Pleistocene megafauna Pleistocene megafauna Pleistocene megafauna is the set of large animals that lived on Earth during the Pleistocene epoch and became extinct during the Quaternary extinction event. Megafauna is a term used to describe animals with an adult body weight of over 44 kg (97 lbs). The last glacial period, commonly referred to as the 'Ice Age', spanned 125,000 to 14,500 years ago and was the most recent glacial period within the current ice age which occurred during the last years of the Pleistocene epoch. The Ice Age reached its peak during the last glacial maximum, when ice sheets commenced advancing
Middle Pleistocene Quaternary Stratigraphy's preferred GSSP proposal for the age/stage that should replace the Middle Pleistocene subepoch/subseries. Until the Chibanian is ratified by the IUGS, the Chibanian will remain an unofficial informal, proposed stratigraphic division and "Middle Pleistocene" remains the provisional or quasi-formal name, used by the IUGS on the International Chronostratigraphic Chart for 2018. Middle Pleistocene The Middle Pleistocene is a subdivision of the Pleistocene Epoch, from 781,000 to 126,000 years ago (781–126 ka). It is preceded by the Calabrian stage, beginning with the Brunhes–Matuyama reversal, and succeeded by the Tarantian stage (equivalent ot the Late or Upper Pleistocene), taken as