What is the megafauna and examples

The term megafauna depends on the context in which it is used. Mastozoological use the term to refer to large animals that are greater than 45 kilos, while other fauna researchers use it to refer to animals that are up in the trophic chain.

However, most scientific literature use this term to refer to huge terrestrial animals of prehistoric times of the late Pleistocene to the Holocene, that is, for approximately 46,000 to 1,420 years before the present. This period is known as the extinction of Megafauna of the Quaternary, which was caused by climatic causes and glacial cycles, but curiously it also coincided with the arrival of the population of the Homo sapiens.

The behavior of the man at that time was not very different from today. The man began to hunt the existing faunaespecially the megafauna that because it is larger, it covered its needs better. They ended up exceeding until they reached the point of overcock. Today, it is still torn which of these two scenarios is the most plausible, although with the new findings there are more studies that are inclined to the hypothesis of the overlapping.

This armadillo (Northern holmesine) He lived in America, from Mexico to the United States during Pleistocene. It weighed 200 kilos and measured 1 meter Height to the cross, that is, to the shoulders when they are on all fours, 2.5 meters long. This species was omnivorous, although it also fed on some insects. The flexible plates he had in the shell helped him defend himself from his predators.

You can read more information about which animals are omnivorous in this other article that we recommend.

Gender Mammuthus It belonged to the same family as the elephants and existed from the Pliocene to the Holocene. They possessed proboscis, long fangs, bulky head and, in case of living cold areas, they had a thick fur that covered their entire body. Its teeth is particular because, like elephants, they had high and created molars to avoid wear that their herbivorous diet could generate.

The mammoths M. Sungarithe biggest ones that existed, measured 5 meters high and 9 meters longbut there were also dwarves, like M. Primigenius which measured just 1 meter high. All mammoth genres were extinguished, regardless of whether they were giant or not. They are different from gender Mammutwhich belong to the family Mammutidae.

Here you can find more information about why the mammoths were extinguished in this Ecology Verde article.

Known as the giant lazy people commonly, the megaterios (Megatherium) They are animals that could measure up to 6 meters high. Unlike the current lazy people who hang from the trees, they were terrestrial. They fed on two legs and helped their huge nails to sustain trees of those who fed. Also They used these nails To defend oneself or even to dig in search of edible tubers. This kind of megafauna existed from the Pleistocene to the Holocene.

The gonfoteries (Gomphotheriidae) They were proboscides, in addition to being the current relatives of the elephants and mammoths. They had a Very elongated and short trunk facetwo pairs of fangs that came out of their mouths, with those below inclined inwards. Your appearance Remember one mixture between tapir and wild boar. The reduced skull could house less molars than the other proboscides and could measure up to 3 meters high. He lived near bodies of water, from the Miocene to the Holocene.

Image: Wikiwand

Although gonfoterios no longer exists, as we have mentioned, their physical appearance resembles that of the tapir. You can discover why the tapir is in danger of extinction today in this post of Ecology Verde.

This feline (Thylacoleo Carnifex) It weighed 160 kilos and measured 75 centimeters high. This kind of megafauna existed during the Pleistocene and was extinguished 50,000 years ago. It was about larger carnivorous animal on the Australian continent. He had hunting skills as well as today’s felids, with silent attack strategies accompanied by attacks based on sharp claws and fangs.

If you are curious about Australian animals, here we bring you a list with 19 animals in danger of extinction in Australia.

The caverns bear (Ursus Spelaeus) was larger than the Kodiak bear, the current giant bear. Average 1.3 meters high and 2.6 meters longthat when standing on two legs it reached 3 meters. It weighed up to 700 kilos and occupied a long range of space, covering practically all of Europe during the Pleistocene. His name is because Caverns inhabitedused to achieve their hibernation periods that could share with prehistoric humans.

You can find out more information about which animals hibernate and why reading this post of ecology Verde.

Next, we will name another series of extinct giant species to know more details of the subject.

• Megalodon (Carcharocles Megalodon). A shark that measured up to 20 meters in length, with a weight of 50 tons and was three times greater than the current large white shark.
• Aesop’s swimmer pork (Neochoerus Aesopi). Similar to the capibaras, but weighed up to 170 kilos. Inhabited in Mexico.
• Giant kangaroo (Procoptodon Goliah). He had the ability to lift his arms on himself to tear branches from the trees. It measured two meters and had legs similar to horse helmets.
• Saber teeth (Populator Smilodon). He lived in South America, with a height of 1.20 and a weight of up to 400 kilos. His name alluded to his long teeth of up to 19 centimeters.
• Giant dragonfly (Meganeura). It was an 80 centimeter dragonfly, from wing to wing, which lived with the first insects during the carboniferous.
• Steller marine cow (Hydrodamalis gigas). The largest sirenium that has existed, 10 meters long and a weight of up to 10 tons. He managed to survive the extinctions of the quaternary, but he was eliminated, it was barely discovered, in the 18th century, by the intense human hunt. If you are interested in the issue, you can also read about the causes and consequences of poaching in animals here.
• Megalócero (Megalocerus giantus). Known as the Giant Alce, it had antlers of an impressive size of up to 3.5 meters from side to side. His body was proportional, which measured approximately 2 meters.
• Giant Arctic camel. The Arctic inhabited global warming seasons, which had no perpetual ice and was rather a forest. He measured 30 % more than current camels.
• Pelagornis (Pelagornis Sandersi). They were sea birds of the Pleistocene, with a size of 7 meters of size and that has positioned them as the largest birds that have existed.

To the mass extinctions of the quaternary they managed to survive some species that today share time and space with us. These are some of those examples:

African elephant (African loxodonta)

The African elephant is the largest land animal that exists, with a height of 4 meters and weight of 5 tons. They are larger than Asian elephants and, like their relatives of extinct probosis, they have a pair of distinctive fangs and long presile tubes with which they help themselves for endless activities.

Caribbean manatee (Trichechus manatus)

It is the biggest sirenium that survives. It can measure up to 4.6 meters with a weight of up to 1,500 kilos. He is a relative of the extinct Steller marine cow.

European bisonte (Bison bonasus)

It is the largest mammal in Europe. It is the result of hybridization between two extinct bison, Bison Priscus and Bos Primigeniusso it represents a bridge between prehistoric times with current modernity.

Recall that the last mass extinction was largely generated by humans. This puts us to rethink our current role as unsustainable natural resources predators. While there is still megafauna, we must begin to change our devastating anthropogenic behavior to preserve the biodiversity that still exists and has an intrinsic biological value.

We leave you this ecology article about the extinction of species: what is, causes and consequences.

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