THE CAVES AT NARACOORTE

Naracoorte Caves is South Australia's only World Heritage Site. In caverns beneath the sandstone cave range visitors may view the delicate decorations of calcite and fossils of long-extinct animals. For over 30.000 years ago, the caves became traps for animals that fell into them, and have subsequently provided excellent evidence of the fauna from that time.

From the beautiful interior of one of the caves at Naracoorte, showing amazing calcite deposits in the form of stalagtites and stalagmites. Here's another:

From Victoria Cave

A fairly recent specimen at Naracoorte, Barbara Loban, one of our very knowledegable and pleasant guides.

The Naracoorte Caves were inscribed onto the World Heritage Register in 1994, as one of the two Australian Fossil Mammal Sites. The other one is Riversleigh in Queensland. The Naracoorte Caves record the Holocene and the mid-late Pleistocene period, covering over 500.000 years from 1.8 mill. years ago.
There are about 17 known fossil deposits within the caves, containing the remains of many important species of the Australian pre-historic fauna. The first identification of these animals took place in the 1830's from Wellington Caves in New South Wales. It wasn't until 1969 the major discoveries of fossil deposits in Naracoorte took place. The now termed Megafauna includes over 20 species identified from Naracoorte. 

Here are a few examples from the Megafauna (click the pictures for larger images):

Diptrotodon Australis is the largest herbivorous marsupial ever to have lived in Australia, standing over 6 feet high at the shoulder.  It was once widespread and relatively common over much of the continent. A large Diprotodon weighed 2-3 tonnes, and for obvious reasons there weren't many skeletons to be found in the caves. Its sheer size prevented it from falling through most cave openings. But it's been found in many other places in Australia. One is not certain as to when it became extinct, but it's possible it died out around the time man came to Australia, about 40.000 years ago. But it is also proven that the Diprotodon lived in New Guinea until about 25,000 years ago.  Diprotodon Australis Palorchestes Azeal was about the size of a horse. This creature had huge koala-like claws, large powerful limbs, a ling ribbon-like tongue and an elephantine trunk. Its unusual appearance suggests Palorchestes lived by pulling up shrubs and eating the tubers or by stripping bark from trees to gain access to the soft inner layers. It was originally described as a giant kangaroo, based on a few fossil teeth. As more fossils of this species were found, researchers realised that it must have walked on four legs. Also called "marsupial tapir”. Became extinct about 40.000 years ago. Palorchetes Azeal Thylacoleo Carnifex is commonly called the "marsupial lion", and was the largest marsupial predator the world has ever seen. It was about 1,5 m long(head to tail), and about 75 cm tall the the shoulder. It had a cat-like skull with large slicing premolars or cheek teeth. Combined with a large retractable thumb claw and powerful forelimbs this animal would have been a fearsome predator that could bring down prey as big as the Diptrotodon (above). Thylacoleo is thought to have been primarily an arboreal (tree dwelling) animal. Became extinct about 40.000 years ago. The nearerst living relatives today are the koala and the wombat. Thylacoleo Carnifex Procoptodon Goliah was the largest kangaroo ever to have lived. It could be up to 3 metres tall and weigh over 200 kg. It had two long fingers with powerful claws on each of the frontlimbs, and one single toe on each of the feet. A short, deep skull suggests it had very powerful jaws able to chew up the toughest of leaves. Extinct about 40,000 years ago.     Procoptodon Goliah

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