Lesson plan
Cat gap
The cat gap is a period in the fossil record of approximately 25 million to 18.5 million years ago in which there is an absence of cat-like species found in North America following the extinction of nimravids. The cause of the "cat gap" is disputed, but it may have been caused by changes in the climate (global cooling), changes in the habitat and ecosystem, the increasingly hypercarnivorous trend of the cat-like nimravids, volcanic activity, evolutionary changes in dental morphology of the Canidae species present in North America, or a periodicity of extinctions called van der Hammen cycles.
Article summary
The cat gap is a period in the fossil record of approximately 25 million to 18.5 million years ago in which there is an absence of cat-like species found in North America following the extinction of nimravids. The cause of the "cat gap" is disputed, but it may have been caused by changes in the climate (global cooling), changes in the habitat and ecosystem, the increasingly hypercarnivorous trend of the cat-like nimravids, volcanic activity, evolutionary changes in dental morphology of the Canidae species present in North America, or a periodicity of extinctions called van der Hammen cycles.
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Discussion questions
- Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
- Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
- If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?
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Key claims and bibliography are generated from the same tracked claims and sources as the article page.