Late Pleistocene – Holocene Extinctions of the Terrestrial Megafauna

PEREZ, S. IVAN; PRATES, LUCIANO

Encyclopedia of Biodiversity 3rd edition

Elsevier

Año: 2024; p. 158 - 170

The impact of humans on ecosystems is a central topic in the current ecological debate. During the Late Pleistocene two significant processes took place: the expansion of modern humans and the last mass extinction of megafauna, with the loss of at least 97 genera around the world. Examples of megafauna extinct genera include woolly mammoths (e.g., Mammuthus) in northern regions from Eurasia and North America, woolly rhinos (e.g., Coelodonta) in northern Eurasia, glyptodonts (e.g., Glyptodont) in South Americas, and giant kangaroos (e.g., Procoptodon) in Australia. The oldest extinctions occurred in Australia and Tasmania, followed by Eurasia and the Americas, and lastly Madagascar, New Zealand and other smaller islands (e.g., Caribbean islands, Wrangel).