List of megafauna discovered in modern times on:
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The following is a list of
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''ZSL Living Conservation,'' December 19, 2005. *
megafauna
In terrestrial zoology, the megafauna (from Greek μέγας ''megas'' "large" and New Latin ''fauna'' "animal life") comprises the large or giant animals of an area, habitat, or geological period, extinct and/or extant. The most common threshold ...
discovered by science since the beginning of the 19th century (with their respective date of discovery). Some of these may have been known to native peoples or reported anecdotally but had not been generally acknowledged as confirmed by the scientific world, until conclusive evidence was obtained for formal studies. In other cases, certain animals were initially considered hoaxes – similar to the initial reception of mounted specimens of the duck-billed platypus
The platypus (''Ornithorhynchus anatinus''), sometimes referred to as the duck-billed platypus, is a semiaquatic, egg-laying mammal Endemic (ecology), endemic to Eastern states of Australia, eastern Australia, including Tasmania. The platypu ...
''Ornithorhynchus anatinus'' in late 18th-century Europe.
The definition of megafauna varies, but this list includes some of the more notable examples.
Megafauna believed extinct, but rediscovered
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* Burchell's zebra
Burchell's zebra (''Equus quagga burchellii'') is a southern subspecies of the plains zebra. It is named after the British explorer and naturalist William John Burchell. Common names include bontequagga, Damaraland zebra, and Zululand zebra (John ...
(''Equus quagga burchellii''), 2004Groves, C.P. & Bell, H.B. 2004. New investigations on the taxonomy of the zebras genus Equus, subgenus Hippotigris. Mammalian Biology. 69: 182-196.
Megafauna previously unknown from the fossil record
*Western grey kangaroo
The western grey kangaroo (''Macropus fuliginosus''), also referred to as a western grey giant kangaroo, black-faced kangaroo, mallee kangaroo, sooty kangaroo and (when referring to the Kangaroo Island subspecies) Kangaroo Island grey kangaroo, is ...
''Macropus fuliginosus'' (1817)
* Malayan tapir
The Malayan tapir (''Tapirus indicus''), also called Asian tapir, Asiatic tapir and Indian tapir, is the only tapir species native to Southeast Asia from the Malay Peninsula to Sumatra. It has been listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List since ...
''Acrocodia indica'' (1819)
* Red kangaroo
The red kangaroo (''Osphranter rufus'') is the largest of all kangaroos, the largest terrestrial mammal native to Australia, and the largest extant marsupial. It is found across mainland Australia, except for the more fertile areas, such as sou ...
''Osphanter rufus'' (1822)
* Lowland anoa ''Bubalus depressicornis'' (1827)
* Mountain tapir
The mountain tapir, also known as the Andean tapir or woolly tapir (''Tapirus pinchaque'') is the smallest of the four widely recognized species
In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism ...
''Tapirus pinchaque'' (1829)
* Baird's tapir
The Baird's tapir (''Tapirus bairdii''), also known as the Central American tapir, is a species of tapir native to Mexico, Central America, and northwestern South America. It is the largest of the three species of tapir native to the Americas, as ...
''Tapirus bairdii'' (1865)
* Bonobo
The bonobo (; ''Pan paniscus''), also historically called the pygmy chimpanzee and less often the dwarf chimpanzee or gracile chimpanzee, is an endangered great ape and one of the two species making up the genus '' Pan,'' the other being the comm ...
''Pan paniscus'' (1928)
* Kouprey
The kouprey (''Bos sauveli''), also known as forest ox is a forest-dwelling, wild bovine species native to Southeast Asia. A young male was sent to the Paris Zoological Park in 1937 and was described by the French zoologist Achille Urbain who ...
''Bos sauveli'' (1937)
* Kabomani tapir
The South American tapir (''Tapirus terrestris''), also commonly called the Brazilian tapir (from the Tupi ''tapi'ira''), the Amazonian tapir, the maned tapir, the lowland tapir, the ''anta'' (Portuguese), and ''la sachavaca'' (literally "bushco ...
''Tapirus kabomani'' (2013)
Megafauna initially believed to have been fictitious or hoaxes
*Przewalski's horse
Przewalski's horse (, , (Пржевальский ), ) (''Equus ferus przewalskii'' or ''Equus przewalskii''), also called the takhi, Mongolian wild horse or Dzungarian horse, is a rare and endangered horse originally native to the steppes of Ce ...
''Equus ferus przewalskii'' (1881 - current wild population descended from zoo breeding since 1945)"An extraordinary return from the brink of extinction for worlds last wild horse"''ZSL Living Conservation,'' December 19, 2005. *
Okapi
The okapi (; ''Okapia johnstoni''), also known as the forest giraffe, Congolese giraffe, or zebra giraffe, is an artiodactyl mammal that is endemic to the northeast Democratic Republic of the Congo in central Africa. It is the only species i ...
''Okapia johnstoni'' (1901)
Status unclear
* Sumatran muntjac ''Muntiacus montanus'' (1918) * Giant peccary ''Pecari maximus'' (2007)See also
*Mammalia
Mammals () are a group of vertebrate animals constituting the class Mammalia (), characterized by the presence of mammary glands which in females produce milk for feeding (nursing) their young, a neocortex (a region of the brain), fur o ...
* List of mammals described in the 2000s
Although the mammals are well studied in comparison to other animal groups, a number of new species are still being discovered. This list includes Extant taxon, extant mammal species discovered, formally named, or brought to public light in the ye ...
References
Megafauna
In terrestrial zoology, the megafauna (from Greek μέγας ''megas'' "large" and New Latin ''fauna'' "animal life") comprises the large or giant animals of an area, habitat, or geological period, extinct and/or extant. The most common threshold ...