Prehistoric Animals of Australia

35Paleozoic

Its spiral tooth whorl worked like a permanent slicing blade inside the lower jaw.

Coasts of Pangaea · North America, Russia and Australia

90Mesozoic

A massive pliosaur skull powered attacks on large marine prey.

Australian inland sea

95Cenozoic

The largest known terrestrial lizard was a giant relative of monitor lizards.

Australia

96Cenozoic

A broad face, forward-looking eyes and single-toed feet distinguished this giant kangaroo.

Arid woodlands of Australia

161Precambrian

Its flat oval body moved across microbial mats like a rhythmically quilted cushion, leaving feeding traces behind.

Shallow Ediacaran seafloors · Present-day Australia and Russia

162Precambrian

A horseshoe-shaped front led a body of offset leaflike units, giving it the appearance of a flattened soft worm.

Shallow Ediacaran seafloor · Present-day South Australia

167Paleozoic

A broad head shield enclosed its front half, with forward-set eyes and a flexible tail behind the armored box.

Gondwanan shallow seas · Present-day Bolivia, Argentina, Australia and Oman

179Cenozoic

This rhinoceros-sized marsupial clipped plants with two forward incisors and moved between seasonal water sources.

Australian open woodland, grassland and lake basins

180Cenozoic

This two-meter flightless bird had a deep jaw and powerful legs, probably feeding on soft leaves, fruit and shoots.

Inland Australian lakes and open woodland

186Paleozoic

A wing resembling that of a crane fly was once treated as an early dipteran clue, but its true affinity remains disputed.

Warner’s Bay–Belmont area, New South Wales, Australia

203Precambrian

Three curving spiral arms created a body symmetry almost absent among living animals.

Shallow marine microbial mats · Present-day Australia and Russia

208Paleozoic

It lacked jaws and paired fins, but its head and gill region were enclosed within strong armor.

Gondwanan shallow sea · Central Australia

302Precambrian

Dense stands of narrow tubes formed one of the earliest large colonial scenes.

Shallow microbial mats · South Australia

320Paleozoic

An embryo with an umbilical connection records some of the earliest live birth.

Tropical reefs · Gogo Formation, Australia

341Cenozoic

Deep jaws and slicing teeth suggest an ancient kangaroo relative that ate meat.

Rainforest and edge · Queensland, Australia

344Cenozoic

Grasping feet and flexible shoulders reveal a large climbing marsupial.

Wet rainforest · Queensland, Australia

352Mesozoic

A giant amphibian still occupied cold rivers where crocodyliforms were uncommon.

High-latitude rivers and forests · Southeastern Australia

370Mesozoic

A giant temnospondyl still occupied river ambush niches in the dinosaur era.

Forested rivers · Queensland, Australia

377Mesozoic

A near-complete skeleton reveals the full proportions of a giant Triassic amphibian.

Forested rivers · New South Wales, Australia

389Mesozoic

It resembled a giant primitive flea but may not be a direct flea ancestor.

Cool humid forest floor · Victoria, Australia

459Cenozoic

Three meters tall with a massive beak, it was among the heaviest birds.

Dry woodland and plains · Australia

466Cenozoic

A mobile snout, huge claws and strange forelimbs belonged to a marsupial unlike any tapir.

Forest and riverbanks · Australia

467Cenozoic

A cow-sized wombat relative carried a broad snout and heavy limbs.

Wetland and woodland · Australia

524Paleozoic

A long rostrum, side horns and paired openings belonged to an endemic jawless armored lineage.

Coastal delta · Australia