"Megafauna" (large animals weighing over 45 kg) play extremely important roles in shaping their ecosystems. For hundreds of millions of years, including through multiple glacial–interglacial transitions, megafauna have been abundant across all landscapes and seascapes on Earth. The last 50,000 years, however, have been marked by a dramatic decline in megafaunal abundance and diversity. Leading up to the end of the Pleistocene era 12,000 years ago, co-incident waves of human arrival and overhunti

Penny Thomson deflty capturs animals' movements in these miniature ecosystems operated with a simple hand-crank. See more today on Colossal: https://www.thisiscolossal.com/2021/08/penny-thomson-miniatures/ | Colossal

The colossal squid—one of nature’s most elusive animals, and handily the world’s most massive squid species—was first identified 100 years ago using remains found in the stomach of a sperm whale. Now, one has been filmed alive in its natural oceanic environment for the first time. The nearly one-foot-long juvenile offers scientists a rare glimpse into its unique behaviors and biology. Learn more about this incredible find: https://on.natgeo.com/4ijzSvi | National Geographic