• Learning Federation RSS

'Diprotodon optatum' — a giant marsupial

Object Description

‘Diprotodon optatum newtoni’ belonged to the group Megafauna which were big land animals that evolved millions of years after the dinosaurs and included mammals, birds and reptiles. Its name (di-pro-toe-don) means’two forward teeth’. The fossils of ‘Diprotodon’ were discovered at Lake Callabonna, South Australia.

‘Diprotodon’ was a herbivore and measured 3 metres. ‘Diprotodon’ lived 1.8 million to 40 000 years ago in the Pleistocene.

Website

Educational Value Statement

'Diprotodon optatum' has the distinction of being the largest marsupial ever. Although related to the wombat and koala, 'Diprotodon' was more like a rhinoceros in size. It was three metres long, almost two metres high at the shoulder and weighed as much as two tonnes. It had pillar-like legs, broad footpads (a little like those of an elephant) and strong claws on its front feet, probably for digging up roots. It was not a particularly handsome animal — its feet were turned inward so it had a pigeon-toed appearance, it had a massive skull and two large upper front teeth!

'Diprotodon' lived in open woodland and scrubland in family groups of up to a dozen animals. It was quite widespread, and almost certainly shared the continent for a period with the humans. Its large size would have enabled it to survive on the coarse vegetation of inland Australia and travel further in search of water. 'Diprotodon' seems to have become extinct around 45,000 years ago.

© Museum Victoria and Curriculum Corporation 2008 (except where otherwise indicated). You may view, display, print out, copy and modify this material for non-commercial educational purposes provided you retain all acknowledgements associated with the material.