100 thousand years ago - time of the giants
King of the pouched predators
Lion-sized marsupials called Thylacoleo carnifex grew to about 1.5m long, stood 75 cm at the shoulder and weighed up to 250kg. They lived throughout Australia and hunted a variety of animals. They had large stabbing front teeth and blade-like cheek teeth ideal for slicing through flesh and bone. They also had a massive thumb claw on each front paw that may have been used to hold struggling prey or to rip them apart.
Thylacoleo carnifex
Adult Skeleton Thylacoleo carnifex. Late Pleistocene. Naracoorte Caves, South Australia
