<P> South American wildlife in the Pleistocene varied greatly, an example is the giant ground sloth, Megatherium . The continent also had quite a few grazers and mixed feeders such as the camel - like litoptern Macrauchenia, Cuvieronius, Doedicurus, Glyptodon, Hippidion and Toxodon . There were also Stegomastodons, found as South as the Patagonia . The main predators of the region were Arctotherium and Smilodon . </P> <P> Australia was characterized by marsupials, monotremes, crocodilians, testudines, monitors and numerous large flightless birds . Pleistocene Australia also supported the large short - faced kangaroo (Procoptodon goliah), Diprotodon (a giant wombat), the marsupial lion (Thylacoleo carnifex), the flightless birds Genyornis and Dromornis, the 5 - meter snake Wonambi and the giant lizard, the megalania . </P> <P> As with South America, some elements of the Eurasian megafauna were similar to those of North America . Among the most recognizable Eurasian species are the woolly mammoth, steppe mammoth, straight - tusked elephant, aurochs, steppe bison, cave lion, cave bear, cave hyena, Homotherium, Irish elk, giant polar bears, woolly rhinoceros, Merck's rhinoceros, narrow - nosed rhinoceros, and Elasmotherium . In contrast today the largest European land mammal is the European bison or wisent . </P> <P> Many islands had a unique megafauna that became extinct upon the arrival of humans more recently (over the last few millennia and continuing into recent centuries). These included dwarf woolly mammoths on Wrangel Island, St. Paul Island and the Channel Islands of California; giant bird forms in New Zealand such as the moas and Harpagornis (a giant eagle); numerous species in Madagascar: giant lemurs, including Megaladapis, Palaeopropithecus and the gorilla - sized Archaeoindris, three species of hippopotamus, a giant tortoise, the Voay - crocodile and the gigantic Aepyornis; various giant tortoise species from the Mascarenes; a dwarf Stegodon on Flores and a number of other islands; land turtles and crocodiles in New Caledonia; giant owls and dwarf ground sloths in the Caribbean; giant geese and moa - nalo (giant ducks) in Hawaii; and dwarf elephants and dwarf hippos from the Mediterranean islands . The Canary Islands were also inhabited by an endemic megafauna which are now extinct: giant lizards (Gallotia goliath), giant rats (Canariomys bravoi and Canariomys tamarani) and giant tortoises (Geochelone burchardi and Geochelone vulcanica), among others . </P>

Animals of the ice age in north america