I'm back with a new book. This time I'm going to show you the many amazing, frightening and sometimes downright strange species that were lost to time.
There are so many creatures that once roamed planet Earth, our own little oasis in the vast expan...
As the first light of dawn rises over the outback, the sun's rays shine down on a watering hole. The trees and grasses surrounding the water make this place a magnet for the land's wildlife.
Right now, the climate is much wetter, most of Australia's coastlines are dominated by forests and beaches. But as you advance farther into the continent, the forests begin to give way to grasslands and finally deserts.
As the area's temperature gets hotter, a giant's body heat rises with it. Laying in a clearing is Bunyip, a fully grown Varanus priscus.
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Formerly known as Megalania, Varanus priscus are one of the apex predators of Australia. These giant monitor lizards typically grow to be 4.5 to 7 meters long, but just like all other Reptile species, Varanus priscus never stop growing, with older individuals reaching a length of 8 meters or more.
Suddenly, Bunyip hears something approaching him. Judging from the amount of noise that the animal is making, he figures that it's too small to be a threat.
Coming out of the tall grass is a young Aboriginal boy. This isn't the first time Bunyip has seen humans, in fact, he has eaten some in the past. The child looks at him, it's clear that he's never seen a Varanus priscus before. The boy starts getting closer to him and even reaches out to touch the lizard.
But before he can make the biggest mistake of his life, the boy is yanked away by his mother. She begins to back away, looking at her child and then to Bunyip. She knows what kind of danger he poses to their lives.
They're lucky that the giant monitor lizard is cold blooded, meaning that he needs to wait for his body to warm up; otherwise, Bunyip would have been able to kill them in an instant.
Just like all the other living organisms of the Outback, the Aborigines have come for a drink at the watering hole, but Bunyip isn't just here for water. This is a hunting ground.
Both Bunyip and other predators know that their prey congregates around the watering hole, making this area a reliable source of food. However, this also means that there's a lot of competition, and no predator is willing to share its territory with another.
As Bunyip's body temperature begins to reach a level of comfort, he uses his tongue to taste the air, trying to find out if there's anything edible in the area around him.
Just like other species of monitor lizards and snakes, Varanus priscus's tongue is used to taste air, essentially acting as a second sense of smell. The reason for the forked tongue is simple, it allows him to be able to take in smells from two different directions.
Something then catches Bunyip's attention, he knows what that smells belongs to. Just as he's registering what he's tasting, a Giant Macropus leaps into view with its mob.
