North American Terminal Pleistocene Extinctions: Current Views

Authors:

J Tyler Faith

Abstract:

The end of the Pleistocene in North America witnessed the extinction of a remarkable array of large mammals, encompassing at least 32 genera of megafauna (animals > 44 kg) and another 4 genera of smaller mammals (Table 1). The majority of extinct genera (n = 30), including mammoths and mastodons, saber-toothed cats, and giant ground sloths, became globally extinct at this time, whereas a handful (n = 6) disappeared from North America while continuing to survive elsewhere. Altogether, more than 70% of North America’s megafaunal genera disappeared (Barnosky et al. 2004). In addition to extinctions at the generic level, several megafaunal species with surviving North American congeners also disappeared near the end of the Pleistocene, including the dire wolf (Canis dirus), the American lion (Panthera atrox), Harrington’s mountain goat (Oreamnos harringtoni), and the beautiful armadillo (Dasypus bellus).

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