5 FACTS ABOUT

other mighty megafauna

1 Moa

These large birds were completely flightless, void of any wing bones. Some members of the many species of moa stood at three metres tall.

2 Irish elk

Mistakenly named an elk, this giant deer was in fact one of the largest of its kind to ever exist. Specimens could reach over two metres from hoof to shoulder, with antlers that could span more than 3.5 metres.

3 Glyptodon

Weighing about one ton and measuring three metres nose to tail, this heavily armoured armadillo ancestor was covered in bony scutes for protection against predators.

4 Diprotodon

The largest marsupial to have ever lived roamed across the plains, woodlands and savannahs of prehistoric Australia. These two-metre-tall, four-metre-long wombats weighed approximately three tons.

5 Mammoth

These extinct elephants could reach epic proportions. The woolly mammoth was roughly the size of the modern-day African elephant, but the Steppe mammoth could reach 4.5 metres in height.