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#REDIRECT [[Late Pleistocene extinctions]]
{{Short description|Large animals that lived during the Pleistocene}}
[[File:Ice age fauna of northern Spain - Mauricio Antón.jpg|thumb|upright=1.5|Recreation of a scene in late Pleistocene northern Spain, by [[Mauricio Antón]]]]
'''Pleistocene megafauna''' is the set of large animals that lived on Earth during the [[Pleistocene]] [[epoch (geology)|epoch]]. Pleistocene megafauna became extinct during the [[Quaternary extinction event]] resulting in substantial changes to ecosystems globally. The role of humans in causing Pleistocene megafaunal extinctions is controversial.

[[Megafauna]] are any animals with an adult body weight of over {{convert|45|kg}}. Pleistocene megafauna include the [[straight-tusked elephant]], [[cave bear]] (''Ursus spelaeus''), interglacial rhinoceros (''[[Stephanorhinus]]''), heavy-bodied Asian antelope (''[[Spirocerus]]''), [[Hippopotamus antiquus|Eurasian hippopotamuses]], [[woolly rhinoceros]], [[mammoths]], [[Megaloceros|giant deer]], sabre-toothed cat (''[[Homotherium]]''), [[Panthera leo spelaea|cave lion]], and the [[leopard]] in Europe.

==Paleoecology==
[[Image:Ukok Plateau.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|[[Ukok Plateau]], one of the last remnants of the [[mammoth steppe]]<ref name=pavelkova2014/>]]

The [[last glacial period]], commonly referred to as the 'Ice Age', spanned 125,000<ref name=ipcc2007/> to 14,500<ref name="clark2009"/> years ago and was the most recent [[glacial period]] within the [[Quaternary glaciation|current ice age]] which occurred during the final years of the [[Pleistocene]] epoch.<ref name=ipcc2007/> The Ice Age reached its peak during the [[last glacial maximum]], when [[ice sheet]]s commenced advancing from 33,000 years [[Before Present|BP]] and reached their maximum positions 26,500 years BP. Deglaciation commenced in the Northern Hemisphere approximately 19,000 years BP, and in Antarctica approximately 14,500 years BP which is consistent with evidence that this was the primary source for an abrupt rise in the sea level 14,500 years ago.<ref name=clark2009/>

{{Main|Mammoth steppe}}

A vast [[mammoth steppe]] stretched from the Iberian peninsula across Eurasia and over the [[Bering land bridge]] into Alaska and the Yukon where it was stopped by the [[Wisconsin glaciation]]. This land bridge existed because more of the planet's water was locked up in glaciation than now and therefore the sea levels were lower. When the sea levels began to rise this bridge was inundated around 11,000 years BP.<ref>{{cite journal|doi=10.1038/382060a0|title=Life and times of the Bering land bridge|journal=Nature|volume=382|issue=6586|pages=60|year=1996|last1=Elias|first1=Scott A.|last2=Short|first2=Susan K.|last3=Nelson|first3=C. Hans|last4=Birks|first4=Hilary H.|bibcode=1996Natur.382...60E|s2cid=4347413}}</ref> During the last glacial maximum, the continent of Europe was much colder and drier than it is today, with polar desert in the north and the remainder steppe or tundra. Forest and woodland was almost non-existent, except for isolated pockets in the mountain ranges of southern Europe.<ref name=adams/>

The fossil evidence from many continents points to the [[Quaternary extinction event|extinction]] mainly of large animals at or near the end of the last glaciation. These animals have been termed the Pleistocene megafauna. Scientists frequently define megafauna as the set of animals with an adult body weight of over 45&nbsp;kg (or 99&nbsp;lbs).<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Meltzer|first=David J.|date=2015-10-21|title=Pleistocene Overkill and North American Mammalian Extinctions|journal=Annual Review of Anthropology|volume=44|issue=1|pages=33–53|doi=10.1146/annurev-anthro-102214-013854|issn=0084-6570}}</ref> Across Eurasia, the [[straight-tusked elephant]] became extinct between 100,000 and 50,000 years BP. The [[cave bear]] (''Ursus spelaeus''), interglacial rhinoceros (''[[Stephanorhinus]]''), heavy-bodied Asian antelope (''[[Spirocerus]]''), and the [[Hippopotamus antiquus|Eurasian hippopotamuses]] died out between 50,000 and 16,000 years BP. The [[woolly rhinoceros]] and [[mammoths]] died out between 16,000 and 11,500 years BP. The [[Megaloceros|giant deer]] died out after 11,500 BP with the last pocket having survived until about 7,700 years BP in western Siberia.<ref>{{cite book|doi=10.1007/978-1-4757-5202-1_11|chapter=Late Pleistocene Megafaunal Extinctions|title=Extinctions in Near Time|pages=257–269|year=1999|last1=Stuart|first1=Anthony John|isbn=978-1-4419-3315-7}}</ref> A pocket of mammoths survived on [[Wrangel Island]] until 4,500 years BP.<ref>{{Cite journal | last1 = Dale Guthrie | first1 = R. | title = Radiocarbon evidence of mid-Holocene mammoths stranded on an Alaskan Bering Sea island | doi = 10.1038/nature02612 | journal = Nature | volume = 429 | issue = 6993 | pages = 746–749 | year = 2004 | pmid = 15201907| bibcode = 2004Natur.429..746D | s2cid = 4394371 }}</ref> As some species became extinct, so too did their predators. Among the top predators, the sabre-toothed cat (''[[Homotherium]]'') died out 28,000 years BP,<ref>{{cite journal|doi=10.1671/0272-4634(2003)23[260:LPSOTS]2.0.CO;2|year=2003|volume=23|pages=260–262|title=Late Pleistocene survival of the saber-toothed cat ''Homotheriumin'' northwestern Europe|journal=Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology|last1=Reumer|first1=Jelle W. F.|last2=Rook|first2=Lorenzo|last3=Van Der Borg|first3=Klaas|last4=Post|first4=Klaas|last5=Mol|first5=Dick|last6=De Vos|first6=John|s2cid=140187064 }}</ref> the [[Panthera leo spelaea|cave lion]] 11,900 years BP,<ref>{{Cite journal | last1 = Barnett | first1 = R. | last2 = Shapiro | first2 = B. | author-link2=Beth Shapiro| last3 = Barnes | first3 = I. A. N. | last4 = Ho | first4 = S. Y. W. | last5 = Burger | first5 = J. | author-link5=Joachim Burger| last6 = Yamaguchi | first6 = N. | last7 = Higham | first7 = T. F. G. | last8 = Wheeler | first8 = H. T. | last9 = Rosendahl | first9 = W. | last10 = Sher | first10 = A. V. | last11 = Sotnikova | first11 = M. | last12 = Kuznetsova | first12 = T. | last13 = Baryshnikov | first13 = G. F. | last14 = Martin | first14 = L. D. | last15 = Harington | first15 = C. R. | last16 = Burns | first16 = J. A. | last17 = Cooper | first17 = A. | s2cid = 46716748 | title = Phylogeography of lions (''Panthera leo'' ssp.) reveals three distinct taxa and a late Pleistocene reduction in genetic diversity | doi = 10.1111/j.1365-294X.2009.04134.x | journal = Molecular Ecology | volume = 18 | issue = 8 | pages = 1668–1677 | year = 2009 | pmid = 19302360}}</ref> and the [[leopard]] in Europe died out 27,000 years BP.<ref>{{cite journal|doi=10.1016/j.quascirev.2014.12.020|title=The remarkable Panthera pardus (Felidae, Mammalia) record from Equi (Massa, Italy): Taphonomy, morphology, and paleoecology|journal=Quaternary Science Reviews|volume=110|pages=131–151|year=2015|last1=Ghezzo|first1=Elena|last2=Rook|first2=Lorenzo}}</ref> The Late Pleistocene was characterized by a series of severe and rapid climate oscillations with regional temperature changes of up to 16&nbsp;°C, which has been correlated with megafaunal extinctions. There is no evidence of megafaunal extinctions at the height of the LGM, indicating that increasing cold and glaciation were not factors. Multiple events appear to also involve the rapid replacement of one species by one within the same [[genus]], or one population by another within the same species, across a broad area.<ref>{{cite journal|doi=10.1126/science.aac4315|pmid=26250679|title=Abrupt warming events drove Late Pleistocene Holarctic megafaunal turnover|journal=Science|volume=349|issue=6248|pages=602–6|year=2015|last1=Cooper|first1=A.|last2=Turney|first2=C.|last3=Hughen|first3=K. A.|last4=Brook|first4=B. W.|last5=McDonald|first5=H. G.|last6=Bradshaw|first6=C. J. A.|bibcode=2015Sci...349..602C|s2cid=31686497}}</ref>

The ancestors of modern humans first appeared in East Africa 195,000 years ago.<ref>{{Cite journal | doi = 10.1038/nature01669| title = Pleistocene Homo sapiens from Middle Awash, Ethiopia| journal = Nature| volume = 423| issue = 6941| pages = 742–7| year = 2003| last1 = White | first1 = T. D. | last2 = Asfaw | first2 = B. | last3 = Degusta | first3 = D. | last4 = Gilbert | first4 = H. | last5 = Richards | first5 = G. D. | last6 = Suwa | first6 = G. | last7 = Clark Howell | first7 = F. | pmid=12802332| bibcode = 2003Natur.423..742W| s2cid = 4432091}}</ref> Some [[Early human migrations|migrated out of Africa]] 60,000 years ago, with one group reaching Central Asia 50,000 years ago.<ref name=genographic2015/> From there they reached Europe, with human remains dated to 43,000-45,000 years BP discovered in Italy,<ref>{{Cite journal | doi = 10.1038/nature10617| pmid = 22048311| title = Early dispersal of modern humans in Europe and implications for Neanderthal behaviour| journal = Nature| volume = 479| issue = 7374| pages = 525–8| year = 2011| last1 = Benazzi | first1 = S. | last2 = Douka | first2 = K. | last3 = Fornai | first3 = C. | last4 = Bauer | first4 = C. C. | last5 = Kullmer | first5 = O. | last6 = Svoboda | first6 = J. Í. | last7 = Pap | first7 = I. | last8 = Mallegni | first8 = F. | last9 = Bayle | first9 = P. | last10 = Coquerelle | first10 = M. | last11 = Condemi | first11 = S. | last12 = Ronchitelli | first12 = A. | last13 = Harvati | first13 = K. | last14 = Weber | first14 = G. W. | bibcode = 2011Natur.479..525B| s2cid = 205226924}}</ref> Britain,<ref>{{Cite journal | doi = 10.1038/nature10484| pmid = 22048314| title = The earliest evidence for anatomically modern humans in northwestern Europe| journal = Nature| volume = 479| issue = 7374| pages = 521–4| year = 2011| last1 = Higham | first1 = T. | last2 = Compton | first2 = T. | last3 = Stringer | first3 = C. | last4 = Jacobi | first4 = R. | last5 = Shapiro | first5 = B. | last6 = Trinkaus | first6 = E. | last7 = Chandler | first7 = B. | last8 = Gröning | first8 = F. | last9 = Collins | first9 = C. | last10 = Hillson | first10 = S. | last11 = o’Higgins | first11 = P. | last12 = Fitzgerald | first12 = C. | last13 = Fagan | first13 = M. | bibcode = 2011Natur.479..521H| s2cid = 4374023}}</ref> and in the European Russian Arctic dated to 40,000 years ago.<ref>{{cite journal|doi=10.1038/35092552|pmid=11544525|title=Human presence in the European Arctic nearly 40,000 years ago|journal=Nature|volume=413|issue=6851|pages=64–7|year=2001|last1=Pavlov|first1=Pavel|last2=Svendsen|first2=John Inge|last3=Indrelid|first3=Svein|bibcode=2001Natur.413...64P|s2cid=1986562}}</ref><ref name=svendson2003/> Another group left Central Asia and reached the [[Yana Rhinoceros Horn Site|lower Yana River]], [[Siberia]], well above the [[Arctic circle]], 27,000 years ago.<ref>{{cite journal|doi=10.1126/science.1085219|pmid=14704419|title=The Yana RHS Site: Humans in the Arctic Before the Last Glacial Maximum|journal=Science|volume=303|issue=5654|pages=52–6|year=2004|last1=Pitulko|first1=V. V.|last2=Nikolsky|first2=P. A.|last3=Girya|first3=E. Y.|last4=Basilyan|first4=A. E.|last5=Tumskoy|first5=V. E.|last6=Koulakov|first6=S. A.|last7=Astakhov|first7=S. N.|last8=Pavlova|first8=E. Y.|last9=Anisimov|first9=M. A.|bibcode=2004Sci...303...52P|s2cid=206507352}}</ref> Remains of mammoth that had been hunted by humans 45,000 YBP have been found at [[Yenisei River|Yenisei Bay]] in the central Siberian Arctic.<ref>{{cite journal|doi=10.1126/science.aad0554|pmid=26816376|title=Early human presence in the Arctic: Evidence from 45,000-year-old mammoth remains|journal=Science|volume=351|issue=6270 |pages=260–3|year=2016|last1=Pitulko|first1=V. V.|last2=Tikhonov|first2=A. N.|last3=Pavlova|first3=E. Y.|last4=Nikolskiy|first4=P. A.|last5=Kuper|first5=K. E.|last6=Polozov|first6=R. N.|bibcode=2016Sci...351..260P|s2cid=206641718}}</ref> Modern humans then made their way across the Bering land bridge and into North America between 20,000 and 11,000 years ago, after the [[Wisconsin glaciation]] had retreated but before the Bering land bridge became inundated by the sea.<ref>{{Cite journal | last1 = Tamm | first1 = E. | last2 = Kivisild | first2 = T. | last3 = Reidla | first3 = M. | last4 = Metspalu | first4 = M. | last5 = Smith | first5 = D. G. | last6 = Mulligan | first6 = C. J. | last7 = Bravi | first7 = C. M. | last8 = Rickards | first8 = O. | last9 = Martinez-Labarga | first9 = C. | last10 = Khusnutdinova | first10 = E. K. | last11 = Fedorova | first11 = S. A. | last12 = Golubenko | first12 = M. V. | last13 = Stepanov | first13 = V. A. | last14 = Gubina | first14 = M. A. | last15 = Zhadanov | first15 = S. I. | last16 = Ossipova | first16 = L. P. | last17 = Damba | first17 = L. | last18 = Voevoda | first18 = M. I. | last19 = Dipierri | first19 = J. E. | last20 = Villems | first20 = R. | last21 = Malhi | first21 = R. S. | editor1-last = Carter | editor1-first = Dee | title = Beringian Standstill and Spread of Native American Founders | doi = 10.1371/journal.pone.0000829 | journal = PLOS ONE | volume = 2 | issue = 9 | pages = e829 | year = 2007 | pmid = 17786201| pmc =1952074 | bibcode = 2007PLoSO...2..829T | doi-access = free }}</ref> However, there remains no consensus among scholars on the timing of human migration into the Americas.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Potter |first1=Ben A. |last2=Baichtal |first2=James F. |last3=Beaudoin |first3=Alwynne B. |last4=Fehren-Schmitz |first4=Lars |last5=Haynes |first5=C. Vance |last6=Holliday |first6=Vance T. |last7=Holmes |first7=Charles E. |last8=Ives |first8=John W. |last9=Kelly |first9=Robert L. |last10=Llamas |first10=Bastien |last11=Malhi |first11=Ripan S. |date=2018-08-03 |title=Current evidence allows multiple models for the peopling of the Americas |journal=Science Advances |language=en |volume=4 |issue=8 |pages=eaat5473 |doi=10.1126/sciadv.aat5473 |issn=2375-2548 |pmc=6082647 |pmid=30101195|bibcode=2018SciA....4.5473P }}</ref> In the [[Fertile crescent]] the first agriculture was developing 11,500 years ago.<ref name=balter2013/>

=== Ecological consequences of megafaunal extinctions ===

==== Community and ecosystem changes ====
Megafauna extinctions resulted in global changes to ecosystem structure and function.<ref name="Malhi 838–846">{{Cite journal |last1=Malhi |first1=Yadvinder |last2=Doughty |first2=Christopher E. |last3=Galetti |first3=Mauro |last4=Smith |first4=Felisa A. |last5=Svenning |first5=Jens-Christian |last6=Terborgh |first6=John W. |date=2016-01-26 |title=Megafauna and ecosystem function from the Pleistocene to the Anthropocene |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences |language=en |volume=113 |issue=4 |pages=838–846 |doi=10.1073/pnas.1502540113 |issn=0027-8424 |pmc=4743772 |pmid=26811442|bibcode=2016PNAS..113..838M |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref name=":02">{{Cite journal |last1=Gill |first1=Jacquelyn L. |last2=Williams |first2=John W. |last3=Jackson |first3=Stephen T. |last4=Lininger |first4=Katherine B. |last5=Robinson |first5=Guy S. |date=2009-11-20 |title=Pleistocene Megafaunal Collapse, Novel Plant Communities, and Enhanced Fire Regimes in North America |url=https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.1179504 |journal=Science |language=en |volume=326 |issue=5956 |pages=1100–1103 |doi=10.1126/science.1179504 |pmid=19965426 |bibcode=2009Sci...326.1100G |s2cid=206522597 |issn=0036-8075 |access-date=2022-05-19 |archive-date=2022-05-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220520142236/https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.1179504 |url-status=live }}</ref> Extinction of megafauna broadly restructured ecological communities and species interactions.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Tóth |first1=Anikó B. |last2=Lyons |first2=S. Kathleen |last3=Barr |first3=W. Andrew |last4=Behrensmeyer |first4=Anna K. |last5=Blois |first5=Jessica L. |last6=Bobe |first6=René |last7=Davis |first7=Matt |last8=Du |first8=Andrew |last9=Eronen |first9=Jussi T. |last10=Faith |first10=J. Tyler |last11=Fraser |first11=Danielle |date=2019-09-20 |title=Reorganization of surviving mammal communities after the end-Pleistocene megafaunal extinction |url=https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.aaw1605 |journal=Science |language=en |volume=365 |issue=6459 |pages=1305–1308 |doi=10.1126/science.aaw1605 |pmid=31604240 |bibcode=2019Sci...365.1305T |s2cid=202699089 |issn=0036-8075 |access-date=2022-05-19 |archive-date=2022-05-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220505062840/https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.aaw1605 |url-status=live }}</ref> The extinction of megafauna affected mutualist species, resulting in co-extinctions.<ref name=":32">{{Cite journal |last1=Galetti |first1=Mauro |last2=Moleón |first2=Marcos |last3=Jordano |first3=Pedro |last4=Pires |first4=Mathias M. |last5=Guimarães |first5=Paulo R. |last6=Pape |first6=Thomas |last7=Nichols |first7=Elizabeth |last8=Hansen |first8=Dennis |last9=Olesen |first9=Jens M. |last10=Munk |first10=Michael |last11=de Mattos |first11=Jacqueline S. |date=May 2018 |title=Ecological and evolutionary legacy of megafauna extinctions: Anachronisms and megafauna interactions |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/brv.12374 |journal=Biological Reviews |language=en |volume=93 |issue=2 |pages=845–862 |doi=10.1111/brv.12374 |pmid=28990321 |s2cid=4762203 |access-date=2022-05-19 |archive-date=2022-05-19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220519055130/https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/brv.12374 |url-status=live }}</ref> Evidence from fossil pollen indicates that megafaunal extinctions may have resulted in the development of novel plant communities,<ref name=":02" /><ref name=":22">{{Cite journal |last=Gill |first=Jacquelyn L. |date=March 2014 |title=Ecological impacts of the l ate Q uaternary megaherbivore extinctions |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/nph.12576 |journal=New Phytologist |language=en |volume=201 |issue=4 |pages=1163–1169 |doi=10.1111/nph.12576 |pmid=24649488 |issn=0028-646X}}</ref> and altered fire regimes on a global scale.<ref name=":02" /><ref name=":22" /><ref name=":18">{{Cite journal |last1=Karp |first1=Allison T. |last2=Faith |first2=J. Tyler |last3=Marlon |first3=Jennifer R. |last4=Staver |first4=A. Carla |date=2021-11-26 |title=Global response of fire activity to late Quaternary grazer extinctions |url=https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abj1580 |journal=Science |language=en |volume=374 |issue=6571 |pages=1145–1148 |doi=10.1126/science.abj1580 |pmid=34822271 |bibcode=2021Sci...374.1145K |s2cid=244660259 |issn=0036-8075 |access-date=2022-05-19 |archive-date=2022-05-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220520142417/https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abj1580 |url-status=live }}</ref> Some evidence, however, suggests that vegetation changes preceded megafaunal extinctions.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Monteath |first1=Alistair J. |last2=Gaglioti |first2=Benjamin V. |last3=Edwards |first3=Mary E. |last4=Froese |first4=Duane |date=2021-12-28 |title=Late Pleistocene shrub expansion preceded megafauna turnover and extinctions in eastern Beringia |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences |language=en |volume=118 |issue=52 |pages=e2107977118 |doi=10.1073/pnas.2107977118 |issn=0027-8424 |pmc=8719869 |pmid=34930836 }}</ref>

Pleistocene grazers limited wildfire by consuming biomass in grassland ecosystems; the decline of these grazers increased grassland fire frequency.<ref name=":18" /> Some hypothesize that forbs in modern grasslands are adapted to disturbance by large herbivores on former mammoth steppes, and are currently in decline due to the extinction of Pleistocene megafauna.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Bråthen |first1=Kari Anne |last2=Pugnaire |first2=Francisco I |last3=Bardgett |first3=Richard D |date=December 2021 |title=The paradox of forbs in grasslands and the legacy of the mammoth steppe |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/fee.2405 |journal=Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment |language=en |volume=19 |issue=10 |pages=584–592 |doi=10.1002/fee.2405 |s2cid=230614023 |issn=1540-9295}}</ref><ref name=":14">{{Cite journal |last=Johnson |first=C.n. |date=2009-07-22 |title=Ecological consequences of Late Quaternary extinctions of megafauna |journal=Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences |volume=276 |issue=1667 |pages=2509–2519 |doi=10.1098/rspb.2008.1921 |pmc=2684593 |pmid=19324773}}</ref> In Europe, evidence from the pollen record suggests that megafauna promoted open vegetation with shifting mosaics of forest and grassland,<ref name=":14" /> however this hypothesis is debated.<ref name=":22" /> In the Yukon region of Canada, the decline of ''[[Mammoth|Mammuthus]]'' and ''[[Equus (genus)|Equus]]'' may have contributed to the development of woody flora.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Murchie |first1=Tyler J. |last2=Monteath |first2=Alistair J. |last3=Mahony |first3=Matthew E. |last4=Long |first4=George S. |last5=Cocker |first5=Scott |last6=Sadoway |first6=Tara |last7=Karpinski |first7=Emil |last8=Zazula |first8=Grant |last9=MacPhee |first9=Ross D. E. |last10=Froese |first10=Duane |last11=Poinar |first11=Hendrik N. |date=2021-12-08 |title=Collapse of the mammoth-steppe in central Yukon as revealed by ancient environmental DNA |journal=Nature Communications |language=en |volume=12 |issue=1 |pages=7120 |doi=10.1038/s41467-021-27439-6 |pmid=34880234 |pmc=8654998 |bibcode=2021NatCo..12.7120M |issn=2041-1723}}</ref> In Siberia and [[Beringia]], the extinction of mammoths may have contributed to the expansion of [[Birch|''Betula'']] (birch) tree cover.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Doughty |first1=Christopher E. |last2=Wolf |first2=Adam |last3=Field |first3=Christopher B. |date=August 2010 |title=Biophysical feedbacks between the Pleistocene megafauna extinction and climate: The first human-induced global warming?: BIOPHYSICAL FEEDBACKS OF EXTINCTIONS |url=http://doi.wiley.com/10.1029/2010GL043985 |journal=Geophysical Research Letters |language=en |volume=37 |issue=15 |pages=n/a |doi=10.1029/2010GL043985|bibcode=2010GeoRL..3715703D |s2cid=54849882 }}</ref> In Australia, however, megafaunal extinction may not have caused significant changes in fire regimes or vegetation.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Johnson |first1=Chris N. |last2=Rule |first2=Susan |last3=Haberle |first3=Simon G. |last4=Kershaw |first4=A. Peter |last5=McKenzie |first5=G. Merna |last6=Brook |first6=Barry W. |date=February 2016 |title=Geographic variation in the ecological effects of extinction of Australia's Pleistocene megafauna |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ecog.01612 |journal=Ecography |language=en |volume=39 |issue=2 |pages=109–116 |doi=10.1111/ecog.01612 |issn=0906-7590 |access-date=2022-06-08 |archive-date=2022-06-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220608233538/https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ecog.01612 |url-status=live }}</ref> Some argue that modern ecosystems can be understood by considering the effects of extinct megafauna.<ref name=":14" /><ref name=":22" /><ref name=":32" />

==== Anachronistic plants ====
{{See also|Evolutionary anachronism}}
Some extant plants have adaptations resulting from interactions with Pleistocene megafauna, including defenses against Pleistocene megaherbivores,<ref name=":14" /><ref name=":32" /> and large fruits adapted to dispersal by megaherbivores.<ref name=":22" /><ref name=":32" /><ref name=":17">{{Cite journal |last1=Janzen |first1=Daniel H. |last2=Martin |first2=Paul S. |date=January 1982 |title=Neotropical Anachronisms: The Fruits the Gomphotheres Ate |url=https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.215.4528.19 |journal=Science |language=en |volume=215 |issue=4528 |pages=19–27 |doi=10.1126/science.215.4528.19 |pmid=17790450 |s2cid=19296719 |issn=0036-8075 |access-date=2022-06-08 |archive-date=2022-06-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220608222557/https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.215.4528.19 |url-status=live }}</ref> Such species are termed anachronistic plants.<ref name=":17" /><ref name=":14" /> Members of the plant family [[Rosaceae]] (including ''[[Malus]]'', apples) evolved large fruits as an adaptation to dispersal by megafaunal herbivores.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Spengler |first=Robert Nicholas |date=2019 |title=Origins of the Apple: The Role of Megafaunal Mutualism in the Domestication of Malus and Rosaceous Trees |journal=Frontiers in Plant Science |volume=10 |page=617 |doi=10.3389/fpls.2019.00617 |pmid=31191563 |pmc=6545323 |issn=1664-462X|doi-access=free }}</ref> Megafaunal extinction caused the decline of ''[[Cucurbita]]'' species which relied on megaherbivores for dispersal.<ref name=":42">{{Cite journal |last1=Kistler |first1=Logan |last2=Newsom |first2=Lee A. |last3=Ryan |first3=Timothy M. |last4=Clarke |first4=Andrew C. |last5=Smith |first5=Bruce D. |last6=Perry |first6=George H. |date=2015-12-08 |title=Gourds and squashes ( Cucurbita spp.) adapted to megafaunal extinction and ecological anachronism through domestication |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences |language=en |volume=112 |issue=49 |pages=15107–15112 |doi=10.1073/pnas.1516109112 |issn=0027-8424 |pmc=4679018 |pmid=26630007|bibcode=2015PNAS..11215107K |doi-access=free }}</ref> ''Cucurbita'' fruits contain [[cucurbitacin]]s, bitter compounds that are toxic to small herbivores but can be tolerated by megafauna; ''Cucurbita'' seeds have been found in fossil mastodon dung.<ref name=":42" /> Some argue that plant adaptations to megafauna resulted in traits that allowed for domestication.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Spengler |first1=Robert N. |last2=Petraglia |first2=Michael |last3=Roberts |first3=Patrick |last4=Ashastina |first4=Kseniia |last5=Kistler |first5=Logan |last6=Mueller |first6=Natalie G. |last7=Boivin |first7=Nicole |date=2021 |title=Exaptation Traits for Megafaunal Mutualisms as a Factor in Plant Domestication |journal=Frontiers in Plant Science |volume=12 |page=649394 |doi=10.3389/fpls.2021.649394 |pmid=33841476 |pmc=8024633 |issn=1664-462X|doi-access=free }}</ref><ref name=":42" /> Human dispersal may have prevented the range contraction of Neotropical species with fruit formerly dispersed by megafauna.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=van Zonneveld |first1=Maarten |last2=Larranaga |first2=Nerea |last3=Blonder |first3=Benjamin |last4=Coradin |first4=Lidio |last5=Hormaza |first5=José I. |last6=Hunter |first6=Danny |date=2018-03-27 |title=Human diets drive range expansion of megafauna-dispersed fruit species |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences |language=en |volume=115 |issue=13 |pages=3326–3331 |doi=10.1073/pnas.1718045115 |issn=0027-8424 |pmc=5879677 |pmid=29531027|doi-access=free }}</ref>

==== Effects on climate ====
Megafaunal extinction may have caused global cooling of the Earth's climate due to reduced methane emissions from megaherbivores and increased woody vegetation associated with reduced trampling and browsing.<ref name="Malhi 838–846"/> Smith ''et al.'' suggest that megafaunal extinctions in the Americas contributed to the Younger Dryas cooling event.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Smith |first1=Felisa A. |last2=Elliott |first2=Scott M. |last3=Lyons |first3=S. Kathleen |date=June 2010 |title=Methane emissions from extinct megafauna |url=https://www.nature.com/articles/ngeo877 |journal=Nature Geoscience |language=en |volume=3 |issue=6 |pages=374–375 |doi=10.1038/ngeo877 |bibcode=2010NatGe...3..374S |issn=1752-0908 |access-date=2022-05-19 |archive-date=2022-03-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220303020946/https://www.nature.com/articles/ngeo877 |url-status=live }}</ref>

== Extinction causes ==
{{Main|Quaternary extinction event}}
{{See also|Younger Dryas impact hypothesis}}
Four theories have been advanced as likely causes of these extinctions: hunting by the spreading humans (or overkill hypothesis, initially developed by geoscientist [[Paul Schultz Martin|Paul S. Martin]]),<ref>Marc A. Carrasco, Anthony D. Barnosky, Russell W. Graham [http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0008331 Quantifying the Extent of North American Mammal Extinction Relative to the Pre-Anthropogenic Baseline] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141214161238/http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0008331 |date=2014-12-14 }} ''plosone.org'' December 16, 2009</ref> the [[Climate change (general concept)|change in climate]] at the end of the [[Last Glacial Period|last glacial period]], disease, and an extraterrestrial impact from an asteroid or comet.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Firestone |first1=R. B. |last2=West |first2=A. |last3=Kennett |first3=J. P. |last4=Becker |first4=L. |last5=Bunch |first5=T. E. |last6=Revay |first6=Z. S. |last7=Schultz |first7=P. H. |last8=Belgya |first8=T. |last9=Kennett |first9=D. J. |last10=Erlandson |first10=J. M. |last11=Dickenson |first11=O. J. |date=2007-10-09 |title=Evidence for an extraterrestrial impact 12,900 years ago that contributed to the megafaunal extinctions and the Younger Dryas cooling |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences |language=en |volume=104 |issue=41 |pages=16016–16021 |doi=10.1073/pnas.0706977104 |issn=0027-8424 |pmc=1994902 |pmid=17901202|bibcode=2007PNAS..10416016F |doi-access=free }}</ref> These factors are not necessarily exclusive: any or all may have combined to cause the extinctions. Of these, climate change and the overkill hypothesis<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/what-happened-worlds-most-enormous-animals-180964255/|title="Are Humans to Blame for the Disappearance of Earth's Fantastic Beasts?"|first=Lorraine|last=Boissoneault|website=Smithsonian|language=en|access-date=2019-11-24|archive-date=2019-12-10|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191210192355/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/what-happened-worlds-most-enormous-animals-180964255/|url-status=live}}</ref> have the most support,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://daily.jstor.org/what-really-happened-to-the-megafauna/|title=What Really Happened to the Megafauna|last=MacDonald|first=James|date=2018-05-14|website=JSTOR Daily|language=en-US|access-date=2019-11-24|archive-date=2020-08-05|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200805081220/https://daily.jstor.org/what-really-happened-to-the-megafauna/|url-status=live}}</ref> with evidence weighing towards the overkill hypothesis.<ref name=":2">{{cite journal|last1=Vignieri|first1=S.|date=25 July 2014|title=Vanishing fauna (Special issue)|journal=[[Science (journal)|Science]]|volume=345|issue=6195|pages=392–412|doi=10.1126/science.345.6195.392|pmid=25061199|quote=Although some debate persists, most of the evidence suggests that humans were responsible for extinction of this Pleistocene fauna, and we continue to drive animal extinctions today through the destruction of wild lands, consumption of animals as a resource or a luxury, and persecution of species we see as threats or competitors.|doi-access=free|bibcode=2014Sci...345..392V}}</ref>

Although not mutually exclusive, which factor was more important remains contested.<ref name=":4">{{Cite journal|last1=Cooper|first1=Alan|last2=Turney|first2=Chris|last3=Hughen|first3=Konrad A.|last4=Brook|first4=Barry W.|last5=McDonald|first5=H. Gregory|last6=Bradshaw|first6=Corey J. A.|date=2015-08-07|title=Abrupt warming events drove Late Pleistocene Holarctic megafaunal turnover|journal=Science|language=en|volume=349|issue=6248|pages=602–606|doi=10.1126/science.aac4315|issn=0036-8075|pmid=26250679|bibcode=2015Sci...349..602C|s2cid=31686497}}</ref><ref name=":2" /> Where humans appeared on the scene, megafauna went extinct;<ref name=":1">{{cite journal|last1=Sandom|first1=Christopher|last2=Faurby|first2=Søren|last3=Sandel|first3=Brody|last4=Svenning|first4=Jens-Christian|date=4 June 2014|title=Global late Quaternary megafauna extinctions linked to humans, not climate change|journal=[[Proceedings of the Royal Society B]]|volume=281|issue=1787|page=20133254|doi=10.1098/rspb.2013.3254|pmc=4071532|pmid=24898370}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Faurby |first1=Søren |last2=Svenning |first2=Jens-Christian |date=2015 |title=Historic and prehistoric human‐driven extinctions have reshaped global mammal diversity patterns |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/ddi.12369 |journal=[[Diversity and Distributions]] |volume=21 |issue=10 |pages=1155–1166 |doi=10.1111/ddi.12369 |hdl=10261/123512 |s2cid=196689979 |hdl-access=free |access-date=2020-08-20 |archive-date=2020-06-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200610214020/https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/ddi.12369 |url-status=live }}</ref> but at the same time, the climate was also warming. Large body size is an adaptation to colder climes, so a warming climate would have provided a stressor for these large animals; however, many fauna simply evolved a smaller body size over time.<ref name=":3">{{cite journal|last1=Smith|first1=Felisa A.|display-authors=etal.|date=April 20, 2018|title=Body size downgrading of mammals over the late Quaternary|journal=Science|volume=360|issue=6386|pages=310–313|doi=10.1126/science.aao5987|pmid=29674591|bibcode=2018Sci...360..310S |doi-access=free}}</ref> There is overwhelming archaeological evidence that humans did indeed hunt some or many of the now extinct species, such as the mammoth in North America;<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Koch|first1=Paul L.|last2=Barnosky|first2=Anthony D.|s2cid=16590668|date=2006|title=Late Quaternary Extinctions: State of the Debate|journal=Annual Review of Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics|volume=37|pages=215–250|issn=1543-592X|jstor=30033832|doi=10.1146/annurev.ecolsys.34.011802.132415}}</ref> while evidence of hunting is necessary for the overhunting hypothesis, it is not sufficient to prove that human hunting drove the extinctions. The primary cause of Pleistocene megafauna extinctions may vary among regions and species (see below).

==Effects and causes by continent==
===Africa===
====Background and scope====
[[File:Gigantopithecus blacki, model - San Diego Museum of Man - DSC06889 02.JPG|thumb|upright=1|Extant African primates, clockwise from top: chimpanzee (''Pan''), male human (''Homo sapiens''), vervet monkey (''Chlorocebus pygerythrus''), bushbaby (''Galago sp.''), mountain gorilla (''Gorilla beringei beringei''), and female human]]
[[File:The proportion of extinct large mammal species (more than or equal to 10 kg) in each TDWG country during the last 132 000 years, only counting extinctions earlier than 1000 years BP.jpg|thumb|The proportion of extinct large mammal species (more than or equal to 10 kg) in each TDWG country during the last 132 000 years, only counting extinctions earlier than 1000 years]]
[[File:Australopithecus afarensis Cleveland Museum.jpg|thumb|''Australopithecus afarensis'' (Johanson & White, 1978) - fossil hominid from the Pliocene of eastern Africa. (replica, public display, Cleveland Museum of Natural History, Cleveland, Ohio, USA)]]
While North America was most notably impacted by the Pleistocene Megafaunal extinction, Eurasia, Africa and the Insular regions were also affected and experienced some extinction towards the end of the Pleistocene period. Megafaunal losses are poorly understood on continental Africa during both the [[Late Pleistocene]] and the [[Holocene]] periods. During the late Pleistocene and early Holocene period an estimated breadth of 24 large mammal species, of greater than 45&nbsp;kg, were lost from continental Africa. These losses are best understood to have occurred between 13,000 and 6,000 years ago. The species of megafauna which were lost in continental Africa are best understood to have been grazers who lived on grasslands. However, other sources report that over 27 species were lost in the last million years. Sources vary in the breadth of the issue, however it is clear that significant [[biodiversity loss]] occurred in Africa.
[[File:Acheulean Polyhedron.png|thumb|Acheulean polyhedron in quartzite that proceeds from a superficial site in the Valladolid province (Spain), in the valley of Douro river.]]
[[File:Lasca Levallois en mano.jpg|thumb|upright|Acheulean Levallois flake that proceeds from a superficial site in the Zamora province (Spain), in the valley of a tributary of Douro river.]]

====Anthropogenic involvement====
At sites in Africa such as Olduvai, Olorgesailie, Kariandusi, Hopefield, Islmilia, and the Vaal River gravels most genera found were found in stratigraphic association with hand tools wielded by early human ancestors.<ref name=":10">{{Cite web|title=Oldowan and Acheulean Stone Tools {{!}} Museum of Anthropology|url=https://anthromuseum.missouri.edu/exhibit/oldowan-and-acheulean-stone-tools|access-date=2021-05-07|website=anthromuseum.missouri.edu|archive-date=2021-05-07|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210507042012/https://anthromuseum.missouri.edu/exhibit/oldowan-and-acheulean-stone-tools|url-status=live}}</ref> These artifacts were from Acheulean origins. Acheulean tools include handaxes made from stone. These hand tools were made with a distinctly pear shaped morphology. Homo erectus was thought to wield these hand tools for a variety of purposes. Hand axes could be used to butcher and skin game, cut, chop, scrape, cut other instruments, digging in soil, cutting wood, cutting plant material.<ref name=":10" /> These tools were first discovered in 1847.<ref name=":10" /> These handaxes have been discovered on multiple continents including Southern Africa, Northern Europe, Western Europe and the Indian sub-continent. These Acheulean tools were found to have been being produced and utilized for roughly a million years.<ref name=":10" /> The earliest Acheulean artifacts were discovered in Africa to have existed for over 1.6 million years ago whereas the earliest Archulean tools are thought to have existed in Europe as early as 800,000 years ago.<ref name=":10" /> These hand axes measure 12–20&nbsp;cm long. There is notable difference in the size, quality and efficacy of these tools depending on the workmanship of the crafter.

Arguments have existed regarding whether these early humans could have contributed significantly to megafauna extinction in Africa, Eurasia, and North America utilizing stone tools such as the Archulean hand tools which have been discussed. It is important to note that these analyses are considered incomplete by many contemporary scholars.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Hoag|first1=Colin|last2=Svenning|first2=Jens-Christian|date=2017-10-17|title=African Environmental Change from the Pleistocene to the Anthropocene|journal=Annual Review of Environment and Resources|volume=42|issue=1|pages=27–54|doi=10.1146/annurev-environ-102016-060653|issn=1543-5938|doi-access=free}}</ref> However, despite the lack of scientific consensus surrounding this theory, this is being applied to contemporary biodiversity losses.<ref name="Faith 88–104">{{Cite journal|last1=Faith|first1=J. Tyler|last2=Rowan|first2=John|last3=Du|first3=Andrew|last4=Barr|first4=W. Andrew|date=July 2020|title=The uncertain case for human-driven extinctions prior to Homo sapiens|url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/quaternary-research/article/abs/uncertain-case-for-humandriven-extinctions-prior-to-homo-sapiens/F91F1125CC0A988E322DA9AD9564F0C5|journal=Quaternary Research|language=en|volume=96|pages=88–104|doi=10.1017/qua.2020.51|bibcode=2020QuRes..96...88F|s2cid=225566468|issn=0033-5894|access-date=2021-05-07|archive-date=2021-05-07|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210507042004/https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/quaternary-research/article/abs/uncertain-case-for-humandriven-extinctions-prior-to-homo-sapiens/F91F1125CC0A988E322DA9AD9564F0C5|url-status=live}}</ref>

''"A growing body of literature proposes that our ancestors contributed to large mammal extinctions in Africa long before the appearance of Homo sapiens, with some arguing that premodern hominins (e.g., Homo erectus) triggered the demise of Africa's largest herbivores and the loss of carnivoran diversity. Though such arguments have been around for decades, they are now increasingly accepted by those concerned with biodiversity decline in the present-day, despite the near complete absence of critical discussion or debate. To facilitate that process, here we review ancient anthropogenic extinction hypotheses and critically examine the data underpinning them. Broadly speaking, we show that arguments made in favor of ancient anthropogenic extinctions are based on problematic data analysis and interpretation, and are substantially weakened when extinctions are considered in the context of long-term evolutionary, ecological, and environmental changes."''<ref name="Faith 88–104"/> At the present moment - according to this source, there is no definitive empirical evidence to suggest that hominins have had widespread impact on the biodiversity of Pleistocene Africa.

Other sources propose alternate hypotheses: ''"To our knowledge, the earliest proposal of ancient hominin impacts in Africa can be traced to J. Desmond Clark's (1959) overview of southern African prehistory. Referring to a handful of large herbivores whose last appearances in southern Africa are now known to range in age from ∼1 Ma to the onset of the Holocene (Brink et al., 2012; Faith, 2014; Klein et al., 2007), including Stylohipparion (= Eurygnathohippus cornelianus), Griquatherium (= Sivatherium maurusium), and Homoioceras (= Syncerus antiquus), Clark (1959:57) suggested that "[t]heir final extinction may well have been due to man's improved methods of hunting these overspecialized and probably clumsy beasts." Clark did not specify which hominin species was to blame, but from the evidence available to him at the time, it was clear that at least some of these extinct taxa (e.g., Stylohipparion and Griquatherium) disappeared long before the Pleistocene-Holocene transition (Clark, 1959:54) and were associated with hominins that preceded the emergence of H. sapiens, including H. heidelbergensis (Drennan, 1953)"''.<ref>{{Cite journal|doi=10.1016/j.earscirev.2013.10.009|title=Late Pleistocene and Holocene mammal extinctions on continental Africa|year=2014|last1=Faith|first1=J. Tyler|journal=Earth-Science Reviews|volume=128|pages=105–121|bibcode=2014ESRv..128..105F}}</ref> This discussion of Megafaunal losses in Africa during the Pleistocene period would suggest that anthropogenic influence could have been a significant impetus for extinction.

Another hypothesis suggests a more environmentally focused cause for the megafaunal extinction in Pleistocene Africa, "''The current lack of evidence (for hominin attributed extinction)'' ''does not preclude it from being produced in the future, though we are not optimistic that it will be. Looking to the last ∼100,000 years-a time interval encompassing massive demographic and technological change among human populations-it is clear that African megafaunal extinctions are readily explained by environmental changes (Faith, 2014). In particular, grassland herbivores disappeared following alterations in the structure, distribution, or productivity of their habitats (Faith, 2014), consistent with broader changes in herbivore community composition spanning the last 1 Myr (Faith et al., 2019)"''.<ref>{{Cite journal|title=Palaeontology and geological context of a Middle Pleistocene faunal assemblage from the Gladysvale Cave, South Africa|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/285872710|access-date=2021-05-07|journal=Palaeontologia Africana |volume=38|issue=|pages=99–114}}</ref> Environmental factors implicated in this explanation include structure, distribution and biological productivity of the environment. This explanation minimizes human impact and emphasizes environmental factors.

=====African Pleistocene megafauna losses=====
Megafauna from Africa that had gone extinct during the Pleistocene included ''[[Dinopithecus]]'', ''[[Gorgopithecus]]'', ''[[Parapapio]]'', ''[[Australopithecus]]'', ''[[Paranthropus]]'', machairodonts such as ''[[Homotherium]]'' and ''[[Megantereon]]'', ''[[Makapania]]'', ''[[Megalotragus]]'' and ''[[Pelorovis]]''.

The summary of mammalian megafaunal extinction and survival can be discussed by comparing Africa and North America. Living genera (50&nbsp;kg+) in Africa include 40 and 14 in the North America. Later Pleistocene extinction genera include 26+ in Africa and 35 in the US and Canada. Earlier Pleistocene extinction genera include 19 in Africa and 13 in the US and Canada. Later Pleistocene Megafaunal Extinction Intensity was 39% for Africa, and 71% for the US and Canada. It is evident through this analysis that North America underwent a more intense later Pleistocene megafaunal extinction.{{citation needed|date=November 2021}}

====Contrasting Africa's losses with North America====
The rate of extinction in the Pleistocene period between Africa and North America shows striking differences. In America, an estimated 35 genera of large mammals disappeared at the end of the [[Rancholabrean]] period. Most of these animals were lost within the last 12,000 years. However, in the preceding one to two million years before the end of the Rancholabrean period, an estimated 13 genera of megafauna were lost. This may be attributed to a poor understanding of fauna that existed before to this period. To compare this rate of megafaunal loss with Africa, the differences between the earlier, middle and later Pleistocene faunal losses are less drastic to compare. In the first 1.5 million years 19 megafaunal genera were lost. Within the last 100,000 years 26 or more genera were lost. This rate of megafaunal extinction in Africa in the last 100,000 years was an estimated 20 times greater in magnitude as the losses that occurred within the preceding 1.5 million years.

=====Africa=====
[[Sub-Saharan Africa]] is the region of the world with the highest amount of Pleistocene megafauna surviving to the present day. These surviving species include the [[African bush elephant]], [[African forest elephant]], [[black rhinoceros]], [[white rhinoceros]] and the [[hippopotamus]]. All of these species maintained populations in sub-Saharan Africa even after many of them were extirpated from Eurasia during the early Holocene.<ref name="stuart 2015">{{Cite journal|last=Stuart|first=Anthony John|date=May 2015|title=Late Quaternary megafaunal extinctions on the continents: a short review: LATE QUATERNARY MEGAFAUNAL EXTINCTIONS|url=http://doi.wiley.com/10.1002/gj.2633|journal=Geological Journal|language=en|volume=50|issue=3|pages=338–363|doi=10.1002/gj.2633|s2cid=128868400 }}</ref> This means that all of the largest herbivore genera present in Pleistocene Africa are still present today.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Stuart|first=Anthony J.|date=1991|title=Mammalian Extinctions in the Late Pleistocene of Northern Eurasia and North America|url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1469-185X.1991.tb01149.x|journal=Biological Reviews|language=en|volume=66|issue=4|pages=453–562|doi=10.1111/j.1469-185X.1991.tb01149.x|pmid=1801948|s2cid=41295526|issn=1469-185X|access-date=2021-05-07|archive-date=2021-05-10|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210510201026/https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1469-185X.1991.tb01149.x|url-status=live}}</ref> Overall, estimates as to the proportion of Africa’s Quaternary megafauna which went extinct range from 5% to 18%, much lower than for all the other continents.<ref name=":11">{{Cite book|last=G.|first=Martin, Paul S. (Paul Schultz), 1928- Klein, Richard|url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/851043302|title=Quaternary extinctions : a prehistoric revolution|date=1995|publisher=University of Arizona Press|isbn=0-8165-1100-4|oclc=851043302|access-date=2021-05-07|archive-date=2022-07-13|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220713145347/https://www.worldcat.org/title/quaternary-extinctions-a-prehistoric-revolution/oclc/851043302|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Barnosky|first=A. D.|date=2004-10-01|title=Assessing the Causes of Late Pleistocene Extinctions on the Continents|url=https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.1101476|journal=Science|language=en|volume=306|issue=5693|pages=70–75|doi=10.1126/science.1101476|pmid=15459379|bibcode=2004Sci...306...70B|s2cid=36156087|issn=0036-8075|access-date=2022-06-30|archive-date=2022-06-07|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220607082625/https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.1101476|url-status=live}}</ref>

Multiple reasons have been suggested by scientists as to why Africa apparently had a much milder experience during the Quaternary extinction. First, some have suggested that the Late Quaternary extinction has been comparatively less studied in Africa than in other regions. As a result of this lack of studying, there is little evidence that paleontologists are able to draw upon when trying to develop a timeline of extinctions in Sub-Saharan Africa. This hypothesis therefore also argues that further investigation into sites with Late Quaternary [[fossil]]s in Sub-Saharan Africa will reveal previously-undiscovered extinct [[Taxon|taxa]] of African megafauna.<ref name="stuart 2015" />

Other scientists have suggested an explanation for the relative lack of extinction among Africa’s Pleistocene megafauna which follows the [[overkill hypothesis]] as the cause of the Quaternary extinction. According to this hypothesis, many of the extinctions during this time period were due to overhunting by humans who had recently migrated to their continents. In sub-Saharan Africa, the megafauna species had evolved alongside the different species of [[Hominidae|hominids]] present in Quaternary Africa. As a result, these species had adapted to withstand the predation pressure from humans. This meant that both humans and megafauna were able to coexist, and the high levels of extinction seen in the Americas and Australasia were not seen in Africa.<ref name="stuart 2015" />
[[File:Bluebuck by Allamand, 1778.jpg|thumb|upright|An illustration of a [[Bluebuck]] (''Hippotragus leucophaeus)'' from 1778.]]
While one of the popular explanations for the Quaternary extinction is due to the changing climate of the time period, the climate of Africa has not been suggested as a potential cause. This is because of the high level of megafaunal extinction in South America during this time period. Since Sub-Saharan Africa has about the same types of climate as South America, but South America had many more extinctions of megafauna taxa, climate was not deemed by these scientists to be a sufficient cause to explain the relative lack of extinctions in Africa.<ref name="stuart 2015" />

Despite the high level of continuity present in Africa’s megafauna community from the Quaternary to the Holocene period, there were several species of megafauna which did go extinct during this time period. One such species was ''[[Syncerus antiquus]]''. This species of buffalo is theorized to either have gone extinct due to climate change, overhunting by humans, or both. It was extirpated from Sub-Saharan Africa about 12,000 years ago and became entirely extinct about 4,000 years before present.<ref name=":11" /> Another was the giant [[antelope]] that was very similar to a [[hartebeest]] or a [[wildebeest]] known as ''[[Megalotragus|Megalotragus priscus]]''. M. priscus was the last of its genus, and it died out approximately 7,500 years ago.<ref>{{Citation|last=Turvey|first=Samuel T.|title=Holocene mammal extinctions|date=2009-05-28|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199535095.003.0003|work=Holocene Extinctions|pages=41–62|publisher=Oxford University Press|doi=10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199535095.003.0003|isbn=978-0-19-953509-5|access-date=2021-05-07|archive-date=2022-07-13|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220713145347/https://oxford.universitypressscholarship.com/view/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199535095.001.0001/acprof-9780199535095-chapter-3|url-status=live}}</ref> Similarly, there was an extinct species of zebra known as the [[Equus capensis|Cape zebra]]. The Cape zebra lived throughout Africa during the Quaternary period but went extinct by its end.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Churcher|first=C. S.|date=January 2006|title=Distribution and history of the Cape zebra ( Equus capensis ) in the Quarternary of Africa|url=http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00359190609519957|journal=Transactions of the Royal Society of South Africa|language=en|volume=61|issue=2|pages=89–95|doi=10.1080/00359190609519957|s2cid=84203907|issn=0035-919X|access-date=2021-05-07|archive-date=2022-07-13|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220713145346/https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00359190609519957|url-status=live}}</ref> The [[bluebuck]] had its range restricted changing habitats during the early Holocene period, so that by the time European settlers arrived, they were restricted to one lone population. This population was then wiped out in 1800 by habitat loss and hunting.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Kerley|first1=Graham I. H.|last2=Sims-Castley|first2=Rebecca|last3=Boshoff|first3=André F.|last4=Cowling|first4=Richard M.|date=2009-04-28|title=Extinction of the blue antelope Hippotragus leucophaeus: modeling predicts non-viable global population size as the primary driver|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10531-009-9639-x|journal=Biodiversity and Conservation|volume=18|issue=12|pages=3235–3242|doi=10.1007/s10531-009-9639-x|s2cid=40104332|issn=0960-3115|access-date=2021-05-07|archive-date=2022-07-13|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220713145351/https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10531-009-9639-x|url-status=live}}</ref>

===North America===
{{see also|List of North American animals extinct in the Holocene}}
[[File:Glyptodon old drawing.jpg|thumb|right|Illustration of [[Paleo-Indians]] hunting a [[glyptodon]]]]
[[File:Megalonyx size.svg|thumb|Size of ''[[Megalonyx]]'' (a ground sloth) compared to a human]]
During the American megafaunal extinction event, around 12,700 years ago, North America lost 70% of its megafauna species. 90 genera of mammals weighing over 44 kilograms became extinct.<ref>O'Keefe FR, Fet EV, Harris JM. 2009. Compilation, calibration, and synthesis of faunal and floral radiocarbon dates, Rancho La Brea, California. Contrib Sci 518: 1–16</ref><ref>O'Keefe, F. Robin, Binder, Wendy J., Frost, Stephen R., Sadlier, Rudyard W., and Van Valkenburgh, Blaire 2014. Cranial morphometrics of the dire wolf, Canis dirus, at Rancho La Brea: temporal variability and its links to nutrient stress and climate. Palaeontologia Electronica Vol. 17, Issue 1;17A; 24p; [http://www.palaeo-electronica.org/content/2014/723-canis-dirus-craniometrics] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181216130648/http://www.palaeo-electronica.org/content/2014/723-canis-dirus-craniometrics |date=2018-12-16 }}</ref> The [[Late Pleistocene]] [[fauna (animals)|fauna]] in North America included several species of [[ground sloth]]s, [[Arctodus|short-faced bear]]s, several species of [[tapir]]s, [[Peccary|peccaries]] (including the [[Mylohyus|long-nosed]] and [[Platygonus|flat-headed]] peccaries), the [[American lion]], [[Hesperotestudo|giant tortoise]]s, ''[[American cheetah|Miracinonyx]]'', the saber-toothed cat ''[[Smilodon]]'' and the scimitar-toothed cat ''[[Homotherium]]'',<ref>L. D. Martin. 1998. Felidae. In C. M. Janis, K. M. Scott, and L. L. Jacobs (eds.), Evolution of Tertiary Mammals of North America 1:236-242</ref> [[Dire wolf|dire wolves]], [[saiga antelope]], [[camelid]]s such as two species of now-extinct [[llama]]s and ''[[Camelops]]'',<ref>R. M. Nowak. 1991. Walker's Mammals of the World. Maryland, Johns Hopkins University Press (edited volume) II</ref> at least two species of [[bison]], the [[Cervalces scotti|stag-moose]], the [[shrub-ox]] and [[Harlan's muskox]], 14 species of [[pronghorn]] (of which 13 are now extinct), [[Evolution of the horse|horse]]s, [[mammoth]]s and [[mastodon]]s, the [[Dasypus bellus|beautiful armadillo]] and the giant armadillo-like ''[[Glyptotherium]]'',<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.amnh.org/science/biodiversity/extinction/Resources/Bestiary/Xenarthra.html|title=North American Glyptodon|access-date=July 2, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060624091329/http://www.amnh.org/science/biodiversity/extinction/Resources/Bestiary/Xenarthra.html|archive-date=June 24, 2006|url-status=dead}}</ref> and [[Castoroides|giant beaver]]s, as well as birds like [[Aiolornis incredibilis|giant condor]]s and [[teratorn]]s.

The reasons for the extinction event are still debated, but it has largely been attributed to both climate change and human-driven extinction.<ref name="nature.com">{{Cite journal|doi = 10.1038/s41467-018-07897-1|title = Population reconstructions for humans and megafauna suggest mixed causes for North American Pleistocene extinctions|year = 2018|last1 = Broughton|first1 = Jack M.|last2 = Weitzel|first2 = Elic M.|journal = Nature Communications|volume = 9|issue = 1|page = 5441|pmid = 30575758|pmc = 6303330|bibcode = 2018NatCo...9.5441B}}</ref> Humans arrived in North America between 12 and 30 thousand years ago. There are various human impacts that could have put pressure on different megafauna species, including direct hunting and cascading trophic interactions. Some researchers attribute the extinction of megafauna to the presence of [[Clovis culture|Clovis]] hunting, along with significant human population increases which would have increased hunting intensity and frequency, around 13,000 years ago. Contemporaneously, around 12,000 years ago, a global cooling event called the [[Younger Dryas]] (YD) occurred,<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Rasmussen|first1=S. O.|last2=Andersen|first2=K. K.|last3=Svensson|first3=A. M.|last4=Steffensen|first4=J. P.|last5=Vinther|first5=B. M.|last6=Clausen|first6=H. B.|last7=Siggaard-Andersen|first7=M.-L.|last8=Johnsen|first8=S. J.|last9=Larsen|first9=L. B.|last10=Dahl-Jensen|first10=D.|last11=Bigler|first11=M.|date=2006|title=A new Greenland ice core chronology for the last glacial termination|url=http://doi.wiley.com/10.1029/2005JD006079|journal=Journal of Geophysical Research|language=en|volume=111|issue=D6|pages=D06102|doi=10.1029/2005JD006079|bibcode=2006JGRD..111.6102R |issn=0148-0227}}</ref> which would have dramatically effected habitat area and food sources for many megafaunal species.

The role of humans, climate change, and other factors in driving megafauna extinction in North America is debated,<ref name="Emery-Wetherell, Meaghan M. 2017, pp. 642">{{Cite journal|doi=10.1017/pab.2017.15|title=Spatially explicit analysis sheds new light on the Pleistocene megafaunal extinction in North America|year=2017|last1=Emery-Wetherell|first1=Meaghan M.|last2=McHorse|first2=Brianna K.|last3=Byrd Davis|first3=Edward|journal=Paleobiology|volume=43|issue=4|pages=642–655|doi-access=free}}</ref><ref name=":16">{{Cite journal |last1=Stewart |first1=Mathew |last2=Carleton |first2=W. Christopher |last3=Groucutt |first3=Huw S. |date=2021-02-16 |title=Climate change, not human population growth, correlates with Late Quaternary megafauna declines in North America |journal=Nature Communications |language=en |volume=12 |issue=1 |pages=965 |doi=10.1038/s41467-021-21201-8 |pmid=33594059 |pmc=7886903 |issn=2041-1723}}</ref> with some scholars arguing in favor of climate change as the primary driver<ref name=":16" /> and others suggesting the possibility of direct and indirect human impacts.<ref name="Emery-Wetherell, Meaghan M. 2017, pp. 642" /> However, it can be difficult to generalize an extinction event for the continent as a whole when the climate and human impacts varied spatially, temporally, and seasonally so it is hard to generalize what triggered the event for the entire continent.<ref name="nature.com" /> Thus, it is important to consider that the causes can significantly vary for different species and different regions of North America. The extinction of megafauna and first appearance of humans did not completely correlate across North America, meaning that each area needs to be separately considered when attempting to determine the cause of extinction.<ref name=":15">{{Cite journal |last1=Emery-Wetherell |first1=Meaghan M. |last2=McHorse |first2=Brianna K. |last3=Davis |first3=Edward Byrd |date=2017 |title=Spatially explicit analysis sheds new light on the Pleistocene megafaunal extinction in North America |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/paleobiology/article/spatially-explicit-analysis-sheds-new-light-on-the-pleistocene-megafaunal-extinction-in-north-america/A3EBE9B5067CFFB821F4EDC81962421D |journal=Paleobiology |language=en |volume=43 |issue=4 |pages=642–655 |doi=10.1017/pab.2017.15 |s2cid=90330072 |issn=0094-8373 |access-date=2022-05-26 |archive-date=2022-01-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220120210031/https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/paleobiology/article/spatially-explicit-analysis-sheds-new-light-on-the-pleistocene-megafaunal-extinction-in-north-america/A3EBE9B5067CFFB821F4EDC81962421D |url-status=live }}</ref> Radiocarbon dating suggests that while extinctions followed human arrival in some areas (consistent with extinction due to hunting), in other regions megafauna species disappeared before humans arrived or persisted for as long as 3000 years in the presence of humans,<ref name=":15" /> suggesting factors other than humans drove extinctions. Similarly, a comparison of human vs megafauna population trends, again inferred from radiocarbon dating, found that extinctions were likely due to hunting for 3 species, from climate change for 5 species, and from a combination of hunting and climate change in one case.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Broughton |first1=Jack M. |last2=Weitzel |first2=Elic M. |date=2018-12-21 |title=Population reconstructions for humans and megafauna suggest mixed causes for North American Pleistocene extinctions |journal=Nature Communications |language=en |volume=9 |issue=1 |pages=5441 |doi=10.1038/s41467-018-07897-1 |pmid=30575758 |pmc=6303330 |issn=2041-1723}}</ref>

Megafauna extinctions that are most consistent with human activity in North America are of the Columbian mammoth, horses and saber-toothed cat. Humans directly impacted mammoth and horse species by overhunting, while [[Smilodon]] was pushed to extinction indirectly by humans overhunting of their prey. There are two species of megafauna whose extinctions appear to have no link to human hunting, they are the [[Nothrotheriops|Shasta ground sloth]] and [[mastodon]].<ref name="nature.com" />

====Alaska====
Alaska is situated in the northwesternmost part of North America. Megafauna disappeared from these higher latitudes generally earlier than the rest of North America. This means that the megafauna in the region either went extinct locally or migrated south as a result of the YD cooling event. Megafauna species disappeared from Alaska approximately 1000 to 4000 years before there was significant human presence in Alaska, indicating that their demise likely resulted from climate change.<ref name="Emery-Wetherell, Meaghan M. 2017, pp. 642"/><ref name="science.sciencemag.org">{{Cite journal|doi = 10.1126/science.1101476|title = Assessing the Causes of Late Pleistocene Extinctions on the Continents|year = 2004|last1 = Barnosky|first1 = A. D.|last2 = Koch|first2 = P. L.|last3 = Feranec|first3 = R. S.|last4 = Wing|first4 = S. L.|last5 = Shabel|first5 = A. B.|journal = Science|volume = 306|issue = 5693|pages = 70–75|pmid = 15459379|bibcode = 2004Sci...306...70B|s2cid = 36156087}}</ref>

====The Great Lakes region====
Megafauna species disappeared from Great Lakes Region considerably more recently than in higher latitudes, like Alaska. Additionally, the first appearances of humans were considerably earlier for this region compared to other regions in North America. Due to the overlaps of these two appearances, it has been suggested from the fossil record that humans and megafauna overlapped in the region for 7000 years.<ref name="Emery-Wetherell, Meaghan M. 2017, pp. 642"/> However, the presence of humans does not mean that the megafauna extinction event in the region was solely attributed to human impacts. There has been significant evidence into the cause of extinction in this area being related to the fact that both climate change and human impacts hit simultaneously.<ref name="science.sciencemag.org"/>
[[File:ArctodusSimusReconstruct.jpg|thumb|[[Arctodus|Giant short-faced bear]] compared with a human]]

====The West/Pacific coast====
The Pacific Coast was one of the region where early indigenous peoples first migrated. This is due to the fact that humans may have migrated further south from Alaska through a pathway that went along the Pacific Coast. However, there appears to have been little overlap between humans and megafauna species in these regions. One potential for this could be due to poor sampling due to sea-level rise that could have “obscured older coastal sites”.<ref name="Emery-Wetherell, Meaghan M. 2017, pp. 642"/>

==== Indigenous knowledge of Pleistocene megafauna ====
Indigenous knowledge of Pleistocene megafauna has survived via oral tradition and representations such as petroglyphs.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Steeves |first=Paulette F. C. |url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/1263182142 |title=The Indigenous Paleolithic of the Western Hemisphere |publisher=University of Nebraska Press |year=2021 |isbn=978-1-4962-0217-8 |location=Lincoln, Nebraska |pages=163 |language=English |chapter=Chapter 1: Decolonizing Indigenous Histories |oclc=1263182142 |access-date=2022-03-01 |archive-date=2022-07-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220713145349/https://www.worldcat.org/title/indigenous-paleolithic-of-the-western-hemisphere/oclc/1263182142 |url-status=live }}</ref>

The [[Cayuse people|Cayuse]] people of the Pacific Northwest has oral traditions and a dance centered around a story of mammoths migrating into their land. On the [[Umatilla Indian Reservation|Umatilla]] Indian Reservation, where the Cayuse people lived historically and today, two mammoth teeth were discovered during construction of a golf course.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Cultural Resources Protection Program |date=March 2000 |title=A Review of Oral History Information of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation |journal=Department of Natural Resources, Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation}}</ref>

An Osage tradition tells about a battle between mastodons and mammoths in the Great Plains region. This battle left many animals dead and after the battle was over the Osage burned the dead animals. Later, after the Osage were forceable moved to a reservation, white settlers found mastodon<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Montagu |first=M. F. Ashley |date=1944 |title=An Indian Tradition Relating to the Mastodon |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1525/aa.1944.46.4.02a00250 |journal=American Anthropologist |volume=46 |issue=4 |pages=568–571 |doi=10.1525/aa.1944.46.4.02a00250 |issn=0002-7294}}</ref> and mammoth<ref>{{Cite book |first=Julia |last=Cruikshank |url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/70618191 |title=Legend and landscape : convergence of oral and scientific traditions with special reference to the Yukon Territory, Canada |date=1980 |publisher=Scott Polar Research Institute |oclc=70618191 |access-date=2022-03-01 |archive-date=2022-07-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220713145351/https://www.worldcat.org/title/legend-and-landscape-convergence-of-oral-and-scientific-traditions-with-special-reference-to-the-yukon-territory-canada/oclc/70618191 |url-status=live }}</ref> bones at this site.

Throughout western North America, there are many stories of large, black-winged birds, known as [[Thunderbird (mythology)|thunderbirds]], which interacted with indigenous people in both positive and negative ways.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hall |first=Mark A. |url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/493870454 |title=Thunderbirds America's living legends of giant birds |publisher=Paraview Press |year=2004 |isbn=1-931044-97-X |location=New York |oclc=493870454 |access-date=2022-03-01 |archive-date=2022-07-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220713145350/https://www.worldcat.org/title/thunderbirds-americas-living-legends-of-giant-birds/oclc/493870454 |url-status=live }}</ref> These stories of thunderbirds share similarities with species from the genus ''[[Teratornis]]'', which are found throughout fossil record of the west coast.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Steeves |first=Paulette F. C. |url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/1263182142 |title=The Indigenous Paleolithic of the Western Hemisphere |publisher=University of Nebraska Press |year=2021 |isbn=978-1-4962-0217-8 |location=Lincoln, Nebraska |pages=10 |language=English |chapter=Chapter 7: Genetics, Linguistics, Oral Traditions, and Other Supporting Lines of Evidence |oclc=1263182142 |access-date=2022-03-01 |archive-date=2022-07-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220713145349/https://www.worldcat.org/title/indigenous-paleolithic-of-the-western-hemisphere/oclc/1263182142 |url-status=live }}</ref>

===South America===
{{see also|List of South American animals extinct in the Holocene}}
[[File:Pleistocene mammals of Chile.jpg|thumb|Reconstruction of a lagoon in central Chile during the late Pleistocene.]]
About 10,000 years ago, the landscape of South America contained numerous species of [[megafauna]], many of which have no modern species for comparison. South America was home to bears, [[Smilodon|saber-toothed cats]], large [[capybara]]s and [[llama]]s. Additionally, there were huge terrestrial [[sloth]]s, armored [[glyptodont]]s (similar to an [[armadillo]], but the size of a [[Hippopotamus|hippo]]), and animals similar to camels and rhinos ([[Macraucheniidae|macrauchenids]] and [[Toxodontidae|toxodonts]]). These animals went extinct during the [[Quaternary|Quaternary Period]] and all South American mammal species larger than 100&nbsp;kg were lost. The explanation for their extinction has not been definitively answered, and is a topic of debate among scientists.<ref name=":5">{{Cite journal|last=Samonds|first=Karen E.|date=2014-12-01|title=Megafauna: Giant Beasts of Pleistocene South America|journal=Journal of Mammalogy|volume=95|issue=6|pages=1308–1309|doi=10.1644/14-MAMM-R-132|issn=0022-2372|doi-access=free}}</ref> Some suggest that human hunting may have been the dominant driver of megafaunal decline in South America.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Prates |first1=Luciano |last2=Perez |first2=S. Ivan |date=2021-04-12 |title=Late Pleistocene South American megafaunal extinctions associated with rise of Fishtail points and human population |journal=Nature Communications |language=en |volume=12 |issue=1 |pages=2175 |doi=10.1038/s41467-021-22506-4 |pmid=33846353 |pmc=8041891 |issn=2041-1723}}</ref>

The continent of South America was isolated for millions of years during the [[Cenozoic|Cenozoic Period]], which had a significant impact on its wildlife.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Webb|first=S. David|title=The Great American Biotic Interchange: Patterns and Processes1|date=August 2006|url=https://bioone.org/journals/annals-of-the-missouri-botanical-garden/volume-93/issue-2/0026-6493(2006)93[245:TGABIP]2.0.CO;2/THE-GREAT-AMERICAN-BIOTIC-INTERCHANGE-PATTERNS-AND-PROCESSES1/10.3417/0026-6493(2006)93[245:TGABIP]2.0.CO;2.full|journal=Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden|volume=93|issue=2|pages=245–257|doi=10.3417/0026-6493(2006)93[245:TGABIP]2.0.CO;2|s2cid=198152030|issn=0026-6493|access-date=2021-05-01|archive-date=2022-07-13|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220713145414/https://bioone.org/journals/annals-of-the-missouri-botanical-garden/volume-93/issue-2/0026-6493_2006_93_245_TGABIP_2.0.CO_2/THE-GREAT-AMERICAN-BIOTIC-INTERCHANGE-PATTERNS-AND-PROCESSES1/10.3417/0026-6493(2006)93&#91;245:TGABIP&#93;2.0.CO;2.short|url-status=live}}</ref> This isolation helped foster species that were not found anywhere else on Earth. Approximately 3 million years ago, the [[Great American Interchange|Great American Biotic Interchange]] occurred due to the [[Isthmus of Panama]], which allowed for the mixing of North and South American faunas. The mixing of faunas created new opportunities for expansion, competition, and replacement of species.<ref name=":5" /> South American wildlife in the [[Pleistocene]] varied greatly; an example is the giant [[ground sloth]], ''[[Megatherium]]''.<ref>A. E. Zurita, A. A. Carlini, G. J. Scillato-Yané and E. P. Tonni. (2004). Mamíferos extintos del Cuaternario de la Provincia del Chaco (Argentina) y su relación con aquéllos del este de la región pampeana y de Chile. [http://www.scielo.cl/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0716-02082004000100004 Revista geológica de Chile 31(1):65-87] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170317143158/http://www.scielo.cl/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0716-02082004000100004 |date=2017-03-17 }}</ref> The continent also had quite a few grazers and mixed feeders such as the camel-like [[Litopterna|litoptern]] ''[[Macrauchenia]]'', ''[[Cuvieronius]]'', ''[[Notiomastodon]]'', ''[[Doedicurus]]'', ''[[Glyptodon]]'', ''[[Hippidion]]'' and ''[[Toxodon]]''.<ref>O. P. Recabarren, M. Pino, M. T. Alberdi. (2014). La Familia Gomphotheriidae en América del Sur: evidencia de molares al norte de la Patagonia chilena. [http://estudiosgeol.revistas.csic.es/index.php/estudiosgeol/article/viewArticle/895 Estudios Geológicos, Vol 70, No 1.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180709010618/http://estudiosgeol.revistas.csic.es/index.php/estudiosgeol/article/viewArticle/895 |date=2018-07-09 }}</ref> The main predators of the region were ''[[Arctotherium]]'' and ''[[Smilodon]]''.

===Eurasia===
[[Image:Long horned european wild ox.jpg|thumb|A painting by [[Heinrich Harder]] showing an aurochs fighting off a [[wolf]] pack]]
As with South America, some elements of the [[Eurasia]]n megafauna were similar to those of North America. Among the most recognizable Eurasian species are the [[woolly mammoth]], [[steppe mammoth]], [[straight-tusked elephant]], [[Hippopotamus antiquus|European hippopotamuses]], [[aurochs]], [[steppe bison]], [[Panthera leo spelaea|cave lion]], [[cave bear]], [[cave hyena]], ''[[Homotherium]]'', [[Irish elk]], [[Ursus maritimus tyrannus|giant polar bears]], [[woolly rhinoceros]], [[Merck's rhinoceros]], [[narrow-nosed rhinoceros]], and ''[[Elasmotherium]]''. In contrast, today the largest European land mammal is the European bison or [[wisent]].

By the advent and proliferation of [[Homo sapiens|modern humans]] (''Homo sapiens'') circa 315,000&nbsp;BP,<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Gunz|first1=Philipp|last2=Harvati|first2=Katerina|last3=Benazzi|first3=Stefano|last4=Cabec|first4=Adeline Le|last5=Bergmann|first5=Inga|last6=Skinner|first6=Matthew M.|last7=Neubauer|first7=Simon|last8=Freidline|first8=Sarah E.|last9=Bailey|first9=Shara E.|date=June 2017|title=New fossils from Jebel Irhoud, Morocco and the pan-African origin of Homo sapiens|journal=Nature|volume=546|issue=7657|pages=289–292|doi=10.1038/nature22336|pmid=28593953|issn=1476-4687|bibcode=2017Natur.546..289H|url=https://kar.kent.ac.uk/62267/1/Submission_288356_1_art_file_2637492_j96j1b.pdf|access-date=2019-08-30|archive-date=2020-01-08|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200108234003/https://kar.kent.ac.uk/62267/1/Submission_288356_1_art_file_2637492_j96j1b.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Hublin|first1=Jean-Jacques|last2=Ben-Ncer|first2=Abdelouahed|last3=Bailey|first3=Shara E.|last4=Freidline|first4=Sarah E.|last5=Neubauer|first5=Simon|last6=Skinner|first6=Matthew M.|last7=Bergmann|first7=Inga|last8=Le Cabec|first8=Adeline|last9=Benazzi|first9=Stefano|date=2017-06-07|title=New fossils from Jebel Irhoud, Morocco and the pan-African origin of Homo sapiens|journal=Nature|volume=546|issue=7657|pages=289–292|doi=10.1038/nature22336|pmid=28593953|issn=0028-0836|bibcode=2017Natur.546..289H|url=https://kar.kent.ac.uk/62267/1/Submission_288356_1_art_file_2637492_j96j1b.pdf|access-date=2019-08-30|archive-date=2020-01-08|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200108234003/https://kar.kent.ac.uk/62267/1/Submission_288356_1_art_file_2637492_j96j1b.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2017/06/morocco-early-human-fossils-anthropology-science/|title=These Early Humans Lived 300,000 Years Ago—But Had Modern Faces|date=2017-06-07|access-date=2017-10-13|archive-date=2017-10-14|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171014034207/http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2017/06/morocco-early-human-fossils-anthropology-science/|url-status=live}}</ref> the most common species of the genus ''[[Homo]]'' in Eurasia were the [[Denisovan]]s and [[Neanderthal]]s (fellow ''H. heidelbergensis'' descendants), and ''[[Homo erectus]]'' in Eastern Asia.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Kaifu|first=Yousuke|date=2017|title=Archaic Hominin Populations in Asia before the Arrival of Modern Humans: Their Phylogeny and Implications for the Southern Denisovans|url=https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/pdfplus/10.1086/694318|journal=Current Anthropology|volume=58|issue=17|pages=418–433|doi=10.1086/694318|s2cid=149397030|via=University of Chicago Press|access-date=2020-06-10|archive-date=2020-06-10|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200610173429/https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/pdfplus/10.1086/694318|url-status=live}}</ref> ''[[Homo sapiens]]'' is the only species of the genus ''Homo'' that remains extant.

===Extinction Analysis===
Two major events towards the end of the Pleistocene era had ultimately impacted the species that were inhabiting Eurasia; the last glacial period and the introduction of Homo Sapiens from Old World Africa. These two events were responsible for the vastly selective and intense extinctions of the Eurasian large mammal species mentioned previously.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Carotenuto |first1=F. |title=The well-behaved killer: Late Pleistocene humans in Eurasia were significantly associated with living megafauna only |journal= Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology|date=July 1, 2018 |volume=500 |pages=24–32 |doi=10.1016/j.palaeo.2018.03.036 |pmid=28106043 |pmc=5263868 |bibcode=2018PPP...500...24C |url=}}</ref> The megafauna extinctions that occurred towards the end of the Pleistocene is believed to be largely due to human hunting and overkill. Overkill models that incorporate prey availability for Homo Sapiens have provided solid backing to that theory.

Hunters of the Upper Paleolithic had crafted tools and projectile weapons that were able to bring down prey as large as Mammoths. With the population of humans rapidly increasing, the consumption and hunting of meat grew just as rapidly.

In addition to the growing numbers of human hunters, large terrestrial mammals in Eurasia had to combat detrimental climatic changes. Northern Eurasia during the Middle and Upper Pleistocene (ca. 700000–10000 BP) was continuously facing a changing climate. The landscape and habitats of mammals saw phases ranging from extensive glaciation and cold stages to temperate climates and interglacials.

A majority of extinctions occurred during the Late glacial (ca. 15000–10000 BP) periods. This period was characterized by a major reformation of vegetation, mainly the replacement of open vegetation by forests. These changes were more profound than earlier in the Last Cold Stage and are believed to have played a critical role in the extinction of the Pleistocene megafauna.
<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Stuart |first1=Anthony |title=Mammalian Extinctions in the Late Pleistocene of Northern Eurasia and North America |journal=Biological Reviews |date=November 1991 |volume=66 |issue=4 |pages=453–566 |doi=10.1111/j.1469-185X.1991.tb01149.x |pmid=1801948 |s2cid=41295526 |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1469-185X.1991.tb01149.x |access-date=2021-05-09 |archive-date=2021-05-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210510144346/https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1469-185X.1991.tb01149.x |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Australia===
[[Image:Thylacoleo skeleton in Naracoorte Caves.jpg|upright=1.15|thumb|A ''[[Thylacoleo carnifex]]'' or "marsupial lion" skeleton in the [[Naracoorte Caves National Park|Naracoorte Caves]], [[South Australia]]]]
{{main|Australian megafauna}}
The most recent Ice Age occurred during the Pleistocene, and caused lower global sea levels.<ref>{{Cite web|first=Kim Ann|last=Zimmermann|title=Pleistocene Epoch: Facts About the Last Ice Age|url=https://www.livescience.com/40311-pleistocene-epoch.html|access-date=2021-05-05|website=livescience.com|date=29 August 2017|language=en|archive-date=2020-04-13|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200413213808/https://www.livescience.com/40311-pleistocene-epoch.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=":6">{{Cite web|first=K. Kris|last=Hirst|title=What Did Australia Look Like When the First People Arrived?|url=https://www.thoughtco.com/sahul-pleistocene-continent-172704|access-date=2021-05-05|website=ThoughtCo|language=en|archive-date=2020-10-20|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201020232100/https://www.thoughtco.com/sahul-pleistocene-continent-172704|url-status=live}}</ref> The lower sea level revealed the entire [[Sahul Shelf]], connecting Australia with [[New Guinea]] and [[Tasmania]].<ref name=":6" /> Most literature about Australian megafauna during the Pleistocene refers to the entirety of Sahul.

Australia was characterized by [[marsupial]]s, [[monotreme]]s, [[crocodilia]]ns, [[testudines]], [[monitor lizard|monitor]]s and numerous large [[flightless bird]]s. Pleistocene Australia also supported the [[Procoptodon|giant short-faced kangaroo]] (''Procoptodon goliah''), ''[[Diprotodon]]'' (a giant [[wombat]] relative), the [[Thylacoleo carnifex|marsupial lion]] (''Thylacoleo carnifex''), the flightless bird ''[[Genyornis]]'', the five-meter long snake ''[[Wonambi]]'' and the giant [[monitor lizard]] ''[[Megalania]]''.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://science.uniserve.edu.au/school/quests/mgfauna.html |title=Australia's Megafauna |access-date=2008-12-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180324141534/http://science.uniserve.edu.au/school/quests/mgfauna.html |archive-date=2018-03-24 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.abc.net.au/science/features/megafauna/ |title=Death of the Megafauna |access-date=2008-12-17 |archive-date=2010-10-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101021111237/http://www.abc.net.au/science/features/megafauna/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Since 450 Ka, 88 Australian megafauna species have gone extinct.<ref name=":7">{{Cite journal|last1=DeSantis|first1=Larisa R. G.|last2=Field|first2=Judith H.|last3=Wroe|first3=Stephen|last4=Dodson|first4=John R.|date=2017-01-26|title=Dietary responses of Sahul (Pleistocene Australia–New Guinea) megafauna to climate and environmental change|journal=Paleobiology|volume=43|issue=2|pages=181–195|doi=10.1017/pab.2016.50|issn=0094-8373|doi-access=free}}</ref>

There are several hypotheses that attempt to explain why Pleistocene Australian megafauna went extinct. Most studies point to either climate change or human activity as reasons for the die off, but there is not yet a consensus among scientists about which factor had a larger impact. A scarcity of reliably dated megafaunal bone deposits has made it difficult to construct timelines for megafaunal extinctions in certain areas, leading to a divide among researches about when and how megafaunal species went extinct.<ref>{{Cite journal|date=2021-02-01|title=Late survival of megafauna refuted for Cloggs Cave, SE Australia: Implications for the Australian Late Pleistocene megafauna extinction debate|url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0277379120307435|journal=Quaternary Science Reviews|language=en|volume=253|pages=106781|doi=10.1016/j.quascirev.2020.106781|issn=0277-3791|last1=David|first1=Bruno|last2=Arnold|first2=Lee J.|last3=Delannoy|first3=Jean-Jacques|last4=Fresløv|first4=Joanna|last5=Urwin|first5=Chris|last6=Petchey|first6=Fiona|last7=McDowell|first7=Matthew C.|last8=Mullett|first8=Russell|last9=Mialanes|first9=Jerome|last10=Wood|first10=Rachel|last11=Crouch|first11=Joe|last12=Berthet|first12=Johan|last13=Wong|first13=Vanessa N.L.|last14=Green|first14=Helen|last15=Hellstrom|first15=John|author16=GunaiKurnai Land|author17=Waters Aboriginal Corporation|bibcode=2021QSRv..25306781D|s2cid=234010059|access-date=2021-05-05|archive-date=2021-05-05|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210505205929/https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0277379120307435|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|date=2009-02-01|title=New U/Th ages for Pleistocene megafauna deposits of southeastern Queensland, Australia|url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1367912008000643|journal=Journal of Asian Earth Sciences|language=en|volume=34|issue=2|pages=190–197|doi=10.1016/j.jseaes.2008.04.008|issn=1367-9120|last1=Price|first1=Gilbert J.|last2=Zhao|first2=Jian-xin|last3=Feng|first3=Yue-Xing|last4=Hocknull|first4=Scott A.|bibcode=2009JAESc..34..190P|access-date=2021-05-05|archive-date=2021-05-05|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210505205927/https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1367912008000643|url-status=live}}</ref>

Several studies provide evidence that climate change caused megafaunal extinction during the Pleistocene in Australia. One group of researchers analyzed fossilized teeth found at [[Cuddie Springs]] in southeastern Australia. By analyzing [[oxygen isotopes]], they measured aridity, and by analyzing [[carbon isotopes]] and [[dental microwear]] texture analysis, they assessed megafaunal diets and vegetation.<ref name=":7" /> During the middle Pleistocene, southeastern Australia was dominated by browsers, including fauna that consumed [[C4 plants]].<ref name=":7" /> By the late Pleistocene, the C4 plant dietary component had decreased considerably. This shift may have been caused by increasingly arid conditions, which may have caused dietary restrictions. Other isotopic analyses of eggshells and wombat teeth also point to a decline of C4 vegetation after 45 Ka. This decline in C4 vegetation is coincident with increasing aridity. Increasingly arid conditions in southeastern Australia during the late Pleistocene may have stressed megafauna, and contributed to their decline.<ref name=":7" />

Human activity may have caused Australian megafaunal extinction during the Pleistocene, although this idea is hotly debated.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=van der Kaars |first1=Sander |last2=Miller |first2=Gifford H. |display-authors=etal. |date=January 20, 2017 |title=Humans rather than climate the primary cause of Pleistocene megafaunal extinction in Australia |journal=Nature Communications |volume=8 |page=14142 |bibcode=2017NatCo...814142V |doi=10.1038/ncomms14142 |pmc=5263868 |pmid=28106043 |doi-access=free}}</ref><ref name=":0" /> To determine whether humans caused an extinction, three criteria must be met: (1) if megafauna species went extinct before a significant climate event but after human colonization, researchers can infer that the extinction was probably caused by humans; (2) if climate change during the studied epoch was not more significant than climate change during previous epochs, then any extinctions during that time were probably not caused by climate change; and (3) if all or most megafauna was still extant when humans arrived, then it is possible that human activity caused the extinction.<ref name=":8">{{Cite journal|date=2006-11-01|title=A review of the evidence for a human role in the extinction of Australian megafauna and an alternative interpretation|url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0277379106001399|journal=Quaternary Science Reviews|language=en|volume=25|issue=21–22|pages=2692–2703|doi=10.1016/j.quascirev.2006.03.005|issn=0277-3791|last1=Wroe|first1=Stephen|last2=Field|first2=Judith|bibcode=2006QSRv...25.2692W|access-date=2021-05-05|archive-date=2021-05-05|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210505205930/https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0277379106001399|url-status=live}}</ref>

Some researchers believe that humans were probably not responsible for the megafaunal extinctions in Sahul. They contribute the extinctions to climate change, and argue that most megafaunal species do not appear in the fossil record within 95 Ka of human arrival.<ref name=":8" /> Additionally, they claim that long-term aridification of the continent resulted in staggered losses beginning by 130 Ka, and continued range contractions and extinctions throughout the rest of the Pleistocene.<ref name=":8" /> Researchers who do not believe that human actions were the primary cause of Pleistocene megafaunal extinctions in Australia do not exclude anthropogenic influence entirely. One article cites evidence of human interactions with megafauna at Cuddie Springs, but further explains that humans can only be held accountable for declines in the populations of the 13% of species that can be placed at that location. They argue that it will remain futile to determine the primary cause of megafaunal extinctions.<ref name=":8" /> Other researchers argue that, for most species, archaeological evidence of human hunting activity is rare and questionable.<ref name=":9">{{Cite journal|last1=Johnson|first1=C. N.|last2=Alroy|first2=J.|last3=Beeton|first3=N. J.|last4=Bird|first4=M. I.|last5=Brook|first5=B. W.|last6=Cooper|first6=A.|last7=Gillespie|first7=R.|last8=Herrando-Pérez|first8=S.|last9=Jacobs|first9=Z.|last10=Miller|first10=G. H.|last11=Prideaux|first11=G. J.|date=2016-02-10|title=What caused extinction of the Pleistocene megafauna of Sahul?|url= |journal=Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences|language=en|volume=283|issue=1824|pages=20152399|doi=10.1098/rspb.2015.2399|issn=0962-8452|pmc=4760161|pmid=26865301}}</ref> The major exception to this is the giant bird, ''[[Genyornis]].'' Between 54 and 47 Ka, distinct charring patterns on ''Genyornis'' eggshells indicate that humans heated the eggs over campfires. This time period also corresponds to the decline and extinction of ''Genyornis''. Similar charring patterns were found on emu eggs from widespread locations, also dating to this time period. These widespread charred eggshells indicate the arrival and fast spread of humans in Sahul.<ref name=":9" /> Despite the evidence of interactions between humans and ''Genyornis'', there is not much evidence to indicate that there were significant interactions between humans and other megafaunal species. Many scientists interpret this lack of evidence of interaction as evidence that humans did not cause most megafaunal extinctions in Australia.

Other researchers disagree, and argue that there is sufficient evidence to determine that human activity was the primary cause for many of the megafaunal extinctions. They argue that the lack of evidence of hunting does not indicate that hunting during the Pleistocene was negligible. Rather, archaeological evidence of hunting of animals that went extinct soon after human arrival ''should'' be negligible, even if that hunting had an ecological impact.<ref name=":9" /> Because humans arrived on the continent so early, the period of interaction between humans and megafauna is very small relative to the entire archaeological record of Sahul. Furthermore, hunting rates would have been highest soon after the arrival of humans, when megafaunal populations were very large. Human populations would have been small during this time, and as a result, would not be as visible in the archaeological record.<ref name=":9" /> Researchers who believe that human activity was the primary cause of megafaunal extinction in Australia argue that the lack of evidence should not rule out human-megafauna interactions.

===Insular===
[[File:Canariomys bravoi skull.JPG|thumb|Skull of ''Canariomys bravoi'' (Tenerife giant rat). It was an endemic species that is now extinct.]]
[[File:Mammuthus exilis, Mammuthus columbi, Mastodon, Santa Barbara, Natural History Museum.jpg|thumb|''Mammuthus exilis'' skull and tusk found on Santa Rosa Island, California.]]
[[File:Mammuthus exilis mount, Santa Barbara, Natural History Museum.jpg|thumb|''Mammuthus exilis'' mount.]]
Many islands had a unique megafauna that became extinct upon the arrival of humans more recently (over the last few millennia and continuing into recent centuries). These included dwarf [[woolly mammoth]]s on [[Wrangel Island]], [[Saint Paul Island (Alaska)|St. Paul Island]] and the [[Channel Islands of California]];<ref>[http://www.yale.edu/caccone/ecosave/past_aDNA.html Extinct dwarf elephants from the Mediterranean islands] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090123070414/http://www.yale.edu/caccone/ecosave/past_aDNA.html |date=2009-01-23 }};</ref> giant birds in New Zealand such as the [[moa]]s and [[Haast's eagle|''Hieraaetus moorei'']] (a giant eagle); numerous species in [[Madagascar]]: giant ground-dwelling [[lemur]]s, including ''[[Megaladapis]]'', ''[[Palaeopropithecus]]'' and the gorilla-sized ''[[Archaeoindris]]'', [[Malagasy hippopotamus|three species of hippopotamus]]es, two species of [[giant tortoise]]s, the ''[[Voay]]''-crocodile and the giant bird ''[[Aepyornis]]''; five species of [[giant tortoise]]s from the [[Mascarenes]]; a dwarf ''[[Stegodon]]'' on [[Flores]] and a number of other islands; [[Meiolaniidae|land turtles]] and [[Mekosuchine crocodiles|crocodiles]] in [[Biodiversity of New Caledonia|New Caledonia]]; [[Tyto pollens|giant flightless]] [[Ornimegalonyx|owl]]s and [[Megalocnus|dwarf ground sloth]]s in the [[Caribbean]];<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.thegreatstory.org/charts/NA-extinctions.html |title=North American Extinctions v. World |access-date=2008-12-17 |archive-date=2019-09-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190927060621/http://www.thegreatstory.org/charts/NA-extinctions.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>[http://iws.org/CISProceedings/6th_CIS_Proceedings/Agenbroad.pdf Mammoths and Humans as late Pleistocene contemporaries on Santa Rosa Island] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171202052452/http://iws.org/CISProceedings/6th_CIS_Proceedings/Agenbroad.pdf |date=2017-12-02 }}, [[Institute for Wildlife Studies]] 6th California Islands Symposium, Larry D. Agenbroad, et al, December 2003. Retrieved 8 November 2015</ref> giant flightless geese and [[moa-nalo]] (giant flightless ducks) in Hawaii; and [[dwarf elephant]]s and [[Pygmy hippopotamus#Extinct pygmy and dwarf hippos|dwarf hippo]]s from the [[Mediterranean]] islands. The [[Canary Islands]] were also inhabited by an endemic megafauna which are now extinct: giant lizards (''[[Gallotia goliath]]''), giant rats (''[[Canariomys bravoi]]'' and ''[[Canariomys tamarani]]'')<ref>[http://www.gobiernodecanarias.org/cmayot/medioambiente/lagartodelagomera/gatos.html Algunas extinciones en Canarias] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091228151643/http://www.gobiernodecanarias.org/cmayot/medioambiente/lagartodelagomera/gatos.html |date=2009-12-28 }} Consejería de Medio Ambiente y Ordenación Territorial del Gobierno de Canarias</ref> and giant tortoises (''[[Geochelone burchardi]]'' and ''[[Geochelone vulcanica]]''),<ref>[http://www.sepaleontologia.es/revista/anteriores/REP%20Extra%201996/21Castillo.pdf «La Paleontología de vertebrados en Canarias.»] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181001232450/http://www.sepaleontologia.es/revista/anteriores/REP%20Extra%201996/21Castillo.pdf |date=2018-10-01 }} ''Spanish Journal of Palaeontology'' (antes ''Revista Española de Paleontología''). Consultado el 17 de junio de 2016.</ref> among others. On the California Channel Islands, it is unclear whether humans caused the extinction of pygmy mammoths (''[[Pygmy mammoth|Mammuthus exilis]])'', the only species of megafauna which inhabited the area.<ref name=":13">{{Cite journal |last1=Rick |first1=Torben C. |last2=Hofman |first2=Courtney A. |last3=Braje |first3=Todd J. |last4=Maldonado |first4=Jesús E. |last5=Sillett |first5=T Scott |last6=Danchisko |first6=Kevin |last7=Erlandson |first7=Jon M. |date=2012-03-01 |title=Flightless ducks, giant mice and pygmy mammoths: Late Quaternary extinctions on California's Channel Islands |url=https://doi.org/10.1080/00438243.2012.646101 |journal=World Archaeology |volume=44 |issue=1 |pages=3–20 |doi=10.1080/00438243.2012.646101 |s2cid=161764677 |issn=0043-8243}}</ref> Mammoth populations were in decline on the Channel Islands at the time of human arrival.<ref name=":13" />

==See also==
*[[Holocene extinction]]
*[[Megafauna]]
*[[Quaternary extinction event]]
*''[[Pleistocene rewilding]]''
*[[Younger Dryas impact hypothesis]]

==References==
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<ref name=ipcc2007>{{cite web|author=Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (UN)|title=IPCC Fourth Assessment Report: Climate Change 2007 - Palaeoclimatic Perspective|publisher=The Nobel Foundation|url=https://www.ipcc.ch/publications_and_data/ar4/wg1/en/spmsspm-a-palaeoclimatic.html|access-date=2015-08-09|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151030211417/http://www.ipcc.ch/publications_and_data/ar4/wg1/en/spmsspm-a-palaeoclimatic.html|archive-date=2015-10-30|url-status=dead}}</ref>

<ref name=pavelkova2014>{{cite journal|doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0085056|pmid=24454791|pmc=3890305|title=Ecological Structure of Recent and Last Glacial Mammalian Faunas in Northern Eurasia: The Case of Altai-Sayan Refugium|journal=PLOS ONE|volume=9|issue=1|pages=e85056|year=2014|last1=Pavelková Řičánková|first1=Věra|last2=Robovský|first2=Jan|last3=Riegert|first3=Jan|bibcode=2014PLoSO...985056P|doi-access=free}}</ref>

<ref name=svendson2003>{{cite web|title=Mamontovaya Kurya:an enigmatic, nearly 40000 years old Paleolithic site in the Russian Arctic|url=https://notendur.hi.is/oi/AG-326%202006%20readings/Russian%20Arctic/Svendsen_MAMMOTH2003.pdf|access-date=2015-08-09|archive-date=2015-08-14|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150814175918/https://notendur.hi.is/oi/AG-326%202006%20readings/Russian%20Arctic/Svendsen_MAMMOTH2003.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>
}}

==External links==
*{{cite web |url=http://www.kqed.org/quest/television/ice-age-bay-area2 |title=Ice Age Bay Area |access-date=2011-05-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081226005001/http://www.kqed.org/quest/television/ice-age-bay-area2 |archive-date=2008-12-26 |url-status=dead }}
*{{cite web |url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/stoneage/mega-list.html |title=The Extinct Late Pleistocene Mammals of North America|website=[[PBS]]}}
*{{cite web|url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/beta/evolution/end-big-beasts.html|title=End of the Big Beasts|website=[[PBS]]|access-date=2017-09-08|archive-date=2012-04-29|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120429160654/http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/evolution/end-big-beasts.html|url-status=dead}}
*{{cite web |url=http://biology.unm.edu/fasmith/Web_Page_PDFs/Lyons_et_al_2004_EER.pdf |title=Of mice, mastodons and men: human-mediated extinctions on four continents}}
*{{cite web |url=http://www.tarpits.org/education/guide/index.html |title=Return to the Ice Age: The La Brea Exploration Guide |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110812031103/http://www.tarpits.org/education/guide/index.html |archive-date=2011-08-12 }}
*{{cite web |url=http://worldmuseumofman.org/ani.php?collection=TRUE |title=Large Collection of European Ice Age Megafauna Fossils: The World Museum of Man Collection |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130329220628/http://www.worldmuseumofman.org/ani.php?collection=TRUE |archive-date=2013-03-29 }}

[[Category:Prehistoric mammals|*]]
[[Category:Pleistocene animals|*]]
[[Category:Pleistocene extinctions]]

Latest revision as of 21:59, 27 December 2023

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