megafauna

noun

Etymology: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *méǵh₂s Proto-Hellenic *mégas Ancient Greek μέγᾰς (mégăs)der. English mega- English fauna English megafauna From mega- + fauna.

1. The large animals of a given region or time, considered as a group.

   “The extinction of the Pleistocene megafauna had ended there long before it had in Europe, and so a "broad spectrum" of food collecting had been going on for some time.”

2. A treatise on such a group of large animals.