megafauna

megafauna
/meg"euh faw'neuh/, n. Ecol.
land animals of a given area that can be seen with the unaided eye.
[MEGA- + FAUNA]

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      in soil science, animals such as earthworms and small vertebrates (e.g., moles, mice, hares, rabbits, gophers, snakes, and lizards). The food habits of soil megafauna vary; earthworms ingest both soil and organic matter, but most of the vertebrates feed on plant material, invertebrates, and other small vertebrate animals. Megafauna are the principal agents of soil turnover and distribution; this movement loosens soil structure, improves aeration and drainage, and distributes soil microorganisms.

      Outside of soil science, the term megafauna refers to the largest mammals (and sometimes the largest birds and reptiles), often those that were the first to be exterminated following human contact.

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • Megafauna — Megafauna,   Bodenbiologie: die tierischen Bodenorganismen, die größer als 20 mm sind; z. B. Schnecken, Regenwürmer, große Gliederfüßer und Wirbeltiere, die ganz oder teilweise im Boden leben (u. a. Maulwürfe …   Universal-Lexikon

  • Megafauna — This article is about large land animals. For naked eye visible bottom dwelling animals, see Macrobenthos. The African bush elephant, Earth s largest living land animal In terrestrial zoology, megafauna (Ancient Greek megas large + New Latin… …   Wikipedia

  • Megafauna — Beutellöwen Skelett im Naracoorte Caves Nationalpark, South Australia. Als Megafauna bezeichnet man den Anteil der Tiere, der in einem Habitat die körperlich größten Organismen stellt. Diese Einteilung ist willkürlich, hält sich aber an allgemein …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Megafauna — Este artículo o sección necesita referencias que aparezcan en una publicación acreditada, como revistas especializadas, monografías, prensa diaria o páginas de Internet fidedignas. Puedes añadirlas así o avisar al autor pri …   Wikipedia Español

  • megafauna — very large animals, mostly whales in water but conceivably some of the larger fishes could be included. See also charismatic megafauna …   Dictionary of ichthyology

  • Megafauna — (Del griego Mega, grande) Megafauna, término que en Paleontología se designa a los grandes animales terrestres en particular mamíferos que se extinguieron entre fines del Pleistoceno y comienzos del Holoceno (12.000 a.C 8.000 a. C) en diferentes… …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Megafauna (mythology) — For giant animals in science and history, see Megafauna. A Hydra. The 16th century German illustration. A giant animal in mythology is gigantic in the narrated myth, either large for their species or in relation to mankind. They might dwarf a… …   Wikipedia

  • megafauna — noun Date: 1927 1. animals (as bears, bison, or mammoths) of particularly large size 2. fauna consisting of individuals large enough to be visible to the naked eye • megafaunal adjective …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • megafauna — noun a) The large animals of a given region or time, considered as a group. b) A treatise on such a group of large animals …   Wiktionary

  • Megafauna — Me|ga|fau|na die; <zu ↑mega...> Bez. für die tierischen Bodenorganismen, die größer als 20 mm sind (z. B. Schnecken, Regenwürmer, Maulwürfe; Biol.) …   Das große Fremdwörterbuch

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