Demise of Megafauna

What are megafauna?

• Huge animals that are still alive in Australia

• Animals that scientists think are cool

• Extinct animals that are larger than existing animal

• Animals that live for a long time

Megafauna includes birds, mammals, and reptiles. True or false?

• True

• False

Which was the largest Australian megafauna animal?

• Diprotodon - similar to a giant wombat

• Megalania - similar to a giant goanna

• Thylacoleo - similar to a lion

• Sarcophilus laniarius - a large form

  of the Tasmanian devil

When were the first megafauna fossils found in Australia at Wellington Caves in New South Wales?

• 1914

• 1823

• 1645

• 2001

What made palaeontologists, archaeologists and historians think megafauna and humans were alive at the same time?

• Human bones with marks from megafauna teeth

• Aboriginal rock painting of megafauna

• Tools made from the bones of megafauna

• Stone tools and megafauna bones

  were found in the same area

Why do scientists think megafauna grew so large?

• Dinosaurs were large so megafauna needed to be big as well

• Megafauna ate humans

• Thick bush changed to open wood and grassland

• Megafauna ate fruit and vegetables

  that were full of vitamins

What was Genyornis newtoni?

• An animal that looked like a propeller

• A huge flightless bird, similar to an emu

• A giant goanna

• A meat-eating kangaroo

The Wonambi naracoortensis is named after the aboriginal word for what?

• Mean crocodile

• Rainbow serpent

• Large Bird

• Big Wallaby

What was a Diprotodon?

• A huge wombat

• A giant emu that ate meat

• The largest leaf-eating kangaroos

• Thylacine or Tasmanian tiger

Scientists thought the Thylacoleo carnifex (marsupial lion) ate meat and what else?

• Gumnuts

• Apples

• Melons

• Flowers