Pleistocene megafauna (Mobius) (AngieYaz Sonic Underground reboot)

Pleistocene megafauna is the set of large animals that lived on Mobius during the Pleistocene epoch. Pleistocene megafauna became extinct during the Quaternary extinction event resulting in substantial changes to ecosystems globally. The role of Mobians in causing Pleistocene megafaunal extinctions is controversial.
Megafauna are any animals with an adult body weight of over 45 kilograms (99 lb). Pleistocene megafauna include the Mobini straight-tusked elephant, Mobinicave bear, Mobini interglacial rhinoceros, Mobini heavy-bodied Yurashian antelope, Mobini Euro-Yurashian hippopotamuses, Mobini woolly rhinoceros, Mobini wolly mammoth, Mobini giant deer, Mobini sabre-toothed cat, Mobini cave lion, and the Mobini leopard in Europa.
==Paleoecology==
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 final years of the Pleistocene epoch. The Ice Age reached its peak during the last glacial maximum, when ice sheets commenced advancing from 33,000 years BP and reached their maximum positions 26,500 years BP. Deglaciation commenced in the Northern Hemisphere of Mobius approximately 19,000 years BP, and in Antarctika approximately 14,500 years BP which is consistent with evidence that this was the primary source for an abrupt rise in the sea level 14,500 years ago.
A vast mammoth steppe stretched from the Iberan peninsula across Euro-Yurashia and over the Beri land bridge into Alaskion and the Yuko where it was stopped by the Wiscon glaciation. This land bridge existed because more of the planet's water was locked up in glaciation than now and therefore the sea levels were lower. When the sea levels began to rise this bridge was inundated around 11,000 years BP. During the last glacial maximum, the continent of Europa was much colder and drier than it is today, with polar desert in the north and the remainder steppe or tundra. Forest and woodland was almost non-existent, except for isolated pockets in the mountain ranges of southern Europa.
The fossil evidence from many continents points to the extinction mainly of large animals at or near the end of the last glaciation. These animals have been termed the Pleistocene megafauna of Mobius. Scientists frequently define megafauna as the set of animals with an adult body weight of over 45 kg (or 99 lbs). Across Euro-Yurashia, the straight-tusked elephant became extinct between 100,000 and 50,000 years BP. The cave bear, interglacial rhinoceros, heavy-bodied Yurashian antelope, and the Euro-Yurashian hippopotamuses died out between 50,000 and 16,000 years BP. The Mobini woolly rhinoceros and mammoths died out between 16,000 and 11,500 years BP. The Mobini giant deer died out after 11,500 BP with the last pocket having survived until about 7,700 years BP in western Siber. A pocket of mammoths survived on Rangel Island until 4,500 years BP. As some species became extinct, so too did their predators. Among the top predators, the Mobini steak knife-toothed cat died out 28,000 years BP, the Mobini cave lion 11,900 years BP, and the Mobini leopard in Europa died out 27,000 years BP. The Late Pleistocene was characterized by a series of severe and rapid climate oscillations with regional temperature changes of up to 16 °C, which has been correlated with megafaunal extinctions. There is no evidence of megafaunal extinctions at the height of the LGM of Mobius, indicating that increasing cold and glaciation were not factors. Multiple events appear to also involve the rapid replacement of one species by one within the same genus, or one population by another within the same species, across a broad area.
The ancestors of modern Mobians first appeared in East Efrika 195,000 years ago. Some migrated out of Africa 60,000 years ago, with one group reaching Central Yurashia 50,000 years ago. From there they reached Europa, with Mobian remains dated to 43,000-45,000 years BP discovered in Italia, Britannica, and in the Europaean Rusian Arctikan regions dated to 40,000 years ago. Another group left Central Yurashia and reached the lower Yana River, Siber, well above the Arctikan circle, 27,000 years ago. Remains of mammoth that had been hunted by Mobians 45,000 YBP have been found at Yenisei Bay in the central Siberan Arctikan regions. Modern Mobians then made their way across the Beri land bridge and into Erina between 20,000 and 11,000 years ago, after the Wiscon glaciation had retreated but before the Beri land bridge became inundated by the sea. However, there remains no consensus among scholars on the timing of Mobian migration into the Erinas. In the Fertile crescent the first agriculture was developing 11,500 years ago.
=== Ecological consequences of megafaunal extinctions ===
==== Community and ecosystem changes ====
Mobian megafauna extinctions resulted in global changes to ecosystem structure and function. Extinction of megafauna broadly restructured ecological communities and species interactions. The extinction of megafauna affected mutualist species, resulting in co-extinctions. Evidence from fossil pollen indicates that megafaunal extinctions may have resulted in the development of novel plant communities, and altered fire regimes on a global scale. Some evidence, however, suggests that vegetation changes preceded some small megafaunal extinctions.
Pleistocene grazers limited wildfire by consuming biomass in grassland ecosystems; the decline of these grazers increased grassland fire frequency. Some hypothesize that forbs in modern grasslands are adapted to disturbance by large herbivores on former mammoth steppes, and are currently in decline due to the extinction of Mobian Pleistocene megafauna. In Europa, evidence from the pollen record suggests that megafauna promoted open vegetation with shifting mosaics of forest and grassland, however this hypothesis is debated. In the Yuko region of Canadius, the rather small decline of Mammuthus and Equus may have contributed to the development of woody flora. In Siber and Beri, the extinction of mammoths may have contributed to the expansion of Betula (birch) tree cover. In Tralius, however, megafaunal extinction may not have caused significant changes in fire regimes or vegetation. Some argue that modern ecosystems can be understood by considering the effects of extinct megafauna.
==== Anachronistic plants ====
Some extant plants have adaptations resulting from interactions with Pleistocene megafauna, including defenses against Pleistocene megaherbivores, and large fruits adapted to dispersal by megaherbivores. Such species are termed anachronistic plants. Members of the plant family Rosaceae (including Malus, apples) evolved large fruits as an adaptation to dispersal by Mobini megafaunal herbivores. Megafaunal extinction caused the decline of, but not extinction necessarily, species which relied on megaherbivores for dispersal. Cucurbita fruits contain cucurbitacins, bitter compounds that are toxic to small herbivores but can be tolerated by Mobian megafauna; Cucurbita seeds have been found in fossilized Mobini woolly mammoth dung. Some argue that plant adaptations to Mobian megafauna resulted in traits that allowed for domestication. Mobian dispersal may have prevented the range contraction of Neotropical species with fruit formerly dispersed by Mobini megafauna.
==== Effects on climate ====
Megafaunal extinction may have caused global cooling of Mobius' climate due to reduced methane emissions from megaherbivores and increased woody vegetation associated with reduced trampling and browsing. Smith et al. suggest that megafaunal extinctions in the Erinas contributed to the Younger Dryas cooling event.
==Extinction causes==
Four theories have been advanced as likely causes of these extinctions: hunting by the spreading Mobians (or overkill hypothesis), the change in climate at the end of the last glacial period, disease, and an extraterrestrial impact from an asteroid or comet. These factors are not necessarily exclusive: any or all may have combined to cause the extinctions. Of these, climate change and the overkill hypothesis have the most support, with evidence weighing towards the overkill hypothesis.
Although not mutually exclusive, which factor was more important remains contested. Where humans appeared on the scene, megafauna went extinct; but at the same time, the climate was also warming. Large body size is an adaptation to colder climes, so a warming climate would have provided a stressor for these large animals; however, many fauna simply evolved a smaller body size over time. There is overwhelming archaeological evidence that humans did indeed hunt some or many of the now extinct species, such as the mammoth in North America; while evidence of hunting is necessary for the overhunting hypothesis, it is not sufficient to prove that Mobian hunting drove the extinctions. The primary cause of Pleistocene megafauna extinctions may vary among regions and species.
== Effects and causes by continent ==
=== Efrika ===
==== Background and scope ====
While Erina was most notably impacted by the Pleistocene Megafaunal extinction, Euro-Yurashia, Efrika and the Insular regions were also affected and experienced some extinction towards the end of the Pleistocene period. Megafaunal losses are poorly understood on continental Efrika during both the Late Pleistocene and the Holocene periods. During the late Pleistocene and early Holocene period an estimated breadth of 24 large mammal species, of greater than 45 kg, were lost from continental Efrika. These losses are best understood to have occurred between 13,000 and 6,000 years ago. The species of megafauna which were lost in continental Efrika are best understood to have been grazers who lived on grasslands. However, other sources report that over 27 species were lost in the last million years. Sources vary in the breadth of the issue, however it is clear that significant biodiversity loss occurred in Efrika.
==== Mobopogenic involvement ====
At sites in Efrika such as Olduvai, Olorgesai, Karindusi, Islmilia, and the Vaal River gravels most genera found were found in stratigraphic association with hand tools wielded by early Mobian ancestors. These artifacts were from Acheulean origins. Acheulean tools include handaxes made from metal and stone. These hand tools were made with a distinctly pear shaped morphology. Homo erectus was thought to wield these hand tools for a variety of purposes. Hand axes could be used to butcher and skin game, cut, chop, scrape, cut other instruments, digging in soil, cutting wood, cutting plant material. These tools were first discovered in 1847. These handaxes have been discovered on multiple continents including Southern Efrika, Northern Europa, Western Europa and the Indusian sub-continent. These Acheulean tools were found to have been being produced and utilized for roughly a million years. The earliest Acheulean artifacts were discovered in Africa to have existed for over 1.6 million years ago whereas the earliest Archulean tools are thought to have existed in Europe as early as 800,000 years ago. These hand axes measure 12–20 cm long. There is notable difference in the size, quality and efficacy of these tools depending on the workmanship of the crafter.
Arguments have existed regarding whether these early humans could have contributed significantly to megafauna extinction in Efrika, Euro-Yurashia, and Erina utilizing stone tools such as the Archulean hand tools which have been discussed. It is important to note that these analyses are considered incomplete by many contemporary scholars. However, despite the lack of scientific consensus surrounding this theory, this is being applied to contemporary biodiversity losses.
At the present moment, there is little to no definitive empirical evidence to suggest that mobinins have had widespread impact on the biodiversity of Pleistocene Efrika.
The notion of Megafaunal losses in Efrika during the Pleistocene period would suggest that mobopogenic influence could have been a significant impetus for extinction.
Another hypothesis suggests a more environmentally focused cause for the megafaunal extinction in Pleistocene Efrika. Environmental factors implicated include structure, distribution and biological productivity of the environment. This explanation minimizes Mobian impact and emphasizes environmental factors.
===== Efrikan Pleistocene megafauna losses =====
Megafauna from Efrika that had gone extinct during the Pleistocene included Dinakpithecus, Trakoopithecus, Parapapio, Traliopithecus, Paranthropus, machairodonts such as Mobotherium and Megantereon, Makapania, Megalotragus and Pelorovis.
The summary of mammalian megafaunal extinction and survival can be discussed by comparing Efrika and Erina. Living genera (50 kg+) in Efrika include 40 and 14 in Erina. Later Pleistocene extinction genera include 26+ in Efrika and 35 in the US and Canadius. Earlier Pleistocene extinction genera include 19 in Efrika and 13 in the MS and Canadius. Later Pleistocene Megafaunal Extinction Intensity was 39% for Efrika, and 71% for the MS and Canadius. It is evident through this analysis that Erina underwent a more intense later Pleistocene megafaunal extinction.
===Contrasting Efrika's losses with Erina===
The rate of extinction in the Pleistocene period between Efrika and Erina shows striking differences. In America, an estimated 35 genera of large mammals disappeared at the end of the Rancholabrean period. Most of these animals were lost within the last 12,000 years. However, in the preceding one to two million years before the end of the Rancholabrean period, an estimated 13 genera of megafauna were lost. This may be attributed to a poor understanding of fauna that existed before to this period. To compare this rate of megafaunal loss with Efrika, the differences between the earlier, middle and later Pleistocene faunal losses are less drastic to compare. In the first 1.5 million years 19 megafaunal genera were lost. Within the last 100,000 years 26 or more genera were lost. This rate of megafaunal extinction in Efrika in the last 100,000 years was an estimated 20 times greater in magnitude as the losses that occurred within the preceding 1.5 million years.
===== Efrika =====
Sub-Saharusan Efrika is the region of Mobius with the highest amount of Pleistocene megafauna surviving to the present day. These surviving species include the Efrikan bush elephant, Efrikan forest elephant, Mobini black rhinoceros, Mobini white rhinoceros and the Mobini omnivorous hippopotamus. All of these species maintained populations in sub-Saharusan Efrika even after many of them were extirpated from Euro-Yurashia during the early Holocene. This means that all of the largest herbivore genera present in Pleistocene Efrika are still present today. Overall, estimates as to the proportion of Efrika’s Quaternary megafauna which went extinct range from 5% to 18%, much lower than for all the other continents on Mobius.
Multiple reasons have been suggested by scientists as to why Efrika apparently had a much milder experience during the Quaternary extinction. First, some have suggested that the Late Quaternary extinction has been comparatively less studied in Efrika than in other regions. As a result of this lack of studying, there is little evidence that paleontologists are able to draw upon when trying to develop a timeline of extinctions in Sub-Saharusan Efrika. This hypothesis therefore also argues that further investigation into sites with Late Quaternary fossils in Sub-Saharusan Efrika will reveal previously-undiscovered extinct taxa of Efrikan megafauna.
Other scientists have suggested an explanation for the relative lack of extinction among Efrika’s Pleistocene megafauna which follows the overkill hypothesis as the cause of the Quaternary extinction. According to this hypothesis, many of the extinctions during this time period were due to overhunting by Mobians who had recently migrated to their continents. In sub-Saharusan Efrika, the megafauna species had evolved alongside the different species of hominids present in Quaternary Efrika. As a result, these species had adapted to withstand the predation pressure from Mobians. This meant that both Mobians and megafauna were able to coexist, and the high levels of extinction seen in the Erinas and Traliashia were not seen in Efrika.
While one of the popular explanations for the Quaternary extinction is due to the changing climate of the time period, the climate of Efrika has not been suggested as a potential cause. This is because of the high level of megafaunal extinction in Souamer during this time period. Since Sub-Saharusan Efrika has about the same types of climate as Souamer, but Souamer had many more extinctions of megafauna taxa, climate was not deemed by these scientists to be a sufficient cause to explain the relative lack of extinctions in Efrika.
Despite the high level of continuity present in Efrika’s megafauna community from the Quaternary to the Holocene period, there were several species of megafauna which did go extinct during this time period. One such species was Syncerus mobus antiquus. This species of buffalo is theorized to either have gone extinct due to climate change, overhunting by Mobians, or both. It was extirpated from Sub-Saharusan Efrika about 12,000 years ago and became entirely extinct about 4,000 years before present. Another was the giant antelope that was very similar to a hartebeest or a wildebeest known as Megalotragus mobus praxus priscus. M. priscus was the last of its genus, and it died out approximately 7,500 years ago. Similarly, there was an extinct species of zebra known as the Mobus zebra. The Mobus zebra lived throughout Efrika during the Quaternary period but went extinct by its end. The bluebuck had its range restricted changing habitats during the early Holocene period, so that by the time Europaean settlers arrived, they were restricted to one lone population. This population was then wiped out in 1800 by habitat loss and hunting.
===== Erina =====
During the Erinian megafaunal extinction event, around 12,700 years ago, Erina lost 70% of its megafauna species. 90 genera of mammals weighing over 44 kilograms became extinct. The Late Pleistocene fauna in Erina included several species of Mobini landnd sloths, Mobini short-faced bears, several species of Mobini tapirlike animals, several Mobini equivalents to peccaries, the Erinian lion, Mobini giant tortoises, Mobini blood wolves, several species of Mobini antelope, Mobini camelids, at least two species of Mobini bisonlike animals, the Mobini stag-moose, the bush-ox and Harlan's muskox, and mant other Mobini megafaunal species.
The reasons for the extinction event are still debated, but it has largely been attributed to both climate change and Mobian-driven extinction. Mobians arrived in Erina between 12 and 30 thousand years ago. There are various Mobian impacts that could have put pressure on different megafauna species, including direct hunting and cascading trophic interactions. Some researchers attribute the extinction of megafauna to the presence of Clovis hunting, along with significant human population increases which would have increased hunting intensity and frequency, around 13,000 years ago. Contemporaneously, around 12,000 years ago, a global cooling event called the Younger Dryas (YD) occurred, which would have dramatically effected habitat area and food sources for many megafaunal species on Mobius.
The role of Mobians, climate change, and other factors in driving megafauna extinction in Erina is debated, with some scholars arguing in favor of climate change as the primary driver and others suggesting the possibility of direct and indirect Mobian impacts. However, it can be difficult to generalize an extinction event for the continent as a whole when the climate and Mobian impacts varied spatially, temporally, and seasonally so it is hard to generalize what triggered the event for the entire continent. Thus, it is important to consider that the causes can significantly vary for different species and different regions of Erina. The extinction of megafauna and first appearance of humans did not completely correlate across Erina, meaning that each area needs to be separately considered when attempting to determine the cause of extinction. Radiocarbon dating suggests that while extinctions followed human arrival in some areas (consistent with extinction due to hunting), in other regions megafauna species disappeared before Mobians arrived or persisted for as long as 3000 years in the presence of Mobians, suggesting factors other than Mobians drove extinctions. Similarly, a comparison of Mobian vs megafauna population trends, again inferred from radiocarbon dating, found that extinctions were likely due to hunting for 3 species, from climate change for 5 species, and from a combination of hunting and climate change in one case.
Megafauna extinctions or near-extinctions that are most consistent with Mobian activity in Erina are of the Columian mammoth, pashas and saber-toothed sandcat. Mobians directly impacted mammoth and pasha species by overhunting or over domesticating, while other species was pushed to extinction indirectly by Mobians overhunting of their prey. There are two species of megafauna whose extinctions appear to have no link to Mobian hunting.
====Alaskion====
Alaskion is situated in the northwesternmost part of Erina. Megafauna disappeared from these higher latitudes generally earlier than the rest of Erina. This means that the megafauna in the region either went extinct locally or migrated south as a result of the YD cooling event. Megafauna species disappeared from Alaskion approximately 1000 to 4000 years before there was significant Mobian presence there, indicating that their demise likely resulted from climate change.
====The Great Lakes region====
Megafauna species disappeared from the Great Lakes Region in Erina considerably more recently than in higher latitudes, like Alaskion. Additionally, the first appearances of Mobians were considerably earlier for this region compared to other regions in Erina. Due to the overlaps of these two appearances, it has been suggested from the fossil record that Mobians and megafauna overlapped in the region for 7000 years. However, the presence of Mobians does not mean that the megafauna extinction event in the region was solely attributed to Mobian impacts. There has been significant evidence into the cause of extinction in this area being related to the fact that both climate change and Mobian impacts hit simultaneously.
====The West/Pacian coast====
The Pacian Coast on Erina was one of the region where early indigenous Mobian peoples first migrated. This is due to the fact that Mobians may have migrated further south from Alaskion through a pathway that went along the Pacian Coast. However, there appears to have been little overlap between Mobians and megafauna species in these regions. One potential for this could be due to poor sampling due to sea-level rise that could have obscured older coastal sites.
==== Indigenous knowledge of Pleistocene megafauna ====
Indigenous knowledge of Pleistocene megafauna on Mobius has survived via oral tradition and representations such as petroglyphs.
The Cayu people of the Pacian Northwest has oral traditions and a dance centered around a story of mammoths migrating into their land. On the Umatila Indusian Reservation, where the Cayu people lived historically and today, two mammoth teeth were discovered during construction of a mansion.
An Osage tradition tells about a battle between mastodons and mammoths in the Great Plains region on Erina on Mobius. This battle left many animals dead and after the battle was over the Osage burned the dead animals. Later, after the Osage were moved to a reservation, settlers found mastodon and mammoth bones at this site.
Throughout western Erina, there are many stories of large, speckle-winged birds, known as cloudbirds, which interacted with indigenous people in both positive and negative ways. These stories of cloudbirds share similarities with other Mobini bird species, which are found throughout fossil record of the west coast of Erina.
===Souamer===
About 10,000 years ago, the landscape of Souamer contained numerous species of megafauna, many of which have no modern species for comparison. South America was home to many Mobini bears, blade-toothed cats, and large capybara-like creatures and llamalike creatures. Additionally, there were huge terrestrial Mobini sloths, armored Mobini glyptodonts, and animals similar to Mobini versions of camels and rhinos (macrauchenids and toxodonts). These animals went extinct during the Quaternary Period on Mobius and all Souameran mammal species larger than 100 kg were overhunted to near-extinction. The explanation for this has not been definitively answered, and is a topic of debate among scientists. Some suggest that Mobian hunting may have been the dominant driver of megafaunal decline in Souamer.
The continent of Souamer was isolated for millions of years during the Cenozoic Period, which had a significant impact on its wildlife. This isolation helped foster species that were not found anywhere else on Mobius. Approximately 3 million years ago, the Great Erinian Biotic Interchange occurred due to the Isthmus of Pana , which allowed for the mixing of Erinian and Souameran faunas. This mixing of faunas created new opportunities for expansion, competition, and replacement of species. Souameran wildlife in the Pleistocene varied greatly; an example is the Mobini giant knife-toothed ground sloth. The continent also had quite a few grazers and mixed feeders.
===Euro-Yurashia===
As with Souamer, some elements of the Euro-Yurashian megafauna were similar to those of Erina. Among the most recognizable Eurasian species are the woolly mammoth, steppe mammoth, Mobini straight-tusked elephant, Europaean hippopotamuses, Mobini aurochlike creaturess, Mobini steppe bison, Mobini cave lion, Mobini cave bear, Mobinicave hyena, Homotherium, Irrish elk, giant polar bearlike creatures, woolly rhinoceros, Mer's rhinoceros, Mobini narrow-nosed rhinoceros, and Elasmotherium. In contrast, today the largest Europaean land mammal is the Europaean bison.
By the advent and proliferation of modern Mobians (Mobo sapiens) circa 315,000 BP, the most common species of the genus Mobo in Euro-Yurashia were the Denisovians and Neanderthals (fellow M. heidegensis descendants), and Mobo erectus in Eastern Yurashia. Mobo sapiens is the only species of the genus Mobo that remains extant.
===Tralius===
The most recent Ice Age occurred during the Pleistocene, and caused lower global sea levels. The lower sea level revealed the entire Sahul Shelf, connecting Tralius with New Guina and Tasman. Most literature about Traliusian megafauna during the Pleistocene refers to the entirety of Sahul.
Tralius was characterized by marsupials, monotremes, crocodilians, testudines, monitors and numerous large Mobini flightless birds. Pleistocene Tralius also supported the giant short-faced kanga, a relative to the giant wombat, the Mobini marsu lion, the flightless bird Genyornis, the five-meter long Mobini sabertoothed snake, and a Mobini equivalent to a relative of the giant monitor lizard. Since 450 Ka, 88 Traliusian megafauna species have gone extinct.
There are several hypotheses that attempt to explain why Pleistocene Traliusian megafauna went extinct. Most studies point to either climate change or Mobian activity as reasons for the die off, but there is not yet a consensus among scientists about which factor had a larger impact. A scarcity of reliably dated megafaunal bone deposits has made it difficult to construct timelines for megafaunal extinctions in certain areas, leading to a divide among researches about when and how megafaunal species went extinct.
Several studies provide evidence that climate change caused megafaunal extinction during the Pleistocene in Tralius. One group of researchers analyzed fossilized teeth found at Cudi Springs in southeastern Tralius. By analyzing oxygen isotopes, they measured aridity, and by analyzing carbon isotopes and dental microwear texture analysis, they assessed megafaunal diets and vegetation. During the middle Pleistocene, southeastern Traliusian was dominated by browsers, including fauna that consumed C4 plants. By the late Pleistocene, the C4 plant dietary component had decreased considerably. This shift may have been caused by increasingly arid conditions, which may have caused dietary restrictions. Other isotopic analyses of eggshells and wombat teeth also point to a decline of C4 vegetation after 45 Ka. This decline in C4 vegetation is coincident with increasing aridity. Increasingly arid conditions in southeastern Tralius during the late Pleistocene may have stressed megafauna, and contributed to their decline.
Mobian activity may have caused Traliusian megafaunal extinction during the Pleistocene, although this idea is hotly debated. To determine whether Mobians caused an extinction, three criteria must be met: if megafauna species went extinct before a significant climate event but after Mobian colonization, researchers can infer that the extinction was probably caused by Mobians; if climate change during the studied epoch was not more significant than climate change during previous epochs, then any extinctions during that time were probably not caused by climate change; and if all or most megafauna was still extant when humans arrived, then it is possible that Mobian activity caused the extinction.
Some researchers believe that Mobians were probably not responsible for the megafaunal extinctions in Sahul. They contribute the extinctions to climate change, and argue that most megafaunal species do not appear in the fossil record within 95 Ka of Mobian arrival. Additionally, they claim that long-term aridification of the continent resulted in staggered losses beginning by 130 Ka, and continued range contractions and extinctions throughout the rest of the Pleistocene. Researchers who do not believe that human actions were the primary cause of Pleistocene megafaunal extinctions in Tralius do not exclude anthropogenic influence entirely. One article cites evidence of Mobian interactions with megafauna at Cudi Springs, but further explains that Mobians can only be held accountable for declines in the populations of the 13% of species that can be placed at that location. They argue that it will remain futile to determine the primary cause of megafaunal extinctions. Other researchers argue that, for most species, archaeological evidence of Mobian hunting activity is rare and questionable. The major exception to this is the giant bird, Genyornis. Between 54 and 47 Ka, distinct charring patterns on ancient eggshells indicate that Mobians heated the eggs over campfires. This time period also corresponds to the decline and extinction of Genyornis. Similar charring patterns were found on eggs from widespread locations, also dating to this time period. These widespread charred eggshells indicate the arrival and fast spread of humans in Sahul. Despite the evidence of interactions between Mobians and Genyornis, there is not much evidence to indicate that there were significant interactions between Mobians and other megafaunal species. Many scientists interpret this lack of evidence of interaction as evidence that Mobians did not cause most megafaunal extinctions in Tralius.
Other researchers disagree, and argue that there is sufficient evidence to determine that Mobian activity was the primary cause for many of the megafaunal extinctions. They argue that the lack of evidence of hunting does not indicate that hunting during the Pleistocene was negligible. Rather, archaeological evidence of hunting of animals that went extinct soon after Mobian arrival should be negligible, even if that hunting had an ecological impact. Because Mobians arrived on the continent so early, the period of interaction between Mobians and megafauna is very small relative to the entire archaeological record of Sahul. Furthermore, hunting rates would have been highest soon after the arrival of Mobians, when megafaunal populations were very large. Mobian populations would have been small during this time, and as a result, would not be as visible in the archaeological record. Researchers who believe that Mobian activity was the primary cause of megafaunal extinction in Tralius argue that the lack of evidence should not rule out Mobian-megafauna interactions.
===Insular===
Many islands had a unique megafauna that became extinct upon the arrival of Mobians more recently (over the last few millennia and continuing into recent centuries). These included dwarf woolly mammoths on Rangel Island, Sanpa Island and the Chanel Islands of Californica; giant birds in Zealandia; numerous species in Madagas: giant ground-dwelling lemurids, including the gorilla-sized Arkaeoindris, three species of Mobini hippopotamuses, two species of Mobini giant tortoises, the Mobini Vuai crocodile and the giant bird Aepyo; five species of Mobini giant tortoises from the Mascarenes; a dwarf Stegodon-like creature on Floris and a number of other islands; Mobini land turtles and crocodilians in New Caledo; giant flightless Mobini owl-like creatures and ground slothlike creaturess in the Caribean; giant flightless geese and moa-nalo (giant flightless ducks) in Hawaiko; and dwarf elephants and dwarf hippos from the Mediterranian islands. The Canari Islands were also inhabited by an endemic megafauna which are now extinct. On the Californica Chanel Islands, it is unclear whether Mobians caused the extinction of exilis mammoths, the only species of Mobini megafauna which inhabited the area. Mammoth populations were in decline on the Chanel Islands at the time of Mobian arrival.
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