FACTS AND FUN FOR STUDENTS
Contents
When Life Got Big – The Story of the Megafauna
Fun with facts for Grades 3-6
Other activities and questions
Illustrations
References
Websites
Acknowledgements
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When Life Got Big
The Story of the Megafauna
As Australia drifted north from Antarctica after finally severing its ties with the great
continent to the south, it began to warm. The cold to cool temperate flora that
characterised Australia during the first part of the Cenozoic (65.5 million years ago)
gradually changed to a warmer vegetation, finally in the north forming the tropical
rainforest of Queensland and the wet vegetation of the far north of the continent in
Arnhem Land. But inland, the continent began to dry out and by the Pliocene (5.33 to
1.81 million years ago), the rainforest of Australia’s centre turned to dust. By the time
the megafauna lived, they faced increasing drought conditions except those that lived
around the margins of the continent or in the south-east and Tasmania.
Megafauna is a term often used to describe the large, now extinct vertebrates of the
Pleistocene, the last 1.81 million years. They occured on all continents, including
Australia, and lived until relatively recent times. Their final extinction, or at least
major biodiversity decrease, coincides with the appearance of humans in their
vicinity. It also coincides in a general sense with the increasing aridity in Australia
– so humankind and climate were both factors in what happened to the megafauna.
The term megafauna has also been applied to marine animals, so is not entirely
restricted to the big marsupial Diprotodon and mega-kangaroos like Procoptodon and
Sthenurus, or even the very large “goose” Genyornis.
Generally animals over 40kg have been classed as megafauna. These forms, now
extinct, often left near relatives that were decidedly smaller, as is the case with
kangaroos and wombats, or even the moundbuilding megapodes – Progura was the
giant of the Pleistocene which must have built enormous mounds when compared
to its living near relative the Brush Turkey or the Mallee Fowl. There was also a giant
anteater, Zaglossus, a gigantic relative of the Echidna. Termites and other ants have
never had an easy road!
Of all the continents supporting a megafauna in the Pleistocene, Australia seems
to have lost the most species in the later part of that time period. Of mammals
encountered by the first Europeans, none weighing much more than 60kg were
found in the living fauna. Later palaeontological studies of the fossil vertebrates have
highlighted that at least 40 of the species of this megafauna had disappeared in the
later Pleistocene. Climate and humanity had taken their toll.
Interestingly, during the millions of years before the Pleistocene in Australia, there
had been an even greater diversity of large and small land vertebratres. Diprotodon
and Zygomaturus of the Pleistocene (reduced to just a few species) had a much
greater biodiversity of near and often large relatives before. The dromornithid birds,
of which Genyornis was the last, had their heyday in the Miocene (20 to 5.3 million
years ago), when several species existed, one being perhaps the largest bird that ever
lived, Dromornis stirtoni. Genyornis likely weighed around 200kg, whereas Dromornis
certainly topped 300kg or more. There were terrestrial crocodiles and giant goannas.
Goannas are relatives of the “megafaunal” Megalania, a varanid lizard which may
have reached up to 6-7m in length, weighing upwards of a metric ton and was
certainly the largest land predator of the Pleistocene. Megalania likely lived as the
modern Komodo Dragons (which only reach around 3m in length) of Indonesia as
ambush predators lurking along familiar game paths for a passing Diprotodon or
Genyornis. There were even turtles with horns, Meiolania, the most famous of which
inhabited an island distant from the east coast of Australia, Lord Howe Island.
Our knowledge of the megafauna is mainly from the eastern half of Australia, with
a few isolated fossil sites in the south-west and along the west coast. There is much
more to learn in the future but because of the nature of the fossil record on the
Australian continent, we will probably never know as much as we do about the
megafauna of North America and Asia. Australia’s record is limited because we
simply do not have the extensive exposure of rocks bearing fossils that are typical of
mountainous country. Australia has also undergone extensive periods of weathering,
which destroys bones. Australia still has vast areas that need further exploration and
in the future, more precise dating of sites with megafauna will likely allow us to better
understand the exact timing of extinction of different members of the megafauna,
which in turn may allow a better estimate of the precise cause of the demise of
certain species.
Certainly larger size would have allowed species to move further in search of
food and water than smaller forms, and this would have been useful on a continent
that was becoming more and more arid. Australia was also the continent that
beginning around 700,000 years ago began to be affected by drought. The climate
became unpredictable. Lakes that had been permanent, dried up for some years.
The flamingo flocks that had so long graced these inland lakes, disappeared forever,
and the muddy flats left behind, often covered with a thin crust, served as death traps
for wandering herds of large marsupials and birds. The skeletons recovered from
such places as Lake Callabonna in South Australia reflect the dangerous conditions
of the Late Pleistocene – unpredictable, resources restricted or absent and water a
precious commodity. The megafauna were walking a tightrope, they were vulnerable
and the relatively high biodiversity of the much more predictable and well watered
middle Cenozoic was on the wane. When humans arrived and began to burn the
bush and to hunt the reduced herds of megafauna, the megafauna disappeared
or gave way to smaller forms, more fit for the unpredictable conditions that now
characterise Australia.
Fun with Facts for Grades 3-6
Sheets
Event
Geological Time
0.00
Present
0
0.001
Modern Man (Homo sapiens)
195,000
0.09
Homo erectus
1,800,000
0.15
Australopithecus africanus
3,000,000
0.50
Beginning of Antarctic ice caps
10,000,000
2.50
Separation of Australia and Antarctica
50,000,000
Equipment:
3.00
Early primates
60,000,000
• One roll of toilet paper, 231 sheets or more.
• Felt-tip markers, several colours.
• Sticky tape for repairs.
3.25
Most dinosaurs became extinct
65,000,000
7.50
Early flowering plants
150,000,000
10.50
Oldest turtle
210,000,000
11.00
Oldest mammals
220,000,000
11.00
First dinosaurs on Earth
220,000,000
16.25
First reptiles
325,000,000
20.00
Early trees, formation of coal deposits
400,000,000
20.00
Oldest insect
400,000,000
21.50
Early land plants
430,000,000
24.50
Early fish
490,000,000
27.50
Early shelled organisms
550,000,000
30.00
Break up of early supercontinent
600,000,000
70
Early multicellular organisms
1,400,000,000
170
Early bacteria and algae
3,400,000,000
220
Oldest known rocks on Earth
4,400,000,000
230
Origin of Earth
4,600,000,000
Geological Time Scale
Our knowledge of the megafauna is mainly from the eastern half of Australia. In
geological time scales, the megafauna lived for only a very short period of time. This
activity offers students a visual representation of the enormous extent of geologic time
compared to our more recent time and that of the megafauna.
Procedure:
• Start at one end of a long hallway or outside and begin to unroll the toiler paper.
• Mark important events in geological history with the felt tip marker as you go.
• Note that one sheet of toiler paper equals 20 million years of time!
Once complete:
• Once the time line has been created, go back and mark the time period of when
the megafauna existed.
• Students may also construct representations of plant and/or animal life
from each time period.
Megalania
Thylacoleo
Thylacine
Procoptodon
Genyornis
Diprotodon
Fossil Sequence
Make Your Own Fossil
Everything we know about the megafauna comes from studying their fossil remains.
But how does a megafauna animal leave behind a fossil for us to investigate many
years later? Match the sentences to the pictures of how animals become fossils and
then cut and paste them into a logical order to find out.
Fossils are evidence of things that were living. Usually fossils are formed in rocks
called sedimentary rocks.
• Rock is eroded away by the weather e.g. wind and rain.
Fossils can be skeletons (bone, shell, etc.), imprints left behind (such as leaves), or
traces of activity (footprints). Sometimes when a shell or skeleton is fossilised, the
original part of the animal dissolves and only a hole remains. This hole left by the
fossil is called a mould and a cast of the fossil can be made when the hole is later
filled in by other minerals, which then take on the shape of the original fossil.
• Skeleton is covered by layers of mud and sand.
In this activity students make their own fossil casts using plasticine and plaster.
• The body of the dead megafauna falls to the bottom of a river.
Equipment:
• Plasticine (lots).
• Stirring sticks.
• Shells (lots).
• Small paper plates.
• Plaster.
• Plastic cups.
Sentences:
• Fossil is discovered by a palaeontologist.
• The muscles and flesh of the megafauna rot away, leaving only the skeleton.
• Pressure from the sediments above makes the buried layers of mud and sand
become rock.
Procedure:
Pictures:
• Flatten a piece of plasticine into a round disc about 3cm thick.
• Press the plasticine disc onto a paper plate.
• Press a shell into the plasticine so you leave an impression of the shell.
•Roll some plasticine “sausages” and use these to build a wall around the edge of
your plasticine pad.
• Place two tablespoons of water in a cup. Add three tablespoons of plaster and stir
with a stick until the water is mixed through.
• Make sure the plaster isn’t too dry or too wet – it should be the same
consistency as toothpaste.
• Slowly pour the plaster mix onto your plasticine shell impression to fill up the well.
• Gently pat the mixture with a stick to encourage bubbles to float to the top.
• Leave for about 20 minutes or until the plaster is hard.
• Peel off the plasticine to reveal your very own fossil!
• Once the cast is dry, paint the fossil and try adding sand to the paint to
make it look more like rock.
As an extension, students may make fossil casts using other objects such as small
chicken bones or stiff plant leaves. Students may also create an information card for
their fossil to explain what it is.
A Palaeontologist’s Work
Megafauna Diorama
Palaeontologists don’t get to see the animals they study in action! They don’t get to
observe the animals eating, moving or even interacting with other living things.
What they do is interpret how the animal lived by studying its fossil remains.
This activity allows students to use research and presentation skills to investigate and
share their knowledge of megafauna.
• Using the stamps, students select a megafauna of their choice.
• Working independently, in pairs or small groups, students construct a diorama in
a shoe-box depicting an interesting scene of their megafauna’s existence. They
should include any defining physiological features on their megafauna model.
• Further reading and research may be needed to find out more about the
megafauna they have selected to determine what animals and plants are suitable
for inclusion in their diorama. Students need to know if their animal is a predator,
prey or both, as well as the biotic and abiotic factors of its environment.
• To support their diorama students may also design and create a poster showing
important facts about their megafauna animal.
• To share their knowledge, students give a presentation of their megafauna
to the class.
Procedure:
• Students study the megafauna skeletons of Genyornis and Diprotodon below and
the megafauna stamps and interpret how they lived.
Questions to consider for each animal include:
• What kind of animal is this? How can you tell?
• What did it eat? Why do you think so?
• How did it move? Why do you think so?
• How fast do you think it moved? What makes you say this?
Extension – Make a Mural
As an extension to their dioramas and posters, students can further research
Australia’s megafauna, including those not listed in the stamp pack to create a class
mural. Students could work in pairs to create their contribution. Each pair provides
information about their animal, just like a museum provides information about their
displays. Students can practice their communication skills by giving the class an oral
presentation about their chosen animal.
Other activities and questions...
Present Day Relatives of the Megafauna
While the megafauna are now extinct, they often left behind near or present-day
relatives which we see today. In this activity, students compare the megafauna in the
stamp pack to present-day animals. Questions for discussion and research include:
• What present-day animals are similar to the megafauna?
• What are the similarities and differences between the megafauna and their presentday relatives? Do you think it is possible that these present-day fauna evolved from
megafauna and why?
Extinction
As a class, students brainstorm ideas explaining why the megafauna became extinct.
Students use the internet and library resources to research the factors for extinction
and present their findings to the class. Where there are differing factors, students may
have a debate and present evidence to support their reasons for the extinction of the
megafauna.
A Day in the Life of an Australian Megafauna Animal
Students imagine that they are an ancient animal from Australia – during the time of
the megafauna and write a “Day in the Life” story. Students’ stories may be written
as an essay, diary entry, poem, song or newspaper article. Questions for them to
consider include:
• What would your day be like?
• What dangers do you face?
• Where do you live?
Students apply their understanding of megafauna in a creative way and while the
story is creative, they must also include scientific information including:
• What kind of animal are you?
• How many years ago did you live?
• What did you eat?
• What other kinds of animals might you have interacted with during your day?
• Did you have predators?
• How did you die and become a fossil?
• Did you have any special features that helped you survive in your environment?
Extra, Extra – Read all about it!
In this activity, students imagine that the megafauna had never died out and live
alongside humans. Questions for discussing may include:
• What would your life be like with megafauna around?
• Where would they live – in the city or the outback?
• Could you have one as a pet?
• Students may write their story as a series of diary entries or even from the point of
view of the megafauna!
Australia’s Climate – Past and Present
Students use the stamp pack as a reference and draw a scene of Australia’s
environment when the megafauna existed. Drawing on their own knowledge of
megafauna extinction and by further research, students then draw scenes of the
environment as the megafauna began to die off.
• Students should attempt to show the climate in both scenes.
• How do these two scenes compare to Australia’s current climate?
Design a Megafauna
This activity allows students to demonstrate their knowledge of the megafauna and use
creative thinking skills to design and name their own imaginary megafauna.
• Students make their megafauna with art materials and explain its habitat
and how it lives.
• Students can also create a flipbook to show how their megafauna moves.
An Interesting Encounter
Drama skills can be incorporated into students understanding of the megafauna
through the use of a role play. Students role play scenarios including:
• A Megalania running into a Thylacoleo.
• A Genyornis running into a Megalania.
• Two students travel back in time and encounter one or more megafauna.
• The students are paleontologists who find a megafauna fossil – they may reconstruct
the fossil, name the fossil, write a letter to another scientist and become famous
because of their discovery.
Celebrity Heads
To test their knowledge of megafauna, students can play “Megafauna Celebrity
Heads”. Three students act as the megafuna and they ask yes/no questions of the
class to discover their megafauna celebrity identity.
Megafauna Vote
Breaking news - scientists have just discovered a megafauna animal that was thought
to be extinct, living in the outback of Australia.
• Students use their knowledge of megafauna and creative writing skills to design and
write a news article about the recently discovered megafauna.
Life with the Megafauna
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11
Students can incorporate some maths into their learning by creating a classroom
graph showing how students voted for their favourite megafauna. Each student must
write their name on a piece of paper (all pieces of paper need to be the same size)
with the name of their favourite megafauna. The pieces of paper can be used to
create a bar graph in the classroom.
References
Question for discussion include:
Websites
• What is the most popular megafauna?
• What is the least popular megafauna?
• What other information would the students like to find out e.g. do girls vote for a
particular megafauna more than boys etc?
Students can use this data to create their own bar or line graph.
Illustrations
Vickers-Rich, P., Monaghan, J. M., Baird, R. F. & Rich, T. H., 1996. Vertebrate
Palaeontology of Australasia. Pioneer Design Studio, Melbourne.
1. The megafauna pp. 1074-1075
2. Megafaunal anteater and living Echidna. Pp 1087
3. Diprotodon and Zygomaturus, skulls, pp. 1101
4. Diprotodon and Zygomaturus, skeleton, pp. 1107
5. Thylacoleo – use Peter Trusler’s sketches
6. Megafauna sketches – pp. 1126
7. Megafauna distribution – pp. 1127
8. Scaled skeletons of some megafauna – 1129
9. Dwarfing of the megafauna in the Late Pleistocene – 1134
Vickers-Rich, P. & Rich, T. H., 1999. Wildlife of Gondwana, Dinosaurs and Other
Vertebrates from the Ancient Supercontinent. Indiana University Press, Bloomington,
Indianapolis.
1. Middle Cenozoic late in Central Australia – when Australia was wet pp.208
2. The rainforests of Central Australia Miocene – pp. 209
3. The family tree of the Australian mammals – pp 226
4. The living Echidna – pp. 216
5. The Mallee Fowl – pp. 215
6. Central Australia in the Miocene – pp. 222
7. Central Australia today – 223
8. Diprotodon – 195
9. Thylacoleo with wombat bone in mouth pp.198
10. Meiolanid turtles pp. 227
• Murray, P. F. & Vickers-Rich, P., 2004. Magnificent Mihirungs. The Colossal
Flightless Birds of the Australian Dreamtime. Indiana University Press, Bloomington.
• Vickers-Rich, P., Monaghan, J. M., Baird, R. F. & Rich, T. H., 1996. Vertebrate
Palaeontology of Australasia. Pioneer Design Studio, Melbourne.
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/megafauna
• http://science.uniserve.edu.au/school/quests/mgfauna.html
• http://www.abc.net.au/science/features/megafauna/
• http://www.austmus.gov.au/factSheets/megafauna.htm
• http://museumvictoria.com.au/prehistoric/mammals/australia.html
• http://www.abc.net.au/science/ozfossil/megafauna/links/default.htm
• http://www.austmus.gov.au/palaeontology/resources/links.htm
• http://www.abc.net.au/science/ozfossil/megafauna/default.htm
Acknowledgements
• Professor Pat Vickers-Rich, Director of the Monash Science Centre, Monash
University. Professor, School of Geosciences, Faculty of Science, Monash University
Education Staff of the Monash Science Centre, Monash University:
• Priscilla Gaff
• Dr. Corrie Williams
• Kathy Smith
• Dr Sanja Van Huet
• Cindy Hann
• Sandra Thong
• Michael Roberts
First Day Cover
Maxi Cards
Stamp Pack