Megafaunas

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Groups of large animals, typically those weighing over forty-five kilograms, that inhabited a particular region or geological era
2. Distinct kinds of big wild creatures, such as mammoths or giant ground sloths, that once roamed a specific habitat
3. Assemblages of the largest land-dwelling animal species found in an area, especially those that have since become extinct

Etymology: "Megafaunas" is simply the plural of "megafauna," so the history belongs to the base word. "Megafauna" is a modern compound built from "mega-," from Ancient Greek "mégas," meaning "great" or "large," and the Latin-derived "fauna," the collective name for the animals of a region or period. Put together, the term describes the large animals of a particular place or time, which is why it is most often used of the big mammals that disappeared from many continents at the end of the last Ice Age. The plural form follows the usual English pattern for count nouns, so "megafaunas" refers to several distinct animal populations or assemblages, such as the megafaunas of different continents or different geological periods, rather than to a single collective group.

Antonyms: microfauna