Diprotodon (Marsupial) Skull

This skull belongs to one of Australia’s most popular megafauna, Diprotodon optatum. Diprotodon holds the record for the largest known marsupial, weighing in at approximately 3 tonnes and at a shoulder height of 1.7 metres, it dwarfs the largest marsupial today, the red kangaroo. Diprotodon was one of many native Australian megafauna during the Pleistocene, along with Megalania (giant 7m long monitor lizard), Genyornis (2 metres tall flightless bird), and Thylacoleo (largest carnivorous Australian mammal). Unfortunately, all of Australia’s megafauna went extinct approximately 40,000 years ago, with the cause of this particular extinction event still hotly debated amongst palaeontologists.
Diprotodon means “two forward-facing teeth” in Greek (Di = two, proto = first, odon = teeth), it gets this name from its two lower incisors, which is a common trait in all members of Diprotodontidae. The molars of diprotodontids are simple bilophodont shape, and are very similar to modern day kangaroos. Based on our understanding of the diet of living kangaroos, palaeontologists concluded that extinct diprotodontids consumed similar vegetation. This helps explain why diprotodonitds had a near continental distribution, with the remains of Diprotodon been found in areas such as Darling Downs, QLD, Wellington Caves, New South Wales, Bacchus Marsh in Victoria and Lake Callabonna in South Australia.
Here at Geoscience Australia Canberra, we house several diprotodontid specimens from across different parts of Australia. Fortunately for us a lot of our material consists of partial skull and lots of teeth. Come see the skull of a diprotodontid in our Education Centre!