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Megafaunal Extinctions

During the last Ice Age, many large mammal species like the woolly mammoth, wild horse, and giant deer flourished in Ireland. The only native land reptile in Ireland is the viviparous lizard. While several marine turtle species appear off the coast, snakes have never inhabited Ireland due to it separating from Britain before snakes migrated north after the Ice Age. Today, three amphibian species are found in Ireland - the common frog, smooth newt, and natterjack toad, though the frog's native status is uncertain.

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36 views1 page

Megafaunal Extinctions

During the last Ice Age, many large mammal species like the woolly mammoth, wild horse, and giant deer flourished in Ireland. The only native land reptile in Ireland is the viviparous lizard. While several marine turtle species appear off the coast, snakes have never inhabited Ireland due to it separating from Britain before snakes migrated north after the Ice Age. Today, three amphibian species are found in Ireland - the common frog, smooth newt, and natterjack toad, though the frog's native status is uncertain.

Uploaded by

George Nădejde
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© © All Rights Reserved
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Megafaunal extinctions[edit]

In the Ice Age (which included warm spells), mammals such as the woolly mammoth, wild


horse, giant deer, brown bear, spotted hyena, cave lion, Arctic lemming, Norway lemming, Arctic
fox, European beaver, wolf, Eurasian lynx, and reindeer flourished or migrated depending on the
degree of coldness. The Irish brown bear was a genetically distinct (clade 2) brown bear from a
lineage that had significant polar bear mtDNA.[5] The closest surviving brown bear is Ursus arctos
middendorffi in Alaska.

Reptiles[edit]
Further information: List of reptiles of Ireland

The viviparous lizard is the only land reptile native to Ireland.

Only one land reptile is native to the country, the viviparous lizard. It is common in national parks,
particularly in the Wicklow Mountains. Slowworms are common in parts of The Burren area
in County Clare, but they are not a native species and were probably introduced in the 1970s. Five
marine turtle species appear regularly off the west coast,
the leatherback, green, hawksbill, loggerhead, and Kemp's ridley, but they very rarely come ashore.
Legend attributes the absence of snakes in Ireland to Saint Patrick, who is said to have banished
them from the island, chasing them into the sea after they assailed him during a 40-day fast he was
undertaking on top of a hill. In reality, no species of snake ever inhabited Ireland, due to it losing its
land-bridge to Britain before snakes came north after the Ice Age.[6][7]

Amphibians[edit]
Further information: List of amphibians of Ireland
Three amphibians are found in Ireland, the common European brown frog, the smooth newt, and
the natterjack toad. There are questions over whether the frog is actually native to Ireland, with some
historic accounts stating that the frog was introduced in the 18th century. The natterjack toad is only
found in a few localised sites in County Kerry and western County Cork. For atlases see Atlases of
the flora and fauna of Britain and Ireland. It reached Ireland some time after the ice age.[8]

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