Everything about Megafauna totally explained
Megafauna are species of large
animals (
Greek μεγας, large, + modern
Latin fauna, animal).
Definitions of what constitutes 'large' vary, with some authors using a 40 kg minimum, others 44 kg, 45 kg, 100 kg, or 250 kg. In the last case, they may be further subdivided into small (250–500 kg), medium (500–1,000 kg) and large (over 1,000 kg) megafauna.
The term is also used to refer to particular groups of large animals, both to extant species and, more often, those that have become
extinct in the geologically recent
Quaternary period.
Megafauna animals 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 make megafauna highly vulnerable to human exploitation. Some authors have argued that this reproductive capacity and ecological behaviour are more important than size alone, with some much smaller animals with very low reproductive rates showing 'megafauna' characteristics, such as all
Tachyglossidae (echidnas) and
Megatherioidea (two-toed sloths) above 7 kg and 6 kg respectively, having become extinct in late Quaternary megafaunal extinctions.
Recent extinctions
Many species of megafauna have become extinct within the last million years, and, although some biologists dispute it, human
hunting is often cited as the cause. Other theories for the cause of the extinctions are climatic change associated with
glaciation and the questionable hyperdisease hypothesis.
Domestic Megafauna
Freshwater Megafauna
Chinook Salmon (Oncohynchus tshawtscha)
Giant Barb (Catlocarpio siamensis)
Wels Catfish (Silurus glanis)
Cane Toad (Bufo marinus)
Prinosuchus †
Oceanian Megafauna
Antilopine Kangaroo (Marcopus antilopinus)
Australian Pelican (Pelecanus conspicillatus)
Blue Whale (Balaenoptera musculus)
Bryde's Whale (Balaenoptera brydei)
Bluff Down Crocodile † (Quinkana)
Bluff Down Euryzygoma † (Euryzygoma dunese)
Bluff Down Giant Python †
Brolga (Grus rubicunda)
Bush Moa† (Anomalopteryx didifromis)
Carnivorus Kangaroo † (Propleopus oscillans)
Carpet Python (Morelia spilota)
Cassowary (Casuarius casuarius)
Congruus †
Dingo (Canis dingo)
Diprotodon †
Eastern Grey Kangaroo (Marcopus gigantea)
Emu (Dromaius novaehollandiae)
Eurapteryx†
Fin Whale (Balaenoptera physalus)
Genyornis † (Genyorns newtoni)
Giant Echidna † (Zaglossus hacketii)
Giant Kangaroo † (Simosthenurus occidentalis)
Giant Maleefowl † (Leipoa gallinacea)
Giant Platypus † (Ornithorhynchus maximus)
Giant Koala † (Phascolarctos stroni)
Great Tasmanian Devil † (Sarcophilus laniarius)
Giant Wallaby † (Protemnodon otibandus)
Goanna (Varanus giganteus)
Gould's Monitor (Varanus gouldi)
Humpback Whale (Megaptera novaeangliae )
King Island Emu † (Dromaius ater)
Killer Whale (Orcinus orca)
Megalania prisca †
Marsupial Lion † (genus Thylacoleo)
Moa †
Minke Whale (Balaeonptera acutorostrata)
New Zealand Eagle † (Harpagornis moorei)
New Zealand Giant Penguin † (Pachydyptes ponderosus)
New Zealand white shark † (Carcharodon angustidens)
Ninjemys Turtle †
Pacyhornis †
Palorchestes †
Procoptodon †
Red Kangaroo (Marcopus rufus)
Saltwater Crocodile (Crocodylus porosus)
Sei Whale (Balaenoptera borealis)
Stirton's Thunder Bird † (Dromornis stirtoni)
Tasmanian Tiger † (Thylacinus cynocephalus)
Taniwhasaurus †
Warrendja †
Wonambi †
Zygomaturus †
Further Information
Get more info on 'Megafauna'.
|
External Link Exchanges
Do you know how hard it is to get a link from a large encyclopaedia? Well we're different and will prove it. To get a link from us just add the following HTML to your site on a relevant page:
<a href="http://megafauna.totallyexplained.com">Megafauna Totally Explained</a>
Then simply click through this link from your web page. Our crawlers will verify your link, extract the title of your web page and instantly add a link back to it. If you like you can remove the words Totally Explained and embed the link in article text.
As long as your link remains in place, we'll keep our link to you right here. Please play fair - our crawlers are watching. Your site must be closely related to this one's topic. Any kind of spamming, dubious practises or removing the link will result in your link from us being dropped and, potentially, your whole site being banned. |
