Megafaunal Extinctions of Australia

Widespread extinctions began on the continent of Australia during the late Pleistocene. Many of the animals that disappeared were medium- to large-sized herbivores. Their demise may have resulted from early Homo sapien hunting activities. Apart from Antarctica, no other continent has fewer native terrestrial megafauna than Australia (Martin 376-397). During the late Pleistocene, only one genus and four species of terrestrial mammals over 44 kilograms survived. Most of those that became extinct were rather distinctive creatures (Scarre 44). The marsupial genera that disappeared, for example, had various oral specializations. These included the following: (1) Zaglossus (long spiny tongue); (2) Thylacoleo (large gape and short heavy jaws; (3) Phascolonus (strong mobile lips); (4) Phascolarctos (small mouth, short snout, long tongue, and deep mandible; (5) Palorchestes (trunk); (6) Zygomaturus (projecting upper lip); (7) Diprotodon (trunk-like upper lip); (8) Propleopus (long beak-like structure); (9) Protemnodon (long beak-like structure; (10) Macropus (long beak-like structure); (11) Sthenurus (deep mandible); and (12) Procoptodon (short beak-like structure and deep mandible) (Merrilees 61; Martin 376-397). Furthermore, additional genera have become extinct during historic times. These have included the Tasmanian wolf, Thylacinus, the pig-footed bandicot, Chaeropus, and others (Martin 376-397).

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ncefield Swamp (Flannery 45-55). The swamp contains a 0.2 meter thick bone bed located at a depth of about 1.5 meters. This bone bed has produced the remains of six extinct megafaunal species. Moreover, the stratigraphy is datable; it has been determined to be about 26,000 years old. Apparently, recurrent drought had caused several large species to gather around the swamp. Forced to remain near their permanent supply of water, the animals quickly ate all the available food and perished. It has been suggested that humans may have used the swamp to ambush their prey. Indeed, large quartzite blades have been found embedded in the bone bed. Such observations would refute the overkill hypothesis. They suggest that humans and megafauna coexisted for roughly 7,000 years (Gillespie et al. 1044-1047). Another site where human artifacts occur in association with the remains of Pleistocene megafauna is known as Lime Springs. At this site, flaked stone artifacts are found with fragments of bone and teeth (Gorecki et al. 1-3). During the Pleistocene, the area had an abundant supply of water. Moreover, the archaeological evidence suggests that megafauna survived there until about 19,300 B.P. Clearly then, the Pleistocene megafauna
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