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PASSAGE 21

Twenty-three million years ago, a giant carnivore larger than any modern-day lion or polar bear stalked

sub-Saharan Africa, according to the fossils of a previously undiscovered species that spent decades in a

museum drawer at the National Museums of Kenya. The fossils were originally found in Kenya decades

ago, but at that time researchers were searching for ancient apes, so the fossils were put aside.

The skull of the fossil is comparable to that of a rhinoceros, and given its size and giant sharp teeth, the

carnivore was at the head of its food chain. Researchers estimate that it weighed 1.6 tons and could prey

on large herbivores akin to today’s elephant and hippopotamus. Its canine teeth and molars would have

been able to tear flesh and crack bones easily.

The researchers dubbed the newly discovered species Simbakubwa kutokaafrika, which is Swahili for

“big lion coming from Africa.” But it’s not a close relative of lions, other big cats or even mammalian

carnivores that roam the Earth today. Instead, Simbakubwa was part of the hyaenodonts, an extinct group

of mammalian carnivores that lived in Africa.

After the extinction of dinosaurs, they enjoyed a 45 million-year reign as the key predators. Additionally,

tectonic plates shifted, allowing Simbakubwa to cross a landbridge into Eurasia and flourish on other

continents, as well. And even though they lived for millions of years, they went extinct between 15

million and 18 million years ago.

“We don’t know exactly what drove hyaenodonts to extinction, but ecosystems were changing quickly as

the global climate became drier. The gigantic relatives of Simbakubwa were among the last hyaenodonts

on the planet,” said Matthew Borths, study author and curator of the Division of Fossil Primates at Duke

University. Nancy Stevens, study co-author and professor in the Heritage College of Osteopathic

Medicine at Ohio University, noted in a statement that “This is a pivotal fossil, demonstrating the

significance of museum collections for understanding evolutionary history. Simbakubwa is a window into

a bygone era. As ecosystems shifted, a key predator disappeared, heralding Cenozoic faunal transitions

that eventually led to the evolution of the modern African fauna.”

(Adapted from https://edition.cnn.com)

Question 1. The passage primarily concerns which of the following?

A. The characteristics of an ancient species called hyaenodonts.

B. The study of fossils and ancient dinosaurs in Kenya.

C. The largest and oldest living carnivore.

D. The discovery of an ancient carnivore’s fossils in Africa.

Question 2. What can be inferred from the first paragraph?

A. The fossils did not attract scientists or reasearcher’s attention for years.

B. Reasearchers in Kenya ignored the fossils because they were incompetent.

C. The fossils are a relatively recent discovery.

D. Ancient apes lived in Kenya in the distant past, along with the fossils.

Question 3. The word “akin” in the second paragraph most likely means

.

A. hostile

B. dangerous

C. similar

D. independent

Question 4. The word “it” in the second paragraph refers to

.

A. A rhinoceros

B. The skull

C. Food chain

D. The carnivore