Wildlife
The controversial history of the marsupial lion
Marsupial lions lived on the Australian continent from about 24 million years ago up until the end of the Pleistocene era, about 30,000 years ago.
Tag: megafauna
News
Banded-hare wallaby returns to Australian mainland for first time in a century
The banded-hare wallaby is making a historic return to the Australian mainland after completely disappearing more than century ago due to predation by foxes and feral cats.
News
New study reveals evolutionary history of Australia’s gigantic ancient bird
A flightless, plant-eating bird, mihirungs weighed 250kg and lived in the late Oligocene to the early Miocene, about 33 to 20 million years ago.
Wildlife
Meet Diprotodon, Australia’s prehistoric migratory marsupial
This ancient marsupial was a gigantic beast that roamed across Eastern Australia.
News
Fossilised Tasmanian tiger footprints discovered on Kangaroo Island
Researchers say that Kangaroo Island was a hotspot for ancient megafauna.
Wildlife
What the giants ate
Some Australian fruits are called ‘megafauna fruits’ because the only animals capable of eating them and spreading the seeds are extinct.
News
Humans killed most of Australia’s megafauna: study
What killed Australia’s megafauna? A new study has weighed in on the old debate and pointed the finger at humans to blame – but scientists remain at odds on the controversial issue.
Science & Environment
Aboriginal Australians co-existed with megafauna for at least 17,000 years
The extinction of the giant reptiles, marsupials and birds that once called Australia home has been the subject of much debate, including the role early Australians may have had on their fate.
Wildlife
GALLERY: Australia’s biggest ever animals
ASIDE FROM THE blue whale, which is thought to be the largest animal that has ever lived, many of today’s creatures are mere pygmies compared with what came before them in Earth’s prehistoric past. Australia’s first human inhabitants would have come face to face with some, such as Diprotodon, Megalania and Thylacoleo.
News
Human impact and climate changed killed megafauna
New evidence has revealed climate change played a key role in the extinction of ancient megafauna, with human impact “tipping them over the edge”.