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

Head out onto the water to sail around the archipelago, keeping your eyes peeled for breaching minke whales and bearded seals, as well as shaggy muskoxen—one of the few megafauna to survive the Ice Age—and Arctic wolves patrolling the shoreline. —Chloe Berge, Outside Online, 17 June 2025

Like the rest of Australia’s megafauna, Thylacoleo carnifex disappeared around 50,000 years ago. —Tom Hawking, Popular Science, 5 June 2025

Her stories take readers to a world beyond the stars, where political conspiracy, untamed megafauna and mysterious technology stir a storm of stress and tension. —Sixteen Ramos, USA Today, 9 May 2025

But dire wolves were real creatures that once roamed across North and South America during the Pleistocene epoch, standing taller than modern gray wolves with more robust builds and greater jaw strength, perfectly evolved to hunt the megafauna of the Ice Age. —Nia Bowers, USA Today, 24 May 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