Ancient Mammals of WA

Dinosaurs & Fossils

of Western Australia

Mammals, Marsupials and Monotremes

Check out some of the ancient mammals and monotremes that walked the land of Western Australia. Compared to Europe and America not many bones have been found in this country which means there are plenty more mammals to discover.
Some of these mammals and monotremes were around when Aboriginals were first here in Australia.

Mammals, marsupials and monotremes are not dinosaurs.

On the southern Victoria coast two jaw bones have been found dating back to the cretaceous period 115mya. Paleontologists still do not agree if these were placental mammals or monotremes. They were named Ausktribosphenos and Bishops

<<<<<<< Zygomaturus trilobus

According to the Western Australian Museum, "This animal lived in small herds in coastal areas and occasionally went inland to central Australia. It moved on four limbs. It lived between 1.6 million years ago to 19,000 years ago. Recent fossils have been found and dated 19,000 years old. (I wonder if they have dated that fire hydrant as being the same age?)

This upper skull was found in the Murchison region in Western Australia.

Photographed at the Western Australian Museum

This is a photo of the Zygomaturus trilobus lower jaw and teeth. It fed by shoveling up clumps of reeds and sedges with its fork like lower incisor teeth. Fossils dated at 19,000 years old have been found in the Mammoth Cave Margaret River in Western Australia.

Photographed at the Western Australian Museum

<<<<<<<<< Diprotodon

These pictures have been given to us by the Western Australian Museum. The Diprotodon had small feet and toes but two large incisor teeth in its large skull. These teeth pointed forward like kangaroo teeth.
These animals became extinct in the Pleistocene period only 19,000 years ago probably due to climate changes and the effects the temperatures had on the plants. Scientists believe they were here in Australia from the late Cainozic period 23 million years ago. There were two types of Diprotodon, a smaller less common species called Diprotodon australis and this larger one here named Diprotodon optatum.

Diprotodon Skeleton >>>>>>>

A nearly complete Diprotodon skeleton was found in rock in a creek bed south of Karratha in the Pilbara of Western Australia in 1991. This is the largest known marsupial (did not give birth to fully developed young but had a pouch where the young finishes development after birth). The Diprotodon was a herbivore and was the size of an adult rhinoceros weighing around 1.5 tonnes and the length of the body was 3-4 metres. The first Diprotodon skeleton was found in New South Wales in 1838 and a complete skeleton has been found in South Australia.

<<<<<<<< Zaglossus hacketti

This is a model of the Zaglossus hacketti. According to the Western Australian Museum. "This was the largest of the giant echidnas. Bones have been found in the Mammoth Cave in the South West of Western Australia. This fossil is from the Pleistocene period about 2 million years ago. It is believed to be the largest monotreme that has ever lived."

Photographed at the Western Australian Museum

Marsupial lion Thylacoleo carnifext
<<<<<<<<
This is not a lion. It is more closely related to a koala or kangaroo.

This skull was found near Augusta in the lower southwest of Western Australia. This animal was alive 1.6 million years ago to 10,000 years ago.

A complete skeleton was found on the Nullabor plain in Western Australia of this animal. It was approx a 2 metre long flesh eating machine and may have weighed 150kg. This animal didn't have the canine teeth you would expect a hunter to have, instead can you see the very large in incisors.

Go here to read about John Longs find here http://www.abc.net.au/catalyst/stories/s888112.htm

Wombat Phascolomys hacketti

An extinct Wombat. Found in the Mammoth Cave of Margaret River in the southwest.

Photographed at the Western Australian Museum

Wallaby

This extinct wallaby fossil of a lower jaw was found near Augusta and it's from the Pleistocene period approx 1.6 mya.

Photographed at the Western Australian Museum

Here are three thigh bones. The one on the left is from an extinct giant wallaby named Protemnodon; the middle photo is from the Short-faced wallaby Stenurus that is also extinct now; and the photo on the right is of a Red or Grey Kanagroo from our time.

Tasmanian Devil

You might think this guy is a long way from home but Tasmanian Devils were in Western Australia. They were larger than the ones of today and they were called Saracophilus harrisii. They became extinct about 1,000 years ago and were from the Pleistocene period approx 1.6 mya.

Photographed at the Western Australian Museum

Koala

Koala's were also in Western Australia. This one called Phacolarctos cinereus. It only became extinct here about 45,000 years ago.

Photographed at the Western Australian Museum

Echidna

This is part of an Echidna's upper beak. It was a giant called Megalibgwilia and is now extinct.

It was a monotreme

It was found near Augusta in Western Australia and is from the Pleistocene period.

Photographed at the Western Australian Museum

Assignment: You will need a large sketch pad or good quality drawing paper, sharp lead pencils and maybe a rubber/eraser. Visit your museum and try and draw a skeleton of an ancient mammal. Make sure you are accurate, count the number of ribs if it is a full skeleton or count the number of teeth and notice their shape if it is a head only. Note how big the feet and eye sockets are. Is the head blunt or pointy at the front? If you really want to be accurate you could count the vertebrae but drawing them all would be a big job. If you can not get to a museum get out a library book or try and draw one of the fossils you have seen on this site. You can even email it to us and we might post it up in our Arts Page. Send to wildes@iinet.net.au Please keep the pictures fairly small.

Other places you can visit to learn more about dinosaurs or Australian fossils

Dino details
Ancient mammals

Text used;
"Dinosaurs of Australia" by John Long
Western Australian Museum where many of the photographs were taken.

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All photos Copyright © Rachel Martinovich 2003 unless otherwise mentioned. Contact us Wildlife Education Services
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