For Neogene climate characteristic:

1) Progressive cooling, which was facilitated, in addition to planetary causes (disappearance of the through equatorial current, growth of sub-horizontal mountain ranges-climatic divisions, general uplift of land and isolation from the warm waters of the Arctic basin), the ongoing glaciation of Antarctica.

2) The oscillatory nature of this cooling with a rhythm of 2-2.5 million years, as a result of which cooling waves alternated with warming waves, which, however, had a lower amplitude.

3) Strengthening of temperature contrasts between high and low latitudes.

4) The predominance of continental climates and the growth of aridization in many regions of the land.

In Antarctica, the self-development of glaciers continued, associated with the blocking activity of the circumantarctic current, which does not let warm tropical waters into Antarctica, and the uplift of the territory. According to I.D. Danilov (Klige et al., 1998), at the beginning of the Miocene (22-20 million years ago), due to an increased albedo and a further decrease in temperature, mountain-valley glaciation began to develop into a cover glaciation.

Curiously, the maximum glaciation in Antarctica occurred at the end of the Miocene - the beginning of the Pliocene (the so-called Queen Maud glaciation). After that, the ice sheet of Antarctica pulsated, now increasing, now decreasing; in particular, in the late Pliocene (2-3 million years ago), trees with a developed root system grew on the territory now occupied by ice.

Similar processes began in the northern hemisphere: according to the same author, the formation of the Greenland ice sheet occurred at the end of the Miocene (about 10 million years ago). At the same time, the mountain-valley glaciers of Iceland and North America (Alaska) arose. Cover glaciers on the islands of the Canadian archipelago and the Arctic Ocean, Iceland were formed somewhat later - 2.5-2.4 million years ago. n. Floating ice near the north pole appeared later than 4 million years ago. N., and the entire Arctic Ocean was covered with pack ice of only 800-700 thousand years ago. n., already in the Quaternary period.

In temperate and subtropical latitudes, against the background of progressive cooling, there were noticeable climate fluctuations. At the beginning of the Miocene (21-20 million years ago), the first Miocene climatic optimum occurred, when January temperatures in southwestern Europe rose to +10°C, and summer temperatures to +24°C. At the beginning of the Sarmatian, the second Miocene optimum came with cold temperatures of +8 - + 10°. At the end of the Miocene, starting from the late Sarmatian, climate aridization increases, and then another cooling sets in, replacing the second optimum: for example, in the lower Don, July temperatures drop from 25° to 14°, January - from +3° to -5°; annual rainfall is reduced to 350-400 mm.

The landscapes of the Earth gradually approached in these latitudes the modern (natural) appearance. It was in the Neogene in temperate latitudes that the landscapes of taiga, forest-steppes, mountain and plain steppes first appeared. At the beginning of the Miocene, coniferous-broad-leaved forests continue to grow in the northern half of the temperate zone, but by the end of the Sarmatian (12-14 million years ago), the Early Miocene heat-loving conifers: taxodia, ginkgo, sequoia, are replaced exclusively by cold-loving conifers: pine, spruce. To the south, in broad-leaved forests, deciduous oaks, lindens, various types of walnut, beech, and birch most often begin to occur. By the end of the Miocene and in the Pliocene, heat-loving plants finally disappear from temperate forests. It was at this time that a new type of landscapes, the taiga or northern coniferous forests, formed on the site of the northern outskirts of broad-leaved and mixed forests.

In the late Miocene, in the continental temperate latitudes of Eurasia, a new type of landscape was formed - the steppes. In Central Europe, in the south of Eastern Europe, in Kazakhstan, Mongolia, and the central part of North America, the “great steppe stepping process” began due to the degradation of broad-leaved forests from their southern edge and the formation of steppe associations with sagebrush-cereal vegetation there. Previously, there were no steppes, since there were no moderate semihumid belts. As a transitional type, the forest-steppe became isolated at the same time. As aridization intensified in temperate latitudes, semi-deserts and deserts with saxaul, ephedra, etc. appeared. The formation of the steppes played a huge role in the development of the fauna of the extratropical region.

The new elements of the zonal structure that arose in the Miocene had not yet acquired stability in the Pliocene. Thus, in the southwest of the East European Plain, steppes and forest-steppes appeared at the end of the Miocene (in the Pontus), but at the beginning of the Pliocene (especially in the Cimmerian time - 4.2-4.0 million years ago), when the optimum Pliocene and winter temperatures throughout northern Eurasia again became positive (2-4 °), warm-temperate broad-leaved forests returned to the former steppe spaces. Even the taiga during the Pliocene optimum differed from the modern one in the presence of heat-loving species of spruces, pines and the return of hemlock.

The climate fluctuations of the Miocene and Pliocene also had a very noticeable effect on the physical and geographical setting of the subtropical belt, stretching along the latitude through the central parts of North America and Eurasia (with the northern border along the latitude of the Hudson Bay, St. Petersburg, the middle Urals, and Baikal). During periods of optimum, with sufficient moisture in Europe, as well as in the Far East, broad-leaved evergreen forests were common, in the Far East with an admixture of conifers - redwoods, pines, hemlocks. Xerophilous vegetation existed in the semi-humid Mediterranean: olives, walnuts, sycamore, boxwood, cypress, maquis, and savannahs dominated in the semi-arid regions of Central Asia.

At the end of the Miocene in the forest zone of the subtropics, the species composition of trees changes towards more cold-loving ones: evergreens disappear, some broad-leaved trees (sycamore), then heat-loving conifers - sequoias, taxodiaceae; space is conquered by modern coniferous and broad-leaved species.

At the equator, humid rainforests and savannahs still existed, and there have been no significant changes in them up to the present day. The same applies to the tropical belt, which was wider than it is now: its northern border in North America ran along the latitude of the Great Lakes, and in Eurasia - through central France, Bavaria, the northern Black Sea region and further east through the northern Caspian Sea, central Kazakhstan to Bohai Bay in the Yellow Sea.

The second half of the Pliocene is characterized by continued fluctuations in climate (temperature and humidity), but at a lower thermal level, and increased aridization, which led to a wide variety of steppe plant formations. In the late Pliocene fir-spruce dark coniferous and light coniferous larch taiga are formed. Along with coniferous-broad-leaved forests, coniferous-small-leaved and "weedy" - birch-alder communities appear. The replacement of the shrouds of the subtropics of Central Asia by dry steppes and semi-deserts with sagebrush-cereal imago associations continues.

At the end of the Pliocene (in the middle Akchagyl), cooling leads to the change of taiga landscapes in the north of Europe and Asia by forest-tundra ones. In the newly emerged nival zones, tundra zones were formed. January temperatures even in the south-west of Eastern Europe fell during this period to -10 °; perhaps, in the north of Scandinavia, mountain-valley glaciation had already begun at that time. This cooling is replaced by warming and humidification of the climate, which at the end of Akchagyl is again replaced by cooling.

Significant changes have taken place in the composition of the fauna of temperate latitudes, bringing it closer to the modern set of species. So, in the Miocene in the forest-steppes and steppes of Eurasia, the anchiteric fauna developed (aichiterium - a pony with three-toed limbs). It included a variety of forest and forest-steppe animals - rhinos and mastodons, dinotheres and bears, deer and pigs, rodents and even monkeys.

At the end of the Miocene, this fauna was replaced by the hipparion fauna, which, in addition to the ancient horse - the hipparion, included rhinos, elephants, antelopes, apes, hippos, saber-toothed tigers, etc. In southern Europe, a clear increase in savanna-steppe animals was noted. In the equatorial forests, their own fauna was formed, endemic on different continents. A particularly variegated mixture was in South America, where marsupials coexisted with placental animals that had already crossed there along the Isthmus of Panama.

FAUNA

Significant changes have taken place in the composition of the fauna. Bivalve and gastropod mollusks, corals, and foraminifers, which had reached a wide variety, lived in the shelf zones, while planktonic foraminifers and coccolithophorids lived in more remote areas.

In temperate and high latitudes, the composition of the marine fauna has changed. Corals and tropical forms of mollusks disappeared, a huge number of radiolarians and especially diatoms appeared. Teleost fish, sea turtles and amphibians have been widely developed.

The fauna of terrestrial vertebrates has reached a great diversity. In the Miocene, when many landscapes retained the features of the Paleogene, the so-called anchiteric fauna developed, which was named after a characteristic representative - anchiteria. Anchiterius is a small animal, the size of a pony, one of the ancestors of horses with three-toed limbs. The anchytherian fauna included many forms of ancestral horses, as well as rhinos, bears, deer, pigs, antelopes, tortoises, rodents, and monkeys. This enumeration shows that the fauna included both forest and forest-steppe (savannah) forms. Ecological heterogeneity was observed depending on the landscape and climatic conditions. In the drier savannah regions, mastodons, gazelles, monkeys, antelopes, etc., were widespread.

In the middle of the Neogene, a rapidly progressing hipparion fauna appeared in Eurasia, North America and Africa. It included ancient (hipparions) and real horses, rhinos, proboscis, antelopes, camels, deer, giraffes, hippos, rodents, turtles, apes, hyenas, saber-toothed tigers and other predators.

The most characteristic representative of this fauna was the hipparion, a small horse with three-toed limbs, which replaced the anchiterium. They lived in open steppe spaces and the structure of their limbs indicates the ability to move both in tall grass and in hummocky swamps.

Representatives of open and forest-steppe landscapes were predominant in the hipparion fauna. At the end of the Neogene, the role of the hipparin fauna increased. In its composition, the importance of the savanna-steppe representatives of the animal world - antelopes, camels, giraffes, ostriches, one-toed horses - has increased.

During the Cenozoic, the connection between individual continents was periodically interrupted. This prevented the migration of terrestrial fauna and at the same time caused great provincial differences. So, for example, in the Neogene, the fauna of South America was very peculiar. It consisted of marsupials, ungulates, rodents, flat-nosed monkeys. Starting from the Paleogene, endemic fauna also developed in Australia.

FLORA

Under the influence of many factors in the Neogene, the organic world experienced rapid evolution. The animal and plant kingdom acquired modern features. At this time, landscapes of the taiga, forest-steppes, mountain and plain steppes first appeared.

In the equatorial and tropical regions, moist forests or savannahs were common. Vast areas were covered with peculiar forests, reminiscent of the modern rainforests of the lowlands of Kalimantan. Ficuses, banana trees, bamboo palms, tree ferns, laurels, evergreen oaks, etc. grew in the tropical forests. Savannahs were located in areas with a strong moisture deficit and seasonal distribution of precipitation.

In temperate and high latitudes, the differentiation of vegetation cover was more significant. Forest vegetation at the beginning of the Neogene was characterized by diversity and richness of species. Broad-leaved forests, in which the leading role belonged to evergreen forms, enjoyed a fairly large development. In connection with the increased aridity, xerophilic elements appeared here, giving rise to the Mediterranean type of vegetation. This vegetation was characterized by the appearance of evergreen laurel forests of olives, walnuts, plane trees, boxwoods, cypresses, southern species of pines and cedars.

Relief played an important role in the distribution of vegetation. Thickets of nissaceae, taxodiums and ferns were located on the foothills, abundantly swampy lowlands. Broad-leaved forests grew on the slopes of the mountains, in which the leading role belonged to subtropical forms, higher up they were replaced by coniferous forests consisting of pine, fir, hemlock, and spruce.

When moving towards the polar regions, evergreen and broad-leaved forms disappeared from the forests. Coniferous-deciduous forests were represented by a fairly large range of gymnosperms and angiosperms from spruce, pine and sequoia to willow, alder, birch, beech, maple, walnut, and chestnut. In the arid region of temperate latitudes, there were boreal analogues of savannas - steppes. Forest vegetation was located along the river valleys and on the shores of lakes.

In connection with the cooling, which intensified at the end of the Neogene, new zonal landscape types arose and became widespread - taiga, forest-steppe and tundra.

To date, the question of the place where the taiga originated has not yet been finally resolved. Hypotheses of the circumpolar origin of the taiga link the formation of taiga components in the circumpolar regions with its gradual spread to the south as cooling sets in. Another group of hypotheses suggests that Beringia, a land area that includes modern Chukotka and vast areas of the shelf seas of the North-East of the USSR, was the birthplace of taiga landscapes. humidity. There is also another hypothesis, according to which the taiga arose as a result of vertical climatic zonality. The taiga vegetation first developed in the highlands, and then, as it were, “descended” to the surrounding plains during a cooling period. At the end of the Neogene, taiga landscapes already occupied vast expanses of northern Eurasia and the northern regions of North America.

At the turn of the Neogene and the Quaternary, due to cooling and increased aridity, herbaceous plant communities of the steppe type were especially distinguished in the forest formation. In the Neogene, the process of "great steppe stepping of the plains" began. Initially, the steppes occupied limited areas and often alternated with forest-steppes. Steppe landscapes were formed within the inland plains of the temperate zone with a variable humid climate. In the arid climate, semi-deserts and deserts formed, mainly due to the reduction of savannah landscapes.

Similar information is contained in the Vishnu Purana, which states that the Jala Sea, located around the seventh, southernmost, Pushkar continent,borders on the land of the highest mountains of Lokaloka, which separates the visible world from the world of darkness. Beyond the mountains of Lokaloka lies the zone of eternal night.”
Such an arrangement of geographical zones could take place about (and) only when the earth's axis is close to the vertical position and the Earth rotates around it at a speed equal to its rotation around the Sun.
GivenTraditions definitely indicate that in certain periods of history, our planet, like the Moon and, to some extent, Venus, rotated at a small speed equal to the speed of its rotation around the Sun.As I showed in the works “Traditions and hypotheses about the moon rabbit, the churning of the ocean, the unwinding of the firmament, the origin of the moon and the connection of the moon with death and immortality - a description of the catastrophes at the turn of the Third and Fourth and Fourth and Fifth world epochs, the acquisition by the Earth of its modern form and the appearance modern man - Homo Sapiens "and" The most important catastrophe in the history of the Earth, during which humanity appeared. When did it happen? ”, in the Paleogene there was a single change in the orientation of the earth's axis from vertical to oblique. In the Quaternary period, the axis of rotation of the Earth, although constantly changing its orientation, remained always inclined.
Many other legends also tell about the similar nature of changes in the tilt of the earth's axis. One of them is the Greek legend about the son of the sun god Helios, Phaeton:
"The phaeton jumped on the chariot [father], and the horses raced along the steep road to heaven. Here they are already in the sky, now they leave the usual path of Helios and rush without a road. But Phaethon does not know where the road is, he is unable to control his horses.
Released Phaeton reins. Sensing freedom, then the horses rushed even faster. Now they will rise to the very stars, then, having descended, they rush almost above the Earth. The flame from the close-down chariot engulfs the Earth. Big, rich cities are dying, entire tribes are dying. Forested mountains are on fire. Smoke covers everything around; does not see Phaeton in thick smoke, where he rides. Water in rivers and streams boils. The earth cracks from the heat, and the rays of the sun penetrate into the gloomy kingdom of Hades. The seas begin to dry up, and the sea deities suffer from the heat ...
In deep sorrow, Phaeton's father Helios closed his face and did not appear in the blue sky all day. Only the fire from the fire illuminated the earth.
The Pehuenche Indians living in Tierra del Fuego said that during the flood"The sun and the moon fell from the sky, and the world was left without light", and the Chinese - what “The planets have changed their path. The sun, moon and stars began to move in a new way. The earth fell apart, water gushed from its bowels and flooded the earth ... And the earth itself began to lose its appearance. The stars began to float away from the sky and disappear into a gaping void.
According to one of the few surviving authentic works of the Maya "Popol Vuh" (translated by R.V. Kinzhalov, 1959), after the death of the second generation of "wooden" people in Central America, there was eternal night:
“It was cloudy and gloomy then on the surface of the Earth. The sun didn't exist yet...
Heaven and earth, it is true, existed, but the faces of the Sun and Moon were still completely invisible...
The face of the Sun has not yet appeared, and the face of the Moon also; there were no stars yet, and the dawn had not yet dawned.
In the sacred book of Zoroastrianism "Bunda-hish" (modern Iran) one can also read:"When Angra Mainyu [leading the forces of darkness]sent a violent destructive frost, he also attacked the sky and threw it into disorder. This allowed him to take over"one third of the sky and cover it with darkness", while the creeping ice squeezed everything around.
According to German and Scandinavian legends, the giantess gave birth to a whole litter of wolf cubs, whose father was the wolf Fenrir. One of them chased the sun. Every year the wolf cub gained strength and finally swallowed it. The bright rays of the Sun went out one by one. It became a blood red hue, and then disappeared completely ... Another wolf swallowed the moon. Following this, the stars began to fall from the sky, earthquakes occurred, and a three-year cold (Fimbulvetr) set in in the world.
Quite a few similar legends are given in the ancient Indian Puranas and epic. They are also found in Greek, Slavic and other myths and written sources.

© A.V. Koltypin, 20 10

I, the author of this work, A.V. Koltypin, I authorize you to use it for any purposes not prohibited by the current legislation, provided that my authorship and a hyperlink to the site are indicatedor http://earthbeforeflood.com

Readmy works on the change in the position of the earth's axis and related events at the turn of the Oligocene and Miocene and in the Neogene "Traditions and hypotheses about the lunar rabbit ... a description of the catastrophes at the turn of the Third and Fourth and Fourth and Fifth world epochs, the acquisition by the Earth of its modern form and the appearance modern man - Homo Sapiens", "The most important catastrophe in the history of the Earth, during which mankind appeared. When it happened", "Disasters and climate change in the Miocene", "Catastrophe at the turn of the Miocene and Pliocene" and "Disasters and climate change in Pliocene"
Read also my works "Nuclear wars have already been and left many traces. Geological evidence of nuclear and thermonuclear military conflicts in the past" (together with P. Oleksenko) and "Who was the loser of a nuclear war 12,000 years ago? Legacy of the distant past in Australian lore"

The Cenozoic era is the last known to date. This is a new period of life on Earth, which began 67 million years ago and continues to this day.

In the Cenozoic, the transgressions of the sea ceased, the water level rose and stabilized. Modern mountain systems and relief were formed. Animals and plants acquired modern features and spread everywhere on all continents.

The Cenozoic era is divided into the following periods:

• Paleogene;
• Neogene;
• anthropogenic.

Geological changes

At the beginning of the Paleogene period, Cenozoic folding began, that is, the formation of new mountain systems, landscapes, and reliefs. Tectonic processes took place intensively within the Pacific Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea.

Mountain systems of Cenozoic folding:

1. Andes (in South America);
2. Alps (Europe);
3. Caucasus mountains;
4. Carpathians;
5. Median Ridge (Asia);
6. Partial Himalayas;
7. Mountains of the Cordillera.

As a result of global movements of vertical and horizontal lithospheric plates, they have acquired a form corresponding to the current continents and oceans.

The climate of the Cenozoic era

Weather conditions were favorable, warm climate with periodic rains contributed to the development of life on Earth. In comparison with modern average annual indicators, the temperature of those times was 9 degrees higher. In a hot climate, crocodiles, lizards, turtles adapted to life, which were protected from the scorching sun by developed outer covers.

At the end of the Paleogene period, a gradual decrease in temperature was observed, due to a decrease in the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmospheric air, an increase in land area due to a drop in sea level. This led to glaciation in Antarctica, starting from the mountain peaks, gradually the entire territory was covered with ice.

Animal world of the Cenozoic era

At the beginning of the era, cloacal, marsupials and the first placental mammals were widespread. They could easily adapt to changes in the external environment and quickly occupied both the water and air environment.

Bony fish settled in the seas and rivers, birds expanded their habitat. New species of foraminifera, mollusks, and echinoderms have formed.

The development of life in the Cenozoic era was not a monotonous process, temperature fluctuations, periods of severe frosts led to the extinction of many species. For example, mammoths, who lived during the glaciation period, could not survive to our times.

Paleogene

In the Cenozoic era, insects made a significant leap in evolution. While developing new areas, they experienced a number of adaptive changes:

• Received a variety of colors, sizes and body shapes;
• received modified limbs;
• species with complete and incomplete metamorphosis appeared.

Huge mammals lived on land. For example, a hornless rhinoceros is an indricotherium. They reached a height of about 5m, and a length of 8m. These are herbivores with massive three-toed limbs, a long neck and a small head - the largest of all mammals that have ever lived on land.

At the beginning of the Cenozoic era, insectivorous animals split into two groups and evolved in two different directions. One group began to lead a predatory lifestyle and became the ancestor of modern predators. The other part fed on plants and gave rise to ungulates.

Life in the Cenozoic in South America and Australia had its own characteristics. These continents were the first to separate from the Gondwana continent, so the evolution here was different. For a long time, the mainland was inhabited by primitive mammals: marsupials and monotremes.

Neogene

In the Neogene period, the first anthropoid apes appeared. After a cold snap and a decrease in forests, some died out, and some adapted to life in an open area. Soon primates evolved to primitive people. This is how it started Anthropogenic period.

The development of the human race was rapid. People begin to use tools to get food, create primitive weapons to protect themselves from predators, build huts, grow plants, tame animals.

The Neogene period of the Cenozoic was favorable for the development of oceanic animals. Cephalopod mollusks - cuttlefish, octopuses, which have survived to our times, began to multiply especially quickly. Remains of oysters and scallops were found among bivalves. Everywhere there were small crustaceans and echinoderms, sea urchins.

The flora of the Cenozoic era

In the Cenozoic, the dominant place among plants was occupied by angiosperms, the number of species of which increased significantly in the Paleogene and Neogene periods. The spread of angiosperms was of great importance in the evolution of mammals. Primates might not appear at all, since flowering plants serve as the main food for them: fruits, berries.

Conifers developed, but their numbers decreased significantly. The hot climate contributed to the spread of plants in the northern regions. Even beyond the Arctic Circle there were plants from the Magnolia and Beech families.

On the territory of Europe and Asia, camphor cinnamon, figs, plane trees and other plants grew. In the middle of the era, the climate changes, colds come, displacing plants to the south. The center of Europe with a warm and humid environment has become a great place for deciduous forests. Representatives of plants from the Beech (chestnuts, oaks) and Birch (hornbeam, alder, hazel) families grew here. Coniferous forests with pines and yews grew closer to the north.

After the establishment of stable climatic zones, with lower temperatures and periodically changing seasons, the flora has undergone significant changes. Evergreen tropical plants have been replaced by species with falling leaves. In a separate group among the monocots, the Cereal family stood out.

Huge territories were occupied by steppe and forest-steppe zones, the number of forests was sharply reduced, and herbaceous plants mainly developed.

NEOGENE PERIOD

The Neogene period (in translation - a newborn) is divided into two departments, the Miocene and Pliocene. During this period, Europe is connected to Asia. Two deep bays that arose on the territory of Atlantia subsequently separated Europe from North America. Africa was fully formed, the formation of Asia continued.

On the site of the modern Bering Strait, the isthmus continues to exist, connecting Northeast Asia with North America. From time to time this isthmus was flooded by a shallow sea. The oceans have taken on a modern shape. Thanks to mountain building movements, the Alps, the Himalayas, the Cordillera, and the East Asian ranges are formed. At their foot, depressions are formed, in which thick strata of sedimentary and volcanic rocks are deposited. Twice the sea flooded vast areas of the continents, laying clay, sand, limestone, gypsum, and salt. At the end of the Neogene, most of the continents are freed from the sea. The climate of the Neogene period was quite warm and humid, but somewhat cooler compared to the climate of the Paleogene period. At the end of the Neogene, it gradually acquires modern features.

The organic world is also becoming similar to the modern one. Primitive creodonts are driven out by bears, hyenas, martens, dogs, badgers. Being more mobile and having a more complex organization, they adapted to a variety of living conditions, intercepted prey from creodonts and marsupial predators, and sometimes fed on them.

Along with species that, having changed somewhat, survived to our time, there were also species of predators that died out in the Neogene. These include primarily the saber-toothed tiger. It is so named because its upper fangs were up to 15 cm long and were slightly arched. They protruded from the closed mouth of the animal. In order to use them, the saber-toothed tiger had to open its mouth wide. Tigers hunted horses, gazelles, antelopes.

The descendants of the Paleogeon Merikhippus, the Hipparions, already had teeth like those of a modern horse. Their small side hooves did not touch the ground. The hooves on the middle fingers became larger and wider. They kept the animals well on solid ground, gave them the opportunity to tear up the snow in order to extract food from under it, and protect themselves from predators.

Along with the North American center for the development of horses, there was also a European one. However, in Europe, ancient horses died out at the beginning of the Oligocene, leaving no descendants. Most likely they were exterminated by numerous predators. In America, ancient horses continued to develop. Subsequently, they gave real horses, which through the Bering Isthmus penetrated into Europe and Asia. In America, horses died out at the beginning of the Pleistocene, and large herds of modern mustangs, freely grazing on the American prairies, are distant descendants of horses brought by the Spanish colonialists. Thus, there was a kind of exchange of horses between the New World and the Old World.

Giant sloths lived in South America - megateria (up to 8 m in length). Standing on their hind legs, they ate the leaves of trees. Megatheria had a thick tail, a low skull with a small brain. Their front legs were much shorter than their hind legs. Being clumsy, they became easy prey for predators and therefore completely died out, leaving no descendants.

Changing climatic conditions led to the formation of vast steppes, which favored the development of ungulates. Numerous artiodactyls - antelopes, goats, bison, rams, gazelles, whose strong hooves were well adapted to fast running in the steppes, originated from small hornless deer that lived on swampy soil. When there were so many artiodactyls that a shortage of food began to be felt, some of them settled in new habitats: rocks, forest-steppes, deserts. From giraffe-like humpless camels living in Africa, real camels originated, inhabiting the deserts and semi-deserts of Europe and Asia. The hump with nutrients allowed camels to go without water and food for a long time.

The forests were inhabited by real deer, of which some species are still found today, while others, such as mega loceras, which were one and a half times larger than ordinary deer, have completely died out.

Giraffes lived in the forest-steppe zones, hippos, pigs, and tapirs lived near lakes and swamps. Rhinos and anteaters lived in dense bushes.

Among proboscideans appear mastodons with straight long fangs and real elephants.

Lemurs, monkeys, great apes live on trees. Some lemurs have switched to a terrestrial lifestyle. They moved on their hind legs. Reached 1.5 m in height. They ate mainly fruits and insects.

The giant bird dinornis that lived in New Zealand reached 3.5 m in height. The head and wings of the dinornis were small, the beak was underdeveloped. He moved on the ground on long strong legs. Dinornis survived until the Quaternary period and, obviously, was exterminated by man.