ExtinctZoo - The Extinct Animals The First Humans Saw

Episode Date: March 1, 2025

Ever imagined what the very first modern humans would have saw on their journeys in late Pleistocene Africa? Well imagine no further, here's the answer!Also stay tuned for a special guest on this episode...

You said this place was steps from the water. We just haven't found the steps yet. How much did we save? Enough. Enough to get lost. Or you could book a stay with Hilton. Welcome to your ocean front room. Just steps from the water.

The Hilton sale is on now. Book on Hilton.com or the Hilton app and save up to 20% to get the stay you expected. When you want savings, not surprises. It matters where you stay. Hilton for the stay. No one goes to Hank's for his spreadsheets. They go for a darn good pizza.

Lately, though, the shop's been quiet. So Hank decides to bring back the $1 slice. He asks Copilot in Microsoft Excel to look at his sales and costs. To help him see if he can afford it. Co-pilot shows Hank where the money's going and which little extras make the dollar slice work. Now, Hanks has a line out the door. Hank makes the pizza.

Co-Pilot handles the spreadsheets. Learn more at M365Copilot.com slash work. If you condense the history of life into a single 24-hour day, then modern humans, a.k.a. Homo sapiens, appeared less than 8 seconds ago. In other words, we ain't that old. And yet, in those few seconds, which represent our roughly 350,000 years of existence, the Earth has changed. In some ways, not a lot, but in other ways, an impressive amount.

And if you were somehow sent back to when humans first appeared, you'd see a lot of strange stuff. But what exactly would you see? At the time, homo sapiens were restricted to continental Africa and stayed there for quite some time, not budging all that much until anatomically modern people finally dispersed about 70,000 or so years ago, or at least that's the dispersal whose descendants survived to populate the world. During this long period of hunkering down within Africa, our ancestors would have encountered a myriad of different biomes, and more importantly, animals, that sadly, or gladly, depending on how you look at it,

no longer breathe or walk on the face of the earth. Off the top of your head, you may be imagining some things like saber-toothed tigers, crazy-looking stegodons, and other strange Pleistocene or Ice-aged animals. And though such creatures were found in the rest of the world, they weren't what the first modern people saw. And actually, many of the iconic animals we associate with recent prehistory either never lived in Africa or had fully disappeared from the continent by the time we evolved. Instead, Africa was on a very different path compared to other areas, with the now extinct animals there,

following a trend of looking a lot like the ones we still have today, but just being slightly off, which is nicely exemplified by the paleo-oxidon. Besides their noticeable bone growths on top of their schools, this extinct elephant looked a lot like the living, especially if you saw one from afar. But if you did happen to walk up to it, you notice that its proportions were all wrong, as this mammal was an absolute giant, and is currently considered the largest mammal to have ever walked the earth, though at the same time, it is also the smallest elephant to have ever lived as well. And how is that possible, you ask?

Well, there were multiple species belonging to this genus, that greatly varied in size, to say the least. Most of which were extinct by the late Pleistocene, while the majority of the then-remaining were found outside of Africa, leaving only one species left that the early modern humans witnessed. The Paleo-Oxidon, Jelensis. This 130,000-year-old species was not the largest paleooxidon, but it was definitely up there, likely having been a direct descendant of the second largest member, the Recki. And from what little remains we have, it seems that Jelensis was fairly identical in size to its predecessor,

which is crazy considering that the Recki was recently estimated to have stood at 4.2 meters or 13.9 feet at the shoulders, while weighing 15.3 tons, making it not only heavier than every theropod ever, but also 50% bigger than the heaviest African bush elephant known. So with that said, you probably are not surprised to hear that this size extended to its tusks as well. But even for a 15-ton elephant, their tusks were abnormally massive, as paleoloxidon in general had the longest tusk to body ratio of any known elephant, resulting in tusks as long as the entire bodies of certain elephant species. These tusks were also straighter than normal and closer to the ground, allowing the gelatinus to easily strike

smaller objects and interact with the ground, perhaps using its tusks as a shovel in certain situations. And to make this mammal just a little bit more menacing, those protuberances on its skull that I mentioned are believed to have served the purpose of enhancing the tusks' lethality, being an anchor point for a bunch of large muscles that supported their heads, thus letting them swing their weapons around with even greater might and speed. So by now you'd think that any sensible creature would have realized that you do not want to mess with a supercharged giant elephant. And yet researchers believe that modern humans might have actually hunted these units. As while no concrete proof exists, we do know that other homo-species in Eurasia

were able to habitually hunt and butcher paleoloxidons of similar size, using weapons like spears. And not to mention, we also had javelins at this point as well. Now, this being said, if hunting did occur, it was likely not an everyday coincidence. considering that paleo-loxidon was the largest animal on the entire continent, and thus any attempt would bear a plethora of risks. And not to mention, there were plenty of other megafaunal animals to choose from, that were both smaller and less equipped. And while this many times made for easier hunting, smaller doesn't always translate too easy. And a good example of that is synchorus antichus, colloquially known as the giant buffalo. Despite being many times smaller than paleooxidon,

this extinct bovid was still an absolute menace to society, and is actually the largest bovid to have ever lived in Africa, with adults measuring some three meters or ten feet long, and standing 6.1 feet or 1.85 meters tall at the withers. So in other words, taller than most mooses. There were also completely roped in dense muscles and sported robust bones, giving them some heft, with larger males routinely cracking 2.2 tons, similar to the weight of a white rhino, the largest rhino on earth today. And when making this comparison, you have to remember that rhinos basically a flipping armor-like skin, thus bulking up their weight, while synchorus Antichus was just pure muscle, bone, and a little keratin. As these guys also had horns, that would have put rhinos to shame. With each jutting out to the side, being slightly curved and very, very long.

Possibly reaching more than one meter or three feet each, almost resembling those seen in water buffaloes to who it is closely related. And in larger individuals, it's thought that these horns could have been three meters, or 10 feet from tip to tip. So equivalent to the length of a basketball hoop and longer than the horns of most serotopsids, including some that were nearly three times its body size. So in order to accommodate this size and massive body, the giant bowl likely needed to graze huge quantities of foliage,

which in conjunction with presumed large herds resulted in this bovid having profound impacts on the environment it lived in, with their movements paving large paths. Due to this trait, they would have been quite easy to track, allowing for some of the braver predators, like humans perhaps, to go after them. Though finding one was significantly easier than killing one, considering that they were not afraid in the slightest to use their horns,

something we know thanks to actual recordings, coming from ourselves. You see, these bowls routinely featured in cave art around Africa, which often depicted them in the midst of a battle, typically with other bulls, with most having a face-down stance, using their horns to ram into their foes. And in fact, these fights were so common that they hold the title for the most depictions of violence, strongly suggesting that this bovid had a fairly short temper. It also probably helped that it likely could run at top speeds of 35 miles or 56 kilometers per hour, meaning that anything it made contact with, besides maybe a paleooxidon, was getting absolutely bodied.

Of course, though, despite their huge horns, size and ferocity, this did not stop us again from hunting them, nor did it stop the other us. and by that, I'm talking about other humans. As you likely know, multiple homo species have walked the earth, but people tend to forget that it wasn't just a straight ladder down to us, with each one succeeding the last. Instead, there was a surprising amount of overlap, which basically climaxed during the time of the first modern humans.

As roughly 300,000 years ago, there were four homo species living in Africa at the same time, not necessarily in the same places per se, but close enough that we might have run in to each one separately, And along with Sapiens, this included the Nelletti, Rhodesiensis, and the Heidelbergensis. So quite a range. By this time, a couple of them had been around for hundreds of thousands of years, while we, on the other hand, were rather fresh-faced. And though all bore a lot of similarities to us, it's still reasonable to think that some of these guys were seen as not like us by our predecessors,

especially the Noletti, the oddest of the bunch. This archaic human was fairly primitive compared to the rest, and was rather Australopithecus-like, who was an even earlier hominin from which the homogenous descended from. Like our progenitor, the Noletti had a knack for trees, as its body build and design implied a more arboreal lifestyle and reduced the ability to run efficiently on land. They were also quite petite compared to us, being one of the smallest humans ever,

and had small brains to match, with so far no material culture being assigned to them, which potentially highlights a lesser level of technology that might have made them unable to compete against us or the other Homo species. Furthermore, their diets were quite uncompetitive too, consisting of gritty food that was picked up from the floor and was covered in dust or dirt, which is reflected by their typically eroded teeth. So it would have been quite clear to modern humans that these guys are quite different.

But a much more gray line occurred with the rest, specifically the Heidelbergensis. While the Noletti is known purely from South Africa, Heidelbergensis is known from various African countries. Plus, it did eventually leave the continent as well. Overall, they were fairly comparable to modern humans, sharing our height and having a similar brain size. Where they differed, though, was that they were a bit more Neanderthal-like, possessing wide chests and robust frames that made them more durable and most likely stronger than we were. So let's just say, in a scrap between them and us, I know who I bet on, at least. They also had technology that matched ours, with the remains routinely being associated with, fire usage, primitive buildings, spears, hand tools, and even art.

And these advancements ultimately allowed them to spread far and wide, inhabiting a large range in Africa, where they enjoyed a diet largely composed of meat as they were specialized in taking out a large game. In this overlap in both diet and range could technically have caused confrontations with homo sapiens, where violence may have occurred. Although, interestingly enough, there is a chance that any interaction might have been solved with words, not violence, or rather, I should say sounds, as studies on their hyoid bone and middle ears found that they theoretically could have had human-like speech and possessed an early form of language, which subsequently would have helped with teamwork. And sure enough, some sites do demonstrate advanced cooperation,

including one in Kenya consisting of over 50 butchered Theripithecus Oswaldes, showcasing that the Heidelbregenses meant business. And this, business, likely extended to the Rhodesiansis, a slightly older homo who is known from Zambia and was so similar to the Heidelbergensis, that a lot of people actually think that it's a synonym for Heidelbergensis, instead of it being its own genus. But whatever the case, it's at least clear that these two were intelligent and fairly modern human-like, making any contact between them and us a topic of great interest.

Although for now, no evidence of direct interactions are known of. But there is at least one study that claims that we did, to a degree, interbreed with the Heidelbergensis in sub-Saharan Africa. And in fact, there are some who actually believe that they are the direct ancestors. to us. However, I will mention that this has gotten quite the pushback in recent years, but technically is still a possibility, yet just one fogged in mystery. And just like our cloudy interactions with fellow homo species, another area of uncertainty swirls around just about the scariest baboon-like creature nature's ever created, the dynopithecus. For now, it's

basically a gamble if this primate ever met sapiens, as it's super limited in the fossil record, and there's a chance that it went extinct by the time we showed up. But it was such an odd and scary creature that I feel like I've got to mention it. And with a name literally meaning terrible ape, dynopithecus was a primate larger than the average man, with some specimens reaching 77 kilograms were 170 pounds in weight, and came equipped with deceptively powerful muscles in a giant skull that housed menacing canines 20% bigger than those seen in the largest baboons today. So far, fossil remains are only known from South Africa and Ethiopia, where it is believed to have lived a bit like baboons, sticking mainly to the ground and roaming the low.

lands as opposed to swinging from trees, and thus making possible run-ins all the more likely if they did align time-wise. However, unlike baboons, indifferent to most of its close relatives, the dynopithecus seldomly ate grass or savanna-related foods, instead gorging itself on fruits, and perhaps even the odd piece of meat or two. As paleontologists believe it was an opportunistic feeder, likely eating more flesh than the vast majority of primates did up until that point. Furthermore, thanks to its size and wicked canines, some have speculated that earlier and small homo species may have made up this occasional snack, with the only silver lining here being that thanks to our size and technology, we at least were most likely in the clear.

And obviously I don't wish anything bad on our ancestors, but it would be cool if they really did live with this essentially roided out baboon. In addition to this guy, there was another animal that matched the dynopithecus's weirdness despite not being nearly as dangerous, who definitely did live. amongst us, the Rusyn Goryx, also known as the dinosaur wildebeest. Yes, it did look slightly off compared to living artiodactyls, thanks to its long and thickened neck, but you wouldn't be able to tell it was bizarre by just using your eyes. Instead, you would have had to use your ears, as while this animal did not look like a dinosaur,

it did surely sound like one, namely a hadrosaur. When they were first discovered, paleontologists noted that within their skulls, Rusen Gorix possessed large trumpet-like nasal structures that were unlike. like anything seen in other mammals, yet were eerily similar to those found in hadrosaurs. And actually, its design is so unique that researchers don't even know of any other animal besides lambiosaurings with such anatomy. The researchers who discovered this creature believe that it convergingly evolved this instrument thanks to its shared lifestyle with hadosaurs, as both lived in large herds in relatively open areas,

and as such, a unique form of communication would have come in handy. Additionally, both hadresors and the Rusyn Goryx had very specialized diets and therefore teeth, which indirectly might have led them to developing unique skull structures, and thus resulting in their unique nasal passages. And in the case of the Rusyn Gorix, it's thought that they were able to create sounds so much lower than their normal vocal ranges that they could achieve infrasound if they wanted to, a frequency that is too low for humans to hear.

In other words, they could literally be having a shouting match and still be library appropriate. it. And maybe this silence might have made you hungry. And I say this because out of the animals on the list so far, the Rusyn Gorix is the only one known with skeletal evidence confirming predation by sapiens, with a group located in Kenya having butchered marks and being found right next to human tools. And the way in which the group died implied that humans likely hunted this wildebeest, sized bovid, and mass, with some even speculating that humans is what ultimately led to their extinction. And another animal that has joined them in extinction, but like, not through humans, is one that at first glance seems to be a very familiar face, the Matridiokiris,

an extinct swine that could very well have taken Pumba's place in Lion King, as it was superficially an almost exact copy of the warthogs we know of today. And sure enough, it is thought to be a direct ancestor of theirs too. The big difference is, though, was that this warthog-like animal was a chunkster, with the average specimen being as large as the biggest warthogs currently alive, with most having measured about 5 feet or 1.52 meters. And this is impressive in all, yet where things really get crazy is in the weight department, because though you can find war dogs today that match their length, the matriotio chyrus was extremely compact.

So compact, in fact, that one of the species is literally called the compactus, and individuals could weigh more than twice that of a wartog of the same length does, with some estimates even suggesting a weight of over half a ton in bigger specimens. So basically a horse, but wartox shape. And as you know, war dogs can be a bit testy and aggressive, likely a shared trait in this ancient swine. A possibility made scarier by the fact that Matridiokurus had four tusks, which were proportionally longer, sharper, and more straight than the other seen today, making their heads almost look like a stegasaurus is stagamizer. And like its living relatives, Matridiokuris likely used these tusks for a variety of functions,

including fighting. So you would definitely have wanted to steer clear from the sky, which is a bit challenging as they were found across a good chunk of the continent, and were typically out and about living grazing lifestyles. In this animal, nor the others mentioned, were not the only familiar faces present, as back then you also had many more kinds of rhinos, zebras, and giraffes. But unlike the swine, they weren't necessarily monstrous in size compared to their relatives. But they did bring their own uniqueness. For example, there was a species of zebra that was found in the Sahara,

which is today a zebra-less place. Then you also had a giraffe that was slightly taller than modern ones, which also liked to travel outside of Africa, occasionally, with most fossils actually being known from Turkey. And then, perhaps most interestingly of all, you had a hairy rhinoceros, specifically the Stefano rhinos, hemitoicus, or the steppe rhinos, for short. Unlike today, this rhino could be found in northern Africa, over 200,000 years ago. And compared to the living rhinos, the steppe rhino preferred slightly colder habitats, which likely led to its sparse hairy coat that made it almost. resemble a woolly rhino, albeit just not as big, being more comparable to the white rhinoceros. And despite being called this step rhino, you could actually find this rhino patrolling forests and woodland areas, where we know it frequently came into contact with people. And how do we know

this, you ask? Well, I'll let North O2 explain. Hominins have been hunting megafauna for hundreds of thousands of years, including the first modern humans. Multiple sites have shown us evidence of hunting and butchering of this animal, including a set of stone tools in Jordan dating to around 250,000 years ago. It may sound far-fetched that ancient humans would have been able to take down such a large animal with only simple tools, though through experimentation, I have found these weapons to be capable of much more than you would think. Simple wooden javelins are able to easily pierce the vitals if they slip between the ribs,

while stone points are even able to smash through bone. By this time, humans had developed sophisticated stone tools. which were hafted on spears, and presumably thrown. These people would have been able to take down any animal in their world with the right strategy. There is also evidence that we viewed this creature with high esteem and respect, at least if it is believed to be cognates with Neanderthals as a step-rano was one of the few animals that occasionally became trophies for Neanderthal hunters, with skulls being kept presumably as prizes. Funny enough though, while this animal has a lot of evidence for being hunted, a study found

that there is little evidence to support that its disappearance some 35,000 years ago was tied to human over hunting. Though as with many other Pleistocene extinctions, it is a matter of debate. After this video, come on over to my channel to learn about the fearsome animals the first Native Americans encountered, the evidence we have of their interactions, and the effectiveness of their stone tool technology. Back to Extinct Zoo. And this generally follows the trend, because while many animals did go extinct in Africa

during the late Pleistocene, they seem to have been doomed with or without. us. And compared to the rest of the world, Africa did manage to retain a remarkable amount of its megafauna. A prime reason why extinct humans actually did not see a crazy amount of odd creatures. Because simply put, the weirdest ones are still with us. And let's try to keep it that way. Thanks for watching. And until next time, on extinct zoo. Yamava Resort and Casino at San Manuel is California's number one entertainment destination for today's superstars. Catch the Jonas Brothers return to the Yamava Theater Stage on April 30th, the powerful vocals of Demi Lovato on May 17th,

and the signature Southern Country Rock of Eric Church on July 19th. Tickets on sale now at yamava Theater.com, only at Yamava Resort and Casino, celebrating its 40th anniversary. U.N. must be 21 to enter. Ambition comes in all shapes and sizes. At First Citizens Bank, we roll with your goals because we're built for what you're building.

Fit for your ambition for Citizens Bank. Thank you.