The Sthenurines

The sthenurines were a family of short-faced kangaroos which became numerous about 2 million years ago. Fourteen species are now extinct, with a single related species (the Banded Hare-wallaby) surviving on two islands off the coast of Western Australia. The extinct sthenurines varied in size from quite small animals the size of a wallaby to giants like Procoptodon goliah which stood 2.5 metres high and weighed up to 200 kilograms. All had a single long toe with a hoof-like claw on their hind foot, a short, thick tail and long arms. Most characteristic of all, the sthenurines had short, broad faces with an expanded nasal area that may have been used for amplifying sound.

Sthenurus stirlingi. Artist: Kate Nolan. Source: Museum Victoria.

Four Sthenurus species had slightly longer faces than other sthenurines. They may have favoured the more open inland regions of Australia, and became extinct about 18,000 years ago.

The fossil of Sthenurus stirlingi, which is in the exhibition, was found in Billeroo Creek, South Australia. Sthenurus was a browsing animal that fed on the leaves of trees, unlike the modern red and grey kangaroos, which are grazers living on a diet of grasses. Its skull was short and deep, to accommodate strong chewing muscles, and its teeth were adapted to a diet of leaves. The arms of Sthenurus were longer than those of modern kangaroos and were suited to reaching over its head, perhaps to pull down branches. The species became less common as Australia's forests were replaced by woodlands and grasslands, and it finally became extinct about 18,000 years ago.