Jun 9
Run where they can't follow.
For decades, we've thought that pronghorns evolved for speed because of Miracynonix, or the American cheetah, which preyed on them extensively during the Pleistocene. However, in February, new fossil evidence suggested that ancestors of pronghorns began this process at least 5 million years before the appearance of Miracynonix. We typically think of predators as trailblazers, as shapers of the world -- but don't often consider that it may have been the prey that changed them.
Extinct animals from left to right: Miracynonix trumani, Chasmaporthetes ossifragus, and Titanis walleri
#also something something about outliving your persecutors and defying the narrative of being a helpless victim#anyways can you tell I'm learning how to do backgrounds#pronghorn#paleoart#american cheetah#Miracynonix trumani#running hyena#chasmaporthetes ossifragus#titanis walleri#titanis#paleontology#digital art#art#aart
