Indigenous Peoples and the Thylacine

Aboriginal rock-paintings of Thylacine-like animals are recognised from northern Australia including the Kimberley region of Western Australia. They have also been found on walls or overhangs on exposed rock surfaces in the Upper East Alligator region of Deaf Adder Creek and Cadell River crossing in the Northern Territory.

There is evidence to suggest that Aboriginal people in Tasmania used the Thylacine as a food item.

Is there a fossil Thylacine?

Fossil thylacines have been reported from Victoria, South Australia, Western Australia and Queensland.

Work at the Riversleigh World Heritage fossil site in north-west Queensland has unearthed a spectacular array of thylacines dating from about 30 million years ago to almost 12 million years ago. At least seven different species are present, ranging from small specialised cat-sized individuals to fox-sized predators.

The most spectacular find has been an almost complete skeleton of a thylacine from the AL90 site at Riversleigh. First glimpsed in 1996 when a limestone boulder was cracked to reveal part of the skull after 17 million years in a limestone tomb. After many months of intricate preparation the skeleton has been reassembled.

The fossil record of thylacines is a powerful reminder of how important it is to learn from the past the messages for the future. In Riversleigh times there were several species but by 8 million years ago only one species remained, the Powerful Thylacine, Thylacinus potens.

The modern Thylacine made its appearance about 4 million years ago.

A mummified carcass of a Thylacine has been found in a cave on the Nullabor Plain. It lived about 4 to 5,000 years ago, just before the Dingo was introduced into Australia.