Quaternary extinction eventThe latter half of the Late Pleistocene to the beginning of the Holocene (~50,000-10,000 years Before Present) saw extinctions of numerous predominantly megafaunal species, which resulted in a collapse in faunal density and diversity across the globe. The extinctions during the Late Pleistocene are differentiated from previous extinctions by the widespread absence of ecological succession to replace these extinct megafaunal species, and the regime shift of previously established faunal relationships and habitats as a consequence.
ParamylodonParamylodon is an extinct genus of ground sloth of the family Mylodontidae endemic to North America during the Pliocene through Pleistocene epochs, living from around ~4.9 Mya–12,000 years ago. Within the genus only two species are recognized: Paramylodon harlani, also known as Harlan's ground sloth and Paramylodon garbanii, though the placement of the latter in the genus has been questioned by some authors. The first fossil findings date back to the beginning of the 1830s.
TitanisTitanis (for the mythological Greek Titans) is a genus of phorusrhacid ("terror birds", a group originating in South America), an extinct family of large, predatory birds, in the order Cariamiformes (an order including phorusrhacids and the extant seriemas) that inhabited the United States during the Pliocene and earliest Pleistocene. The first fossils were unearthed by amateur archaeologists Benjamin Waller and Robert Allen from the Santa Fe River in Florida and were named Titanis walleri by ornithologist Pierce Brodkorb in 1963, the species name honoring Waller.
EremotheriumEremotherium (from Greek for "steppe" or "desert beast": ἔρημος "steppe or desert" and θηρίον "beast") is an extinct genus of giant ground sloth in the family Megatheriidae. Eremotherium lived in the southern North America, Central America, and northern South America from the Pliocene, around 5.3 million years ago, to the end of the Late Pleistocene, around 10,000 years ago. Eremotherium was widespread in tropical and subtropical lowlands and lived there in partly open and closed landscapes, while its close relative Megatherium lived in more temperate climes of South America.
GlyptodonAutomatic taxobox | fossil_range = Pliocene?-Pleistocene (Montehermosan?–Lujanian)~ | image = Glyptodon-1.jpg | image_caption = Skeleton of G. clavipes at the Naturhistorisches Museum, Vienna | taxon = Glyptodon | authority = Owen, 1839 | type_species = Glyptodon clavipes | type_species_authority = Owen, 1839 | subdivision_ranks = Other Species | subdivision = * G. elongatus? Burmeister, 1866 G. jatunkhirkhi Cuadrelli et al., 2020 G. munizi Ameghino, 1881 G. reticulatus Owen, 1845 | range_map = Glyptodon and Glyptotherium Distribution Map2.
NotiomastodonNotiomastodon is an extinct genus of gomphothere proboscidean (related to modern elephants), endemic to South America from the Pleistocene to the beginning of the Holocene. Notiomastodon specimens reached a size similar to that of the modern Asian elephant. Like other brevirostrine gomphotheres such as Cuvieronius and Stegomastodon, Notiomastodon had a shortened lower jaw and lacked lower tusks. Notiomastodon was a generalist feeder capable of consuming various types of plants, which varied according to local environments.
Great American InterchangeThe Great American Biotic Interchange (commonly abbreviated as GABI), also known as the Great American Interchange and the Great American Faunal Interchange, was an important late Cenozoic paleozoogeographic biotic interchange event in which land and freshwater fauna migrated from North America via Central America to South America and vice versa, as the volcanic Isthmus of Panama rose up from the sea floor and bridged the formerly separated continents. Although earlier dispersals had occurred, probably over water, the migration accelerated dramatically about 2.
