Megafauna (meg-UH-fawn-UH) or "big animals" are large animals that reach an extremely large size compared to other animals, and exist throughout time. They included animals such as the Woolly Mammoth, Spinosaurus, Brachiosaurus, Triceratops, and Megatherium, just to name a few. The criteria for being classified as megafauna depends on weight; some consider the lowest possible weight of megafauna to be 46 kg (100 lbs) while others consider the criteria to be at least one tonne (close to 2,000 lbs). This category will use between the higher limit and lower limit as a bare minimum for the category, which will be 1,000 pounds.
Megafauna throughout the eras on earth were often quadrupeds and herbivorous, however, some could stand on their hind legs, and some were fierce carnivores with some being the biggest ones in history. They were so diverse that they lived on nearly every continent, including Australia and Antarctica.
Most of the megafauna from our modern time has died out; some suspect it was either early man, which was about the time when they first started to appear in the fossil record when the megafauna started to go extinct. Others say it was climate change, since they'd adapted to cold weather and the Ice Age started to end around that time. Still some say it was disease, possibly caused by humans spreading around the world and bringing disease the Megafauna weren't immune to. Most believe, though, that it was a combination of all three, since it's pretty unlikely a single one of those caused the extinction of so many animals at a time.
All items (710)
- Abdarainurus
- Abditosaurus
- Abelisaurus
- Abydosaurus
- Acanthopholis
- Achelousaurus
- Acristavus
- Acrocanthosaurus
- Adelolophus
- Aegisuchus
- Aelurodon
- Aeolosaurus
- Aerosteon
- Aerotitan
- Aetosaurus
- Afrovenator
- Agrosaurus
- Agujaceratops
- Agustinia
- Alamosaurus
- Albertonectes
- Albertosaurinae
- Albertosaurus
- Alcovasaurus
- Alectrosaurus
- Algoasaurus
- Alioramus
- Allosauroidea
- Allosaurus
- Amanzia
- Amargasaurus
-
- Amebelodon
- Ampelosaurus
- Amphicoelias
- Amplectobelua
-
- Amurosaurus
- Amygdalodon
- Analong
- Anancus
- Ancylotherium
- Andalgalornis
- Andrewsarchus
-
- Angolatitan
- Angulomastacator
- Anodontosaurus
- Anoplosaurus
- Anteosaurus
- Antrodemus
- Aoniraptor
- Apatodon
- Apatomerus
- Apatosaurus
- Appalachiosaurus
- Aragosaurus
- Aralosaurus
- Araripemys
- Archaeoindris
- Archaeotherium
- Archbishop
- Arcovenator
-
- Argentavis
- Argentinosaurus
- Argyrosaurus
- Arthropleura
- Asiaceratops
- Asian ostrich
- Astrodon
-
- Asylosaurus
- Atacamatitan
- Atlantosaurus
- Atlas Bear
- Atlasaurus
- Atractosteus africanus
- Atsinganosaurus
- Aucasaurus
- Augustynolophus
-
-
- Australotitan
- Australovenator
- Austrosaurus
- Bahariasaurus
- Bajadasaurus
- Bakonydraco
- Bali tiger
- Barapasaurus
- Barinasuchus
- Barosaurus
- Baryonyx
- Basilosaurus
-
-
- Baurutitan
- Behemotops
- Beibeilong
- Beishanlong
- Bellusaurus
- Berberosaurus
- Bison latifrons
- Bisticeratops
- Blunt-toothed giant hutia
- Bootherium
- Borealosaurus
- Borissiakia
- Brachauchenius
- Brachiosauridae
- Brachiosaurus
- Brachytrachelopan
- Bradysaurus
- Breviparopus
- Brontomerus
- Bruhathkayosaurus
- Brygmophyseter
- Bustingorrytitan
- Buzdartherium
-
- Camarasaurus
- Camptosaurus
-
- Carbonemys
- Carcharocles chubutensis
- Carcharodon hubbelli
-
- Carcharodontosaurus
-
- Carnotaurus
- Carnufex
-
- Castoroides
- Cathartesaura
- Caucasian moose
- Cave Bear
- Cave Hyena
- Cedarosaurus
- Ceratopsidae
- Ceratosaurus
- Ceratotherium mauritanicum
- Ceratotherium neumayri
- Cetiosauriscus
- Cetiosaurus
- Chalicotherium
- Charonosaurus
- Chasmatosaurus
- Chasmosaurus
- Chenanisaurus
- Chienkosaurus
- Chilantaisaurus
- Chingkankousaurus
- Choyrodon
- Chucarosaurus
-
- Chungkingosaurus
- Coahuilaceratops
- Colossosuchus
- Columbian Mammoth
- Concavenator
- Confractosuchus
-
- Cornwallius
- Coronosaurus
- Coryphodon
- Cosmopolitodus
- Cotylorhynchus
- Cretoxyrhina
- Cristatusaurus
- Crocodylus anthropophagus
- Cruxicheiros
- Cryolophosaurus
- Cryptoclidus
- Cymbospondylus
- Daanosaurus
- Dactylosaurus
- Daeodon
- Daspletosaurus
- Datousaurus
- Daxiatitan
- Dearc
- Deinocheirus
- Deinosuchus
- Deinotherium
- Delectosaurus
- Deltadromeus
- Denversaurus
- Desmostylus
- Diabloceratops
- Dicynodontia
- Dinheirosaurus
- Dinopithecus
- Dinosauria
- Diorocetus
- Diplodocidae
-
- Diplodocus
- Diprotodon
- Discokeryx