The Extinction of

Megafauna
What really happened?
What even is megafauna?
Mega = big (english origin)

Fauna = animals (latin origin)

So we are talking about large animals…

Large animals you say? Like an elephant?
In North America there were a variety of megafauna, such as…

1. Glyptodon
- Supersize version of it’s distant relative, the armadillo

- It was roughly the same

size and shape of a
Volkswagen beetle, just
flatter in shape

- PUNCH BUGGY NO
PUNCH BACKS!
Megafauna in North America
2. Mammoths
- Related to modern
elephants such as the
Asian elephant

- Reached heights at the

shoulder of up to 4m tall

- Weighted up to 8 tonnes,
while the larger males
may have weighed as
much as 12 tonnes
Megafauna in North America
3. Short-faced bear
- Related to modern bears

- They didn’t really have a

short face, but in relation
to their long limbs it
looked like they did

- The limbs of these

animals were at least one
third longer than that of a
modern bear, like the
grizzly
Megafauna in North America
4. The Giant Beaver - Fossils of Castoroides were
found in the Great Lakes
region

- Fossils of modern beavers

are found in the same
deposits as their ancient
relatives, suggesting they had
a similar lifestyle

- It could weigh as much as

125 lbs, compared to the
modern beaver weighing in at
around 44 lbs
What happened to these HUGE animals?
Around 14 000 years ago these animals roamed North America.

There were two major extinction events that wiped these animals off of the map.
The first happened 14 100 years ago, and the second 12 700 years ago. These
extinction events are known as the Quaternary Extinction Period.

The extinction of the megafauna occurred towards the end of the last ice age
when the temperature began to get warmer.

...LET’S INVESTIGATE!
Investigation
There are four main theories of the extinction of megafauna…

1. Overkill hypothesis
2. Overchill hypothesis
3. Overill hypothesis
4. Overgrill hypothesis

For each of these theories your group will respond to the following…
Investigation Questions
1. What is the main idea of your assigned theory?
2. Is there evidence that suggests that this theory is plausible?
3. Is there evidence that argues against this theory?
4. Are there any questions you have about this theory?
Discussion Questions
1. What do YOU think happened?
2. Do you think all of these theories could have contributed to the demise of
megafauna?
3. Assuming humans contributed some cause to their extinction, are we making
similar mistakes today?
4. What can we do to help the current extinction crisis?