Complete marsupial lion skeleton replica on display in SA's Naracoorte Caves
By Josh Brine
ABC South East SA
Topic:Palaeontology
20m ago20 minutes agoMon 9 Dec 2024 at 11:47pm
A model of the skull and an arm of a marsupial lion lit up by a torch, with a shadow cast on a rocky wall behind.
A complete skeleton model of Thylacoleo has been installed at the Naracoorte Caves complex. (ABC South East SA: Josh Brine)
In short:
A completed skeleton replica of the marsupial lion, Thylacoleo, has been installed at the Naracoorte Caves in South Australia.
Recent discoveries indicate the animal possibly climbed and ambushed prey from above.
What's next?
The completed skeleton will remain on display for tours of the World Heritage-listed caves.
Taking pride of place in one of South Australia's World Heritage-listed Naracoorte Caves, the skeleton of a marsupial lion can be seen pouncing towards visitors.
For decades, a model of a partial skeleton of the marsupial lion — Thylacoleo carnifex — has sat in the fossil chamber of the Victoria Fossil Cave, which acted as an animal pitfall trap for at least 500,000 years.
A new replica was installed on the weekend, showcasing a complete skeleton that has challenged academic understandings of the extinct carnivore.
Discoveries at Naracoorte in 2006 and on the Nullarbor in WA in 2010 allowed for the full skeleton of Thylacoleo to be recreated, including clavicles and a tail.
The skeleton of a Thylacoleo found on the Nullarbor in WA.
The skeleton of a Thylacoleo found on the Nullarbor in WA in 2010. (Supplied: Flinders University )
A lion dropping from trees?
Flinders University Emeritus Professor Rod Wells said the clavicles, combined with strong forearms, backed up researchers' suspicions that the marsupial lions could probably climb.
He said while the marsupial lion was "by far" Australia's biggest mammalian predator, it was not particularly fast and relied on ambushing its prey.
"It sort of hides in the bushes or the reeds and springs on the unsuspecting animal," he said.
"Or maybe it dropped out of trees. Maybe it's the 'drop bear'.'"
He said the animal's big thumb claw could also grasp and slash its prey, which possibly included leaf-eating kangaroos.
A model of a skeleton of a marsupial lion with a long tail, two sharp front teeth and prominent thumbs.
The new model includes a completed tail and clavicles. (Supplied: Clay Bryce)
Professor Wells was one of the explorers who first found the fossil deposit in the South Australian cave in 1969 when he came face-to-face with a Thylacoleo skull.
More than 50 years later, he returned to the cave to assist with the installation of the new model, which he had provided support to recreate.
Professor Wells said researchers had used modern marsupials to gain a better understanding of the Thylacoleo.
Two skeletons showing tail erect.
Drawings of Thylacoleo skeletons by Peter Murray. (Supplied: Rod Wells et al.)
"Although it's not related to the Tasmanian devil, the mechanics of the skeleton fitted very nicely with the Tasmanian devil," he said.
Professor Wells said the ancient marsupial likely disappeared around 50,000 to 55,000 years ago, about the same time that humans first appeared on the record in Australia.
"It must've been a fairly frightening animal to confront as new immigrants to this continent," he said.
Two men stand in a cave looking up at a model of a skeleton lit up by torch light.
Flinders University's Carey Burke and Rod Wells admire the new model. (ABC South East SA: Josh Brine)
'A zoo through time'
The new cast was put together by Flinders University's palaeontology lab technical officer Carey Burke.
He also had help from student volunteers, including PhD student Jacob van Zoulen who did the scans.
Mr Burke said a scale model of the skeleton was 3D printed from scans of the original fossils.
Those acted as a guide for the final product, which was made of polyurethane resin.
He said they chose to set up the model in a pouncing pose to paint a picture of how dangerous the Thylacoleo would have been.
"I wanted something dynamic that would show you the teeth, it would show you the claws, it would show you the action that the animal could do," he said.
A man puts together a model of an animal skeleton as two people watch on.
A tour group came through as Carey Burke put the model together. (ABC South East SA: Josh Brine)
As Mr Burke was putting the model in place, a tour group came through the cave, allowing them to ask questions about the animal.
"It's almost like going to a zoo, but it's a zoo through time, not just through place," he said.
"Hopefully, there'll be people learning about Thylacoleo long after I'm gone."
Inside a cave with people touring
The Naracoorte Caves are world heritage-listed. (ABC South East SA: Selina Green)
Professor Wells said as scientists learned more about the animals that used to inhabit the continent, even millions of years ago, they have continued to find similarities to our animals today.
"The features on the [fossils] enable you to say almost immediately that is a koala, or that is a platypus, or that's a possum," he said.
"The Australian story is one of variations on a theme."
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Posted20m ago20 minutes agoMon 9 Dec 2024 at 11:47pm
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