europe. Even far up north, here in what will one day be the arctic circle, where tiny, subtle changes in CO2 levels is causing a massive expansion in the Ice caps and the gradual decline in temperatures, the heated oceans continue to transport warm ocean currents to support a sprawling, ice-capped forest. Littered through these forests are great lakes of warm, crystal clear water, packed with trapped Co2 and full of huge crocodiles, determined to retain there niche, and thick mangrove swamps full of strange, exotic insects and amphibians that would be alien to us. Next to these lakes are fields of growing grassland, not yet the great Savannah's they will one day develop into, full of a vast rainbow of different colored flowers, mainly early angiosperms. (1) These new types of plants developed in the mid- Cretaceous around 110 Million years ago and now due to their ability to use fruits and seeds to transport of spring it is able to support a wide range of newly evolved animals and insects, such as early moths and butterflies.
The rising morning sun's rays are blocked by the thick canopy of trees, letting only a trickle of light onto the dark, damp floor below. Amongst the canopy there is a cacophony of noise from a vast array of different bird songs, each one calling out for a mate, for food, or a warning. Birds suffered badly during the mass extinction, with most species going extinct, but there superior ability to adapt and search out food meant that they were able to expand and reoccupy the vacant skies left by the pterosaurs. Lower down amongst the branches are small, furry mammals like Adapidae who swing through the leaves by grabbing on branches with there small, clasping hands,and nails as opposed to claws- creatures we might call primitive primates.
But it is the forest floor that is truly alien. Marching amongst decaying plants and bones are vast armies of giant army ants, who strip all in there path, be carcass or unprotected eggs. Leaping through the bushes we can see a small, bipedal shrew like animal, a weasel like carnivore called Miacis , desperately searching for scraps for it's young before the bigger competitors appear, using it's small snout and short claws to sniff out food.
It's foraging is disturbed by the snapping of leaves that announce the arrival of a small group of ravenous Eohippus , the early ancestors of what we would have called in modern day horses, with small hooves for protecting it's feet and moving faster and long, gangling legs for moving fast and big ears for detecting the slightest sound of an approaching predator(2)
and in this forest, there are many predators.
And one of them is stalking one of the young Eohippus, large, yellow eyes peering out through the undergrowth to check out and evaluate it's victim, the eyes connected to one of the most advanced brains in the natural kingdom, a brain that can make, balanced, calculative decisions, that can devise complex hunting strategies, that cared for it's fellow clan mates.
A brain without any equivalent in the Eocene forest. A brain fueled by meat, by 16 million years of relative isolation, by the need to survive.
This hunter however is young, arrogant, inexperienced...
and impatient. He lunges forward bursting out of the undergrowth in a blur of reptilian skin, and grey feathers leaping out at his prey intending to pin it down and finish it with a swift blow with it's sharp, curved claws.
The Eohippus, despite its senses being dulled by the oppressive heat and a minor dosage hallucinogenic berries, lunges out of the way with ease with it's finely tuned prey instincts and immediately turns and runs towards it's herd, trusting it's long legs to guide it to safety. The young hunter, his immediate attempt foiled, angrily gives pursuit. He tares through the undergrowth, enabling us to fully view and understand his body. We can see it's long, reptilian legs covered in a thin layer of greyish-white feathers, another clue to its arctic origins, with a scaly, turkey like foot with three pertruding serrated claws, designed to first pin and kill it's victim.
It has long arms tucked underneath it's thin body, with hollow bones underneath like birds to add speed. It has a narrow, beak like snout, perfectly designed for searching out narrow places for food, with rows of balanced teeth inside, sharp teeth for tearing tough meat, blunter molars for chewing nuts, berries and other jungle fruits, giving it a balanced diet-another gained trait due to lack of prey animals, and a frill of purple feathers scaling down it's back to attract a mate or scare off rivals. It is a creature without parallel.
It is a Agilodon abavus - the last dinosaur.(3)
After several minutes of running through the thick, non ending undergrowth the Agilodon is beginning to tire, he is best at quick ambushes, not long distance running! The Eohippus seeing it's peruser tire, summons it's last reserves of energy and sprints the last leg of the chase towards a clearing up ahead and apparent safety. The grassland is in site, the sun is peering through disappearing shrub, the herbivore has made it.
But it's a trap- the pack leader of the young Agilodon's clan-an old, wizened female- had guessed that the male would do something stupid- and deployed accordingly.
As the bursts into the clearing, she springs her trap, leaping out of the bush and slams into the side of the fleeing animal, knocking the wind out of the already exhausted creature and sinking her tight jaws onto it's neck. The surprised animal rears in panic and tries to throw her off, as other Agilodon take advantage and attack from different sides to confuse it's prey, with one experienced male able to sink it's curved claw into the exhausted animals neck. The Eohippus , tired from it's long chase, crushed and worn down by constant attacks, resighnes itself to its fate and crumples. With downward slice by the female, it is over.
And then, deep from the bellows of the forest,The whooping, high pitched victory cry of the Agilodon echo through the picturesque Eocene morning, heralding the beginning of a new day.
And a new era.
==========================================================
(1): An interesting piece here on the origins of flowering plants: http://steurh.home.xs4all.nl/engplant/eblad4.html
(2): It was commonly assumed until recently that Hyracotherium was the ancestor of all horses, but now it seems that it was a paleothere and the ancestor of Brontotheres as opposed to horses proper. Despite popular misconception, Eohippus was NOT the size of a jack Russel-it was twice the size. And finally, Eohippus TTL will have longer legs due to increased competition from Agilodon and also due to the increase in open grassland. A lack of fellow grazing herbivores this far north would also explain its difference in size and shape.
(3) Agilodon (greek: Agile tooth) + Abavus ( Latin: Forefather)