Lecure 22 - Pleistocene Megafaunal Extinction Flashcards
1
Q
pleistocene species
A
- extreme diversity of mammals over 100lbs in NA, SA, Europe, Aus, Africa
- nearly all extinct by 10Ka, everywhere except Africa
2
Q
north america
mammuthis columbi (wooly mammoth)
A
- relative of modern elephant
- up to 13 feet at shoulder and 10 tons.
- known from all over NA
- extinct at ~11Ka
3
Q
north america
smilodon fatalus
A
- up to 650 lbs.
- mainly in NA
- hunted big game, including bison and camels
- extinct ~10Ka
4
Q
north america
camelpos hesternus
A
- extinct ~11ka
- over 7ft tall, weighed up to 1800lbs
5
Q
north america
casteroides - giant beaver
A
- extinct by ~11.5 Ka
6
Q
north america
eremotherium - omnivoroous ground sloth
A
- ~ 20 ft long, up to 3 tons
- extinct @ ~11Ka
- Florida, Georgia, Central America
- ground burrows still exist to this day
7
Q
europe
ursus spalaeus - larger than grizzly bear
A
- extinct 15-11Ka
8
Q
europe
wolly rhinoceros
A
- up to >5000 lbs.
- extinct 15-11Ka
9
Q
europe
megaloceros giganteus
A
- extinct by ~8Ka
- antlers up to 10ft wide
10
Q
south america
glypotodonts
A
- grazing armadillo-like creatures
- extinct by 11.5Ka
11
Q
toxodon
A
- notoungulate - hoofed mammal (independently derived from rhinos, antelopes)
- up to 3k lbs
- extinct ~11.5Ka
12
Q
litopterns
A
- large hoofed mammals distinct from notoungulates
- elephant-like trunk
- extinct less than 100Ka
13
Q
australia
diprotodon
A
- hippo-sized relative of wombat and koala
- up to 6000lbs
- extinct 50-15Ka
14
Q
sized based extinctions
A
- in NA, SA, Eurasia - 100% of big animals went extinct at end of pleistocene
- australia - 100% for large/medium
- extinction risk for smaller animals were much lower
- Africa is different, all extinction probabilities are dramatically lower
15
Q
reason for continental differences in size-based extinction
A
- modern humans come into NA/SA at around 20 Ka - start hunting around this time
- increased pressure from human hunting and switch from glacial to interglacial period that was the perfect combination for this extinction
- Africa was buffered from effects of late-Pleistocene groupings - for 1/4 million years, large-bodied have been co-evolving with modern humans so have adapted to survive against hunting
- Australia (Island continent phenomena)
- large bodied - slower in life history strategy and invest more heavily in offspring compared to smaller bodied animals
