Elizabeth Dixon - Mega fauna eating native plants

Catalogue Number: 25/176

This painting shows the giant megafauna that lived on this Country about 8 million years ago, long before people were here. These huge animals once walked across the desert near my community of Engawala, eating the native plants that still grow in this area today.

At the Alcoota Fossil Site, scientists dig carefully into the ground and find the old bones of these creatures. By studying the bones and putting them together like a puzzle, they can see what the animals looked like and how they lived.

Some of these megafauna looked like massive wombats, some were giant kangaroos, and others were huge crocodiles or big flightless birds. They were much larger than the animals we see today.

This painting reminds us that the land holds very old stories. The bones have been resting under the earth for millions of years, waiting for people to find them and learn about the ancient life that once filled this desert Country.