Australian Mega Fauna Fossil Discovered

[Sharon Faulkner]

Scientists find ancient marsupial jaw bone in Blue Mountains
July 27, 2007

Scientists have confirmed the discovery of a jaw bone belonging to one of the largest known extinct marsupials.

It is believed to be up to 40,000 years old and was discovered at the Jenolan Caves in the NSW Blue Mountains.

The discovery of the jaw bone was made on a routine tour inside the caves.

Scientists from the Australian Museum have now confirmed it belongs to a diprotodon, the largest marsupial that ever lived, and is between 20,000 and 40,000 years old.

Jenolan Caves Trust spokesman Grant Commins says the bone is larger than usual.

"[It's] about nine inches long to a foot long, that's just a jaw bone [and] that's a pretty big jaw bone when you think of it," he said.

This is the first known discovery of an Australian mega fauna fossil at Jenolan and is the closest yet found near Sydney.

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[jonsdigs]

Giant wombat bone found in Australia
Scientists in Australia announced Friday they had found the jawbone of a giant wombat the size of a large car that lived 20,000-40,000 years ago.
July 27, 2007



Spanish motocycle rider Alex Bautista poses with a wombat at the Maru Koala Park, Austrlia, in September 2006. Modern wombats are about one metre (three feet) long, 25 centimetres (10 inches) high and weigh 20-45 kilogrammes (44-100 pounds). Scientists in Australia have announced that they had found the jawbone of a giant wombat the size of a large car that lived 20,000-40,000 years ago.

The jawbone of the ancient marsupial, part of the "mega-fauna" that once roamed pre-historic Australia, was found by a tour guide at the Jenolan Caves in the Blue Mountains west of Sydney.

The animal, named the diprotodon, was two metres (6.5 feet) tall and three metres (10 feet) long, weighing about three tonnes.

By comparison, modern wombats are about one metre (three feet) long, 25 centimetres (10 inches) high and weigh 20-45 kilogrammes (44-100 pounds).

University of New South Wales palaeontologist Michael Archer said the discovery, the first so close to Sydney, could herald a major scientific site at the Jenolan Caves.

"If there's one jaw, there has to be more material and it could theoretically be on the edge of the beginning of a very large deposit and this is the first bit poking out of the wall and that there are some really fascinating mega-fauna fossils in this cave," he said.

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