Megafauna refer to a number of large animals including mammals, birds and reptiles that lived during the past 100,000 years. Examples of some of these fossils can be seen in the Museum’s Megafauna display on Level 3.
Here in Australia the megafauna included animals such as Diprotodon, a very large marsupial plant eater; Procoptodon, a giant leaf-eating kangaroo; Genyornis, a very tall flightless bird like an emu; Wonambi, a six-metre-long snake; and Thylacoleo, a carnivorous marsupial.
South Australia is rich in megafauna fossils including sites at Lake Callabonna, Burra, Kangaroo Island and the World Heritage Listed Naracoorte Caves.