megafauna

noun

mega·​fau·​na ˈme-gə-ˌfȯ-nə 

-ˌfä-

1

: animals (such as bears, bison, or mammoths) of particularly large size

2

: fauna consisting of individuals large enough to be visible to the naked eye

megafaunal

ˈme-gə-ˌfȯ-nᵊl 

-ˌfä-

adjective

Examples of megafauna in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

While Canada plays host to fascinating megafauna spanning from the polar bear to the gray wolf to the muskox, there’s one park in particular that offers a deep dive into the nation’s prehistoric past. —Jared Ranahan, Forbes.com, 31 Aug. 2025

Newsletter Sign up for our email newsletter for the latest science news Identifying prehistoric Australian megafauna from fossils may have gotten easier thanks to collagen peptide markers. —Monica Cull, Discover Magazine, 3 June 2025

Where is the habitat for an animal that was adapted for preying on now-extinct megafauna like ground sloths and giant bison? —Pepper Trail, Denver Post, 6 May 2025

These predators could grow up to six feet in length, and their large skull and jaws were adapted to take down Pleistocene megafauna such as mastodons and bison. —Andrea Thompson, Scientific American, 8 Apr. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1927, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for megafauna

• avifauna
• hinayana
• macrofauna
• mahayana
• majorana
• marianna
• marihuana
• marijuana
• microfauna
• ana
• bwana
• dhyana