Megafauna

It is believed that megafauna initially came into existence in response to glacial conditions.

The extinction of megafauna around the world was probably due to environmental and ecological factors. It was almost completed by the end of the last ice age

. It is believed that megafauna initially came into existence in response to glacial conditions and became extinct with the onset of warmer climates.

The Diprotodon was Australia’s largest marsupial living in the Burra area a mere 100 thousand years ago.

These larger than life creatures weighed in between one and two tonnes, stood 2 metres tall and measured 3 metres long

They were a flat footed creature but able to walk ( much like a wombat ) at a pace of some 5 km an hour. A natural herbivore, the diprotodon would eat between 100 and 150 kg of vegetation per day, and eventually died out about 60 thousand years ago. This dates to around the time humans are believed to have first entered Australia.

The discovery of fossils in the Burra area, has excited the most seasoned palaeontologists, describing Burra’s backyard as one of the richer megafauna sites in Australia.

With further promotion the term megafauna may become as synonymous with Burra as copper, adding yet another dimension to the fascinating history of this region. Families are an important visitor group to Burra, and building the Diprotodon story has the potential to extend visitation and drive yield.

Megafauna Fossil Sites of the Burra Region
Rod Wells, Flinders University

The fossilised remains of extinct marsupials were first reported from a site along Baldina Creek in 1889. Amandus Zeitz of the SA Museum visited the area and collected a partial skeleton of Diprotodon australis which at the time was the most complete specimen known from South Australia predating the finds at Lake Callabonna. He also collected the fossilised remains of the giant ‘emu’ Genyornis, the marsupial ‘lion’ Thylacoleo, and the Tasmanian Devil Sarcophilus.