Caribbean islands reveal a 'lost world' of ancient mammals
11/05/2017 02:00:00 PM
Although filled with tropical life today, the Caribbean islands have been a hotspot of mammal extinction since the end of the last glaciation, some 12,000 years ago. Since people also arrived after that time, it has been impossible to determine whether natural changes or human influence are most responsible for these extinctions. A new review by an international team of scientists, including Stony Brook University Professor Liliana M. Dávalos, reports an analysis of the incredibly diverse "lost world" of Caribbean fossils that includes giant rodents, vampire bats, enigmatic monkeys, ground sloths, shrews and dozens of other ancient mammals. The article, published in the Annual Review of Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics, reveals that the arrival of humans and their subsequent activities throughout the islands was likely the primary cause of the extinction of native mammal species there.
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https://archaeologynewsnetwork.blogspot.com/2017/11/caribbean-islands-reveal-lost-world-of.html#P6a5fTsK5tfY4gCu.99
