Australia is a continent known far and wide for its interesting and weird, and sometimes, lethal animal life. Alas, animal life in the Great Southern Land used to be much more interesting and weird, as 37 million years ago, various animal giants evolved there roaming the place and even living alongside the Indigenous people for around 17,000 years.
The fossilized remains of the Australian mega-fauna are found right across the country; such as specimens of 8-foot kangaroos with human-like faces, which weighed about a 1,000-pounds and 2-ton wombats, the size of small cars, some with babies in the mother’s pouch.
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| Musee d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris/Wikipedia |
Some mega-fauna still exist like the Red Kangaroo, Emu, and Estuarine Crocodile, on land, And the Blue Whale and Giant Squid in the sea. However, such examines pale in significance when the Megalodon, meaning "big tooth”, is taken into consideration. This extinct species of giant shark reached lengths of 59 feet, preying on whales, seals and giant turtles. Just take a look at the picture of a Megalodon jaw below.
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| Gunnar Ries Amphibol/Wikipedia |
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| Comparing the sizes of the megalodon with the whale shark, great white shark and a human. wikipedia.org |
Mega-fauna, which simply means giant animals, have been found on the other continents as well and they still exist in many places, just think of elephants, giraffes and whales. However, a great many have been driven into extinction, helped along by humans and climate change. One such amazing extinct animal is the Argentavis magnificens (magnificent Argentine bird) which was one of the largest ever flying birds, with a wingspan of around 16.7 to 19.9 feet. Just cast your eyes at the picture below, which is the stuff of nightmares.
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| National History Museum of Los Angeles/Wikipedia |
