http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-14040349
6 July 2011 Last updated at 01:39
'Giant wombat' skeleton found in Australia's Queensland
By Phil Mercer BBC News, Sydney
Scientists in Australia have found the skeleton of a "giant wombat" which lived some two million years ago.The plant-eating marsupial would have been the size of a four-wheel drive car and weighed three tonnes, experts say.Its bones were found on a farm in north-eastern Australia's Queensland state.The find is one of Australia's most significant pre-historic discoveries ever because the skeleton is complete, experts say.It is the first time a complete skeleton of a Diprotodon optatum has been uncovered.The animal was widespread across Australia when the first indigenous people arrived about 50,000 years ago.'Wombat on steroids'Prof Mike Archer, a professor of biological science at the University of New South Wales, described the discovery as extraordinary."
We found the most gigantic marsupial ever known," he told the BBC."These were very huge animals but with pouches. If one tried to visualise what this thing looked like, you'd have to sort of think of a gigantic wombat on steroids."The remains were unearthed at Floraville Station in northern Queensland - a region that has attracted scientists and fossil hunters for decades.Researchers believe the area could contain a huge graveyard of mega-fauna that once roamed the Australian continent.Every discovery offers more clues as to how and why they became extinct, possibly owing to hunting by humans or more likely because of a changing climate.
The specimen will be taken to the Riversleigh Fossil Centre, a World Heritage site in Queensland.It is home to an array of prehistoric treasures, including the remains of a tree-dwelling crocodile, a carnivorous rat kangaroo and a marsupial lion.
Showing posts with label megafauna. Show all posts
Showing posts with label megafauna. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Monday, May 31, 2010
Megafauna cave painting could be 40,000 years old
Emma Masters
May 31, 2010
Scientists say an Aboriginal rock art depiction of an extinct giant bird could be Australia's oldest painting.
The red ochre painting, which depicts two emu-like birds with their necks outstretched, could date back to the earliest days of settlement on the continent.
It was rediscovered at the centre of the Arnhem Land plateau about two years ago, but archaeologists first visited the site a fortnight ago.
A palaeontologist has confirmed the animals depicted are the megafauna species Genyornis.
Archaeologist Ben Gunn said the giant birds became extinct more than 40,000 years ago.
"The details on this painting indicate that it was done by someone who knew that animal very well," he said.
He says the detail could not have been passed down through oral storytelling.
"If it is a Genyornis, and it certainly does have all the features of one, it would be the oldest dated visual painting that we've got in Australia," he said.
"Either the painting is 40,000 years old, which is when science thinks Genyornis disappeared, or alternatively the Genyornis lived a lot longer than science has been able to establish."
Mr Gunn says there are paintings of other extinct animals right across the area including the thylacine, or tasmanian tiger, the giant echidna and giant kangaroo.
"It does give you a window back to a time that you can pinpoint, and in the case of the Genyornis it's a very long picture," he said.
The traditional owners of the land in the Northern Territory say they are excited the painting could be Australia's oldest dated rock art.
The Jawoyn Association's Wes Miller says the painting is one of thousands rediscovered across Arnhem Land in recent years.
"It verifies that the Jawoyn people were living in this country for a very, very long time," he said.
"People say it, but once again this is clearly a demonstration of how long Jawoyn people have been in this country and other Indigenous groups. It's great from that point of view. It's pretty exciting stuff."
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/05/31/2913350.htm?section=justin
(Submitted by Chad Arment)
May 31, 2010
Scientists say an Aboriginal rock art depiction of an extinct giant bird could be Australia's oldest painting.
The red ochre painting, which depicts two emu-like birds with their necks outstretched, could date back to the earliest days of settlement on the continent.
It was rediscovered at the centre of the Arnhem Land plateau about two years ago, but archaeologists first visited the site a fortnight ago.
A palaeontologist has confirmed the animals depicted are the megafauna species Genyornis.
Archaeologist Ben Gunn said the giant birds became extinct more than 40,000 years ago.
"The details on this painting indicate that it was done by someone who knew that animal very well," he said.
He says the detail could not have been passed down through oral storytelling.
"If it is a Genyornis, and it certainly does have all the features of one, it would be the oldest dated visual painting that we've got in Australia," he said.
"Either the painting is 40,000 years old, which is when science thinks Genyornis disappeared, or alternatively the Genyornis lived a lot longer than science has been able to establish."
Mr Gunn says there are paintings of other extinct animals right across the area including the thylacine, or tasmanian tiger, the giant echidna and giant kangaroo.
"It does give you a window back to a time that you can pinpoint, and in the case of the Genyornis it's a very long picture," he said.
The traditional owners of the land in the Northern Territory say they are excited the painting could be Australia's oldest dated rock art.
The Jawoyn Association's Wes Miller says the painting is one of thousands rediscovered across Arnhem Land in recent years.
"It verifies that the Jawoyn people were living in this country for a very, very long time," he said.
"People say it, but once again this is clearly a demonstration of how long Jawoyn people have been in this country and other Indigenous groups. It's great from that point of view. It's pretty exciting stuff."
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/05/31/2913350.htm?section=justin
(Submitted by Chad Arment)
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