Australian megafauna

**Australian megafauna** is a word used to describe a number of animal species in Australia that are quite a bit bigger than their closest living relatives. These species became extinct during the Pleistocene (16,100±100 - 50,000 years before present), but exact dates for their extinction have only been discovered recently.

Some mythological creatures from the Aboriginal dreamtime look a bit like animals from the prehistoric Australian megafauna.

## Extinction

Scientists have been unable to agree on the reasons the megafauna became extinct. It is possible when humans came to Australia (around 48,000-60,000 years ago), and began hunting and using fire, they may have caused the extinction of the megafauna. Climate change, which made the country much drier during an Ice Age about 18,000 years ago, may have also have led to the extinction of the megafauna. Some scientists say that climate change alone caused the extinction of the megafauna. This argument does not allow for the fact that the megafaunal species had lived through two million years of climate changes. They had lived through a number of dry times before their sudden extinction.

## New evidence

Scientists have got new evidence, based on new and better ways of finding dates, using optically stimulated luminescence and Uranium-thorium dating of megafaunal bones. This suggests that humans were the main cause of the extinction of megafauna in Australia. The dates show that the last of the megafauna became extinct around the same time, about 47,000 years ago. This was the time in which humans first arrived in Australia. The dates suggest the main reason for extinction was human burning of the land. Many plants were not able to survive regular fires, and so the types of plants changed. Scientists have studied oxygen and carbon isotopes from teeth of megafauna. These show sudden, dramatic, non-climate-related changes in plants, and in the diet of surviving marsupial animals, as well as the loss of megafaunal species. Further study of the teeth of megafauna shows the climate was dry at the time of extinction, similar to the dry climate of today, and that the megafauna were able to live in dry climates.

## Extinct Australian megafauna: pre-1788

The following is a list of some of the Australian megafauna. It shows:

- _Latin name (scentific name)_, (common name, when it lived), and a brief description.

### Mammals

Mammals are set out by size with largest at the top.

#### 1000-2000 kilograms

- _Diprotodon optatum_  was the largest type of Diprotodontid. About three metres long, two metres high at the shoulder and weighing up to two tonnes, it looked like a giant wombat. It is the largest marsupial currently known.
- _Diprotodon minor_
- _Zygomaturus trilobus_ was a smaller, about the size of a cow, about two metres long and one metre high. It was a Diprotodontid that may have had a short trunk (like an elephant). It appears to have lived in wetlands, using two fork-like teeth to dig up reeds for food.
- _Palorchestes azael_ (the Marsupial Tapir) was a Diprotodontoid, about the same size as the _Zygomaturus_, with long claws and a long trunk. It lived in the Pleistocene (Mackness 2009).

#### 100-1000 kilograms

- _Euowenia grata_
- _Nototherium mitchelli_
- _Euryzygoma dunense_
- _Phascolonus gigas_
- _Ramsayia magna_
- _Procoptodon goliah_ (the Giant Short-faced Kangaroo) is the largest kangaroo to have ever lived. It grew 2–3 metres (7–10 feet) tall, and weighed up to 230 kilograms. It had a flat, shortened face with jaw and teeth able to chew tough, desert plants. It had forward-looking eyes providing three dimensional vision. Procoptodon was one of seventeen species, in three genera in the Sthenurine subfamily, which are all extinct. Sthenurines lived in open woodlands in central northern Australia. All sthenurines had a hoof-like, fourth toe on the back legs. Their other toes were not fully formed. They also had elastic ligaments between the toe bones; this gave them more spring and speed compared to modern kangaroos. Sthenurine front legs were long, with two long fingers and claws, compared with the small, stiff arms of modern kangaroos. These may have been used for pulling branches nearer for eating and for walking on all four legs for short distances.
- _Procoptodon rapha, P. pusio_ and _P. texasensis_
- _Protemnodon_ a type of giant wallaby with four species.
- _Palorchestes parvus_
- _Macropus pearsoni and M. ferragus_

#### 10-100 kilograms

- _Simosthenurus pales_
- _Sthenurus tindalei and S. atlas_
- _Phascolarctos stirtoni_ was a koala, the same as a modern koala, but one third larger.
- _Phascolomys medius_
- _Lasiorhinus angustioens_
- _Congruus congruus_ a wallaby from Naracoorte.
- _Troposodon minor_
- _Sthenurus oreas_
- _Simosthenurus occidentalis_ (another Sthenurine), about as tall as a modern Eastern Grey Kangaroo, but much stronger. It is one of the nine types of leaf-eating kangaroos found as fossils in the Naracoorte Caves National Park.
- _Simothenurus brownei_
- _Propleopus oscillans_ (the Carnivorous Kangaroo), from the Miocene and Pliocene, was large rat kangaroo, up to , with large cutting and tough grinding teeth. These show it was a carnivore able to eat insects, animals (possibly carrion), fruits, and soft leaves. It grew to about  to   tall.
- _Simothenurus maddocki_
- _Sthenurus andersoni_
- _Thylacoleo carnifex_, (the Marsupial Lion), was the size of a leopard. It had a cat-like skull with large slicing teeth. It had a thumb-claw, that could be pulled back in, and very big front legs. It ate meat, and it lived in trees.
- _Vombatus hacketti_
- _Macropus thor_
- _Macropus piltonensis_
- _Zaglossus hacketti_ was a sheep-sized echidna. It was found in Mammoth Cave in Western Australia, and is the largest monotreme so far discovered.
- _Macropus rama_
- _Simothenurus gilli_
- _Warrendja wakefieldi_ a wombat from Naracoorte.
- _Zaglossis ramsayi_
- _Sarcophilus harrisii laniarius_ was a large type of the Tasmanian Devil.
- _Megalibgwilia ramsayi_ was a large, long-beaked echidna with powerful front legs for digging. It would have eaten worms and grubs, rather than ants.

### Birds

- Family Dromornithidae: this group of birds was closely related to waterfowl (ducks), not the modern ratites (emus and cassowaries).
    - _Dromornis stirtoni_, (Stirton's Thunder Bird, Miocene epoch) was a bird that did not fly. It was  tall and weighed about . It is one of the largest birds so far discovered. It lived in subtropical open woodlands and may have been carnivorous. It was heavier than the Moa and taller than the Aepyornis.
    - _Bullockornis planei_ (the 'Demon Duck of Doom') was another large member of the Dromornithidae. It was up to  tall and weighed up to , and was probably carnivorous.
    - _Genyornis newtoni_ (the Mihirung) was related to _Dromornis_. It was about the height of an ostrich. It was the last survivor of the Dromornithidae. It had a large lower jaw and was probably omnivorous.
- _Leipoa gallinacea_ (formerly _Progura_) was a giant malleefowl.

### Reptiles

- _Varanus priscus_ (formerly _Megalania prisca_) was a giant, carnivorous goanna that might have grown to as long as , and weighed up to  (Molnar, 2004).
- _Wonambi naracoortensis_ was a snake about  in length. It would catch animals at a water hole and kill by crushing. It was not a venomous snake.
- _Quinkana_ sp., was a land crocodile, which grew up to  in length. It had long legs positioned underneath its body, and chased down mammals, birds and other reptiles for food. Its teeth were sharp for cutting, not pointed for gripping like water living crocodiles. It was part of the Mekosuchine subfamily (all now extinct). It was discovered at Bluff Downs in Queensland.
- _Liasis_ sp., (Bluff Downs Giant Python), lived during the Pliocene epoch, grew up to  long, and is the largest Australian snake known. It hunted mammals, birds and reptiles in woodlands near rivers. It is similar to the Olive Python (_Liasis olivacea_). They get their name from their distinctive olive-green to brown body colour. They can grow up to **10-13 feet** (3-4 meters) in length and weigh around **8-15 kilograms**.
- _Meiolania_ was a group of huge land cryptodire turtle measuring  in length, with a horned head and spiked tail.

## References

- Field, J. H. and J. Dodson. 1999. Late Pleistocene megafauna and archaeology from Cuddie Springs, south-eastern Australia. _Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society_ 65: 1-27.
- Wroe, S., J. Field, and R. Fullagar. 2002. _Lost giants._ Nature Australia 27(5): 54-61.
- Mackness, B.S. 2009. Reconstructing Palorchestes (Marsupialia: Palorchestidae) — from Giant Kangaroo to Marsupial ‘Tapir’. Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales 130: 21-36.
- Gavin J Prideaux, Richard G. Roberts, Dirk Megirian, Kira E. Westaway, John C. Hellstrom, John M. Olley. 2007. _Mammalian responses to Pleistocene climate change in southeastern Australia._ Geology, v. 35, n. 1, p. 33-36.

## Other websites

- Cuddie Springs
- Interview with Dr John Long, curator at the Museum of Victoria
- Naracoorte caves in South Australia
- Lost Kingdoms
- Snakes World  this website gives you deep information about any snake.