Overview
Australia has a long fossil history with some dating back over 3 billion years ago. There are many ancient animals that are found nowhere else in the world. Explore key fossil sites across Australia to discover more about amazing Megafauna. This video conference is presented in collaboration with Australian Environmental Education.
Background Information
The term Australian megafauna refers to the large animals that roamed Australia during the Pleistocene Epoch, 2.5 million to 11,700 years ago. In Australia, these included giant marsupials such as the huge wombat-shaped ‘Diprotodon’, the kangaroo-like ‘Procoptodon’, the fearsome marsupial lion ‘Thylacoleo’, huge flightless birds such as the Genyornis, and the 6m long reptiles like ‘Megalania’.
STEM in a Box
No.
Prior Knowledge
No prior knowledge is required.
Learning Intentions
In this program students will:
- Define the term ‘megafauna’ and identify a range of Australian megafauna.
- Identify and compare the adaptive features of these ancient Australian animals.
Activities
In this video conference students will:
- Look at real fossils.
- Explore the geological time scale where megafauna roamed Australia.
- Explore fossil sites across Australia.
- Interact with the presenter live from Australian Environmental Education.
Victorian Curriculum 2.0
Science: Science Understanding
- Living things have characteristics that distinguish them from non-living things and things that were once living, including fossils (VC2S4U01)