megafauna
|me-ga-fau-na|
/ˌmɛɡəˈfɔːnə/
very large animals
Etymology
'megafauna' originates from Greek and Latin, specifically the Greek word 'megas' and the Latin word 'fauna', where 'megas' meant 'great' and 'fauna' referred to animal life (the Latin term is associated with the Roman goddess 'Fauna').
'megas' (Greek) and 'fauna' (Latin) were combined in modern scientific coinage in the 19th–20th centuries to produce the compound 'megafauna' used in ecology and paleontology.
Initially it meant 'great or very large animal life'; over time the term came to be used more specifically in ecology and paleontology to denote very large-bodied species (including extinct Pleistocene giants) or animals above a given size threshold.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Noun 1
very large animals of a particular region or time period (often used for animals above a certain body mass threshold).
Conservationists study remaining megafauna to understand ecosystem impacts when large species decline.
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Noun 2
large animals, especially the often-extinct giant species of the Pleistocene and other prehistoric periods (e.g., mammoths, giant ground sloths).
Paleontologists debate causes of the Pleistocene megafauna extinctions, including climate change and human hunting.
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Last updated: 2025/09/11 21:11