Paleontological Treasure Trove Found in Australia

A paleontological treasure trove of fossils was discovered recently in a cave in the Nullarbor Plain in southern Australia. This discovery includes mammals, birds, reptiles and a marsupial lion, Thylacoleo carnifex (pictured), and 23 species of kangaroo, including eight of which are new to science. These fossils date back to between 400,000-800,000 years ago.

The creatures apparently fell to their deaths through openings in the dusty surface of the plain that periodically opened and closed over millennia.

"Sitting in the darkness next to this skeleton, you really got the sense of the animal collapsing in a heap and taking its last breath. It was quite poignant," said Gavin Prideaux, the lead author.

"Everywhere we looked around the boulder piles, we found more and more skeletons of a very wide array of creatures."

Most of the animals were killed instantly but others initially survived the 20 meter drop only to crawl off into rock piles to die from their injuries or from thirst and starvation.

The preservation of many of the specimens was remarkable, said the Nature paper's lead author, Dr Gavin Prideaux.

In total, 69 vertebrate species have been identified in three chambers the scientists now call the Thylacoleo Caves. The discoveries were published in the top-tier journal, Nature.

Cited story and image source.

The discovery of the complete Thylacoleo skeleton (right) attracted international media attention when it was first announced in 2002.

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