From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The term megafauna (Ancient Greek megas "large" + New Latin fauna "animal") has two distinct meanings in the biological sciences. The less commonly found meaning is of any animal which can be seen with the unaided eye, in contrast to microfauna. The more commonly found meaning, discussed in this article, is of "giant", "very large" or "large" animals — although there is no standard definition of a minimum size.
In practice the most common usage encountered in academic and popular writing describes land animals roughly larger than a human which are not (solely) domesticated. The term is especially associated with the Pleistocene megafauna — the giant and very large land animals considered archetypical of the last ice age such as mammoths.[1] It is also commonly used for the largest wild land animals surviving today, especially elephants, giraffes, hippopotamuses, rhinoceroses, moose, condors, etc.
Other common uses are for giant aquatic species, especially whales, any larger wild or domesticated land animals such as larger antelope and cattle, and dinosaurs and other extinct giant reptilians.
Some technical definitions of size however go down to as small as 40-45kg (90 lbs)[2][3] and thus encompass a great many animals commonly regarded as not especially large, such as goats and (larger) domestic dogs.
The term is also sometimes applied to animals (usually extinct) of great size relative to a more common or surviving type of the animal, for example the 1m (3 ft) dragonflies of the Carboniferous age.
[edit] Ecological Strategy of Megafauna
Megafauna — in the sense of the largest mammals and birds — are generally K-strategists, with great longevity, slow population growth rates, low death rates, and few or no natural predators capable of killing adults. These characteristics, although not exclusive to such megafauna, make them highly vulnerable to human over-exploitation.
[edit] Megafauna Mass Extinctions
The two most well-known mass extinctions of megafauna are the Cretaceous–Tertiary extinction event in which the dinosaurs and most other giant reptilians were wiped out, and the Pleistocene-Holocene extinction event at the end of the last ice age in which the giant ice age animals such as mammoths were wiped out.
[edit] Examples of megafauna
[edit] Pre-Pleistocene Megafauna
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Certain birds like Argentavis had 8 meter wingspans.
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[edit] Temperate Forest Megafauna
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Thylacines were the largest marsupial carivores at the time.
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[edit] Coniferous Forest Megafauna
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Kodiak Bears are very large predators, full grown males can weigh as much as 477-534 kg (1,051-1,177 lb).
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[edit] Tropical Forest Megafauna
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Anacondas can swallow prey as large as caimans or capybaras.
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[edit] Highland Megafauna
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Any male silverback gorilla is mighty, they can weigh 204–227 kg (350–500 lb).
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[edit] Desert Megafauna
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All Dromedary Camels have been domesticated, yet some still roam feral in Australia.
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[edit] Grassland Megafauna
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Elephants are considered the largest living land animals on Earth, if humans didn't hunt them, then they wouldn't have any real predators.
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[edit] Freshwater Megafauna
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Fishermen are often trying to reel in big catches. The Nile Perch can grow to be 200 kg (440 lb).
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[edit] Marine Megafauna
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The largest living animals on the planet (whales) feed on the smallest (krill).
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[edit] Polar Megafauna
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Many large mammals such as mammoths, rhinos, and lions inhabited places like Siberia during the Pleistocene.
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[edit] Domestic and Urban Megafauna
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- Pig (Sus scrofa scrofa)
- Rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus)
Certain breeds of rabbit have been bred to be very large. Certain breeds, like the Flemish Giant and German Gray can get to be over 10 kg (23 lb).
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[edit] Hybrid Megafauna
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Strangely, the Liger can get heavier than any Siberian Tiger, the largest at 408.25 kg (900 lb).
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[edit] See also
[edit] References
