Today’s Mega Creatures Scientists say that 299 million to 273 million years ago Earth only had one continent All around this continent named Pangaea was an ocean called Panthalassa As time passed the land moved and new continents formed Today there are seven continents and five oceans Each has very large animals Megafauna live on the land in the sky and in the sea How do some animals grow so large They must eat a lot of food to be able to reach mega-sized status An animal that only eat plants is an herbivore An animal that only eats other animals is a carnivore An animal that eats both is an omnivore 4
Pangaea Asia Europe Europe Europe NorthNorth North North America America America America Africa South America Antarctica Panthalassa Australia From One Ocean to Five The Pacific Ocean the Atlantic Ocean the Arctic Ocean and the Indian Ocean are the oldest named oceans In 2000 the Southern Ocean circling Antarctica was named by the International Hydrographic Organization The World Today Arctic Ocean North America Europe Europe Europe Asia Atlantic Ocean South America Africa Southern Ocean Pacific Ocean Indian Ocean Australia Antarctica 5
Herbivores Today African elephants are enormous herbivores that can weigh up to 14,000 pounds 6,350 kilograms and grow up to 13 feet four meters tall To grow that big they need to eat a lot African elephants eat four to seven percent of their body weight in grasses herbs fruit plants and trees each day They can consume up to 600 pounds 272 kilograms of food a day 6
In and Out African elephants don’t digest all of the food they eat These gentle giants produce up to 330 pounds 150 kilograms of dung per day Then other animals such as dung beetles eat it 7
