Is there a fossil Thylacine?
Australian Museum Research Library
Fossil thylacines have been reported from Victoria, South Australia, Western Australia and Queensland.
Work at the Riversleigh World Heritage fossil site in north-west Queensland has unearthed a spectacular array of thylacines dating from about 30 million years ago to almost 12 million years ago. At least seven different species are present, ranging from small specialised cat-sized individuals to fox-sized predators.
The most spectacular find has been an almost complete skeleton of a thylacine from the AL90 site at Riversleigh. First glimpsed in 1996 when a limestone boulder was cracked to reveal part of the skull after 17 million years in a limestone tomb. After many months of intricate preparation the skeleton has been reassembled.
The fossil record of thylacines is a powerful reminder of how important it is to learn from the past the messages for the future. In Riversleigh times there were several species but by 8 million years ago only one species remained, the Powerful Thylacine Thylacinus potens.
The modern Thylacine made its appearance about 4 million years ago.
A mummified carcase of a Thylacine has been found in a cave on the Nullabor Plain. It lived about 4 to 5,000 years ago, just before the Dingo was introduced into Australia.
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