| Part one of
this section of the museum discusses the various species of thylacines
which existed during the Tertiary Period, a time which spans from
the Paleocene through Pliocene Epochs (approx. 2-65 million years ago).
The oldest thylacinid fossils date from the Late Oligocene Epoch (approx.
23-28 million years ago). A great deal of what we know about early
members of the family Thylacinidae is based on fossils found at the Riversleigh
World Heritage area in north-western Queensland. Riversleigh contains
one of the richest and most extensive fossil vertebrate deposits in the
world, spanning some 25 million years. Tens of thousands of superbly
preserved fossil specimens have been excavated from Riversleigh since the
late 1960s, and the number is ever increasing (Archer et al. 2000).
Part two displays thylacine fossils from
the Pleistocene Epoch, the period of time which immediately preceded
our own - the Holocene. The majority of the specimens shown are examples
that I photographed during a visit to the Australian Museum (Sydney) in
2002. All thylacine fossils known from the Pleistocene are considered
to belong to the modern species, Thylacinus cynocephalus.
Such fossils have been found in many areas of both mainland Australia and
in Tasmania, but among the most significant localities are the Wellington
Caves of New South Wales, the Naracoorte Caves of South Australia, and
various caves on the Nullarbor Plain of Western Australia.
In part three are shown some examples of
thylacine relics from our own time, the Holocene Epoch, also known
as the
Recent Epoch. These specimens
consist of skeletal material, as well as taxidermies and other types of
preserved soft tissue. Some of the skulls shown in this section are
cast replicas from my personal collection, while others are examples housed
in museums. Again, many of the specimens depicted are ones that I
photographed at the Australian Museum.
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