From K. Kris Hirst,
Your Guide to Archaeology.
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Definition:

At the end of the last ice age (ca 15,000-10,000 years ago), 85 percent of the large mammals (called megafauna) went extinct. The mass extinctions were not synchronous nor universal, and the reasons proffered for them include (but are not limited to) climate change and human intervention.

Regional Megafauna Extinctions

North America lost about 35 genera of mostly large animals, such as the ground sloth, American lion, dire wolf, and short-faced bear. At the same time 19 genera of birds disappeared; and some animals and birds made radical changes in their habitats, moving north or south.

In Eurasia, 21 taxa disappeared, and as in North America, other species dramatically altered their habitat range. It is clear there, at least, that different animals disappeared at different times within the time frame of the Late Pleistocene, and thus probably for various reasons. North American data is less clear.

Source

Grayson, Donald K. 2007 Deciphering North American Pleistocene Extinctions. Journal of Anthropological Research 63(2):185-213.

This glossary entry is part of the Dictionary of Archaeology. Any mistakes are the responsibility of Kris Hirst.

Also Known As: Pleistocene megafaunal extinctions, Rancholabrean extinctions