Table of contents:
Video: Why "dragons" and giant kangaroos that lived side by side with people became extinct in Australia
2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55
The already amazing nature of Australia tens of thousands of years ago was even more incredible. The continent was inhabited by giant kangaroos, twice the height of an ordinary person, and huge goannas, similar to dragons. But why did the megafauna disappear on this earth? Previously, it was believed that people were to blame. Now scientists are sure: it was climate change that led Australia's megafauna to extinction. The land that we now call Australia, 40-60 thousand years ago, was inhabited by giant creatures of all kinds.
What mega animals lived in Australia
Over the past decade, scientists Scott Hocknull and Anthony Dosseto have examined bones found at four different archaeological sites, including some fossils found by the indigenous Barada Barna people on their ancestral lands in Central Queensland.
Fossil studies have shown that at least 13 extinct species of giant animals once lived around South Walker Creek, 60 miles west of Mackay. Megareptiles hunted megamammals, and this all happened at a time when humans arrived on the continent and spread throughout its territory. According to the latest data from scientists, for tens of thousands of years, ancient people and huge animals coexisted side by side.
At that time, animals such as the six-meter dragon-like goanna, the giant wombat with crooked horns and a special kind of giant marsupial beast called the diprotodon, which weighed three tons and was described as a kind of "bear sloth", roamed Australia at that time.
However, perhaps the strangest creature discovered by scientists turned out to be a giant kangaroo. Examination of the remains showed that this huge marsupial weighed about 600 pounds (approximately 270 kilograms) and is the largest kangaroo species ever identified. This species has not yet been named, but is much larger than the previously discovered giant short-faced kangaroo (Procoptodon). After all, the latter weighed "only" 120 kilograms!
The most bloodthirsty mammal that researchers have identified is the carnivorous Tilakol, commonly described as a "marsupial lion."
“Interestingly, creatures that we can still see in Australia, such as emu, red kangaroo and saltwater crocodile, lived next to these animals.” Many of the species identified by the researchers are considered new or may be northern variations of theirs. southern brothers.
The identification of these giant creatures not only paints a stunning picture of what life was like in Australia's wilderness tens of thousands of years ago, but also gives researchers a better understanding of the impact these animals have had on their environment.
- Discovered representatives of the megafauna were the largest land animals that have lived in Australia since the time of the dinosaurs. Understanding the ecological role they played and the irreplaceable loss that occurred in connection with their extinction remains the most valuable untold story, scientists say.
Why did they disappear?
Hoknull and Dosseto's research shows that humans in Australia were probably not responsible for the deaths of these giant creatures. Scientists' data show that the megafauna and early Australians coexisted for about 17 thousand years (according to various sources - from 15 thousand to 20 thousand years.).
Previously, it was widely believed among scientists that overhunting by humans ultimately led to the extinction of the Australian megafauna, but this study proved the inconsistency of this hypothesis. Since humans and these giant creatures have lived side by side for so long, hunting was probably not the cause of their death.
Based on the results of the research, the scientists concluded that the megafauna most likely became extinct as a result of a drastic change in the environment.
- The timing of the extinction of these huge animals coincided with stable regional changes in both aquatic and plant environments, as well as with an increased frequency of fires, the researchers note, - a combination of these factors could be fatal for giant terrestrial and aquatic species. So, most likely the reason is climate change.
Note that during the period during which the extinction of a large number of Australia falls, drought often occurred on the continent, and as a result of sea level rise, some rather large areas of land were submerged.
Meanwhile, scientists are still trying to figure out how some species that lived among the megafauna (in particular, the emu and the saltwater crocodile) managed to survive these radical environmental changes and remain on the planet to this day.
We also recommend to learn about 10 things only in Australia.
Recommended:
How Zykina's friend, the famous Tryndychikha, lived, and why she never became a star: Emilia Treivas
In the filmography of this actress, there are only 19 works in the cinema, including the pictures "The Pig and the Shepherd" and "The Wedding in Malinovka". The name of her heroine Tryndychikha became a household name, but the actress herself was not even recognized on the street. Emilia Treivas, unlike many other actors who starred in the cult film, never became famous. The actress was friends with Marina Ladynina and Lyudmila Zykina, but always refused the patronage of her friends
Why the mother-in-law of Queen Elizabeth II of England lived in an insane asylum for many years and how she became a smoking nun
The mother of Prince Philip and mother-in-law of Elizabeth II, Alice of Battenberg lived a rich life, in which there were both ups and downs: from marriage and years spent in psychiatric hospitals to the monastery in which she became a nun who was unable to get rid of card games and cigarettes
How the Soviets eradicated the Cossacks: How many people became victims of the civil war and how they lived outside the law
The attitude of the Soviet government towards the Cossacks was extremely wary. And when the active phase of the civil war began, it was completely hostile. Despite the fact that some Cossacks voluntarily sided with the Reds, repressions were carried out against those who did not. Historians call a different number of victims of decossackization, but we can say for sure - the process was massive. And with the victims
Why actress Inna Makarova never became the wife of surgeon Perelman, with whom she lived together for more than 40 years
Inna Makarova was one of the most famous and sought-after actresses of the Soviet Union. She played many bright roles and devoted herself entirely to the profession. Her first marriage to director Sergei Bondarchuk, unfortunately, lasted only 12 years, and the divorce made a lot of noise at the time. Inna Makarova lived with the famous surgeon Mikhail Perelman for over 40 years. But the actress never officially became his wife
From the history of things: Sadnik, stag, ruble and other "extinct" objects of Slavic life
Housekeeping in Russia was not easy. Without access to the modern goods of mankind, the ancient masters invented everyday objects that helped a person to cope with many things. Many such inventions have already been forgotten today, because technology, household appliances and a change in the way of life have completely supplanted them. But despite this, in terms of the originality of engineering solutions, ancient objects are in no way inferior to modern ones