Think Modern Australia Is Dangerous? Check Out the Past

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Prehistoric Australia was home to some of the scariest creatures ever. Imagine running into a giant, meat-eating kangaroo or a massive, 20-foot-long crocodile! There were also huge birds called "demon ducks" that couldn't fly but could chase you down. And let's not forget the enormous lizards and snakes that roamed the land. It's safe to say that living in ancient Australia would have been like living in a real-life monster movie!  Credit: CC BY 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0: Diprotodon optatum 2: By Dmitry Bogdanov - dmitrchel@mail.ru, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=5550040 Diprotodon optatum: By Nobu Tamura - http://spinops.blogspot.com, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=19461044 Genyornis BW: By Nobu Tamura - http://spinops.blogspot.com, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=19459393 CC BY-SA 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/: Diprotodon australis skeleton 1: By Ghedoghedo, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=26800680 Thylacoleo Australia 2: By Rom-diz, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=5556062 Meiloania Platyceps: By Fanny Schertzer, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=9542518 CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0: Pleistocene-meso-megamammals: By Julio Lacerda, Revista Brasileira de Paleontologia - https://sbpbrasil.org/publications/index.php/rbp/article/view/150, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=119794125 Diprotodon optatum - 2: By Emőke Dénes, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=16150507 Quinkana timara skull: By Mark Marathon, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=40172833 Life reconstruction of Ektopodon serratus and Wakaleo: By Peter Schouten - https://www.sci.news/paleontology/chunia-pledgei-11790.html, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=130754449 Thylacoleo carnifex 3d: By Jose manuel canete, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=48883793 Turtle skeleton cross-section: By Thomas Quine; Transparent background: Kārlis Kalviškis, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=103405374 CC BY-SA 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0: Victoria Fossil Cave 38: By Alan & Flora Botting - https://flic.kr/p/FGLBVt, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=112488243 Victoria Fossil Cave Simosthenurus: By Alan & Flora Botting - https://flic.kr/p/FGJkAi, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=48055129 Meiolania Platyceps: By Claire Houck - https://flic.kr/p/4JGJx4, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=4424136 CC BY 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0: Falcontoxodon aguilerai: By Jaime Chirinos - https://doi.org/10.1186/s13358-020-00216-6, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=135577105 Mekosuchine Pelvic Form 4: By Michael D. Stein​, Adam Yates, Suzanne J. Hand, Michael Archer - https://peerj.com/articles/3501/, CC BY 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=145042323 Thylacoleo skull: By Beclectic, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=64736002 skeleton of a turtle: By Welcome Images - https://wellcomecollection.org/works/aycw366t, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=36547953 Animation is created by Bright Side.   Subscribe to Bright Side: https://goo.gl/rQTJZz ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Our Social Media: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/brightside Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brightside.official TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@brightside.official?lang=en   Stock materials (photos, footages and other): https://www.depositphotos.com https://www.shutterstock.com https://www.eastnews.ru  This video is made for entertainment purposes. We do not make any warranties about the completeness, safety and reliability. Any action you take upon the information in this video is strictly at your own risk, and we will not be liable for any damages or losses. It is the viewer's responsibility to use judgement, care and precaution if you plan to replicate.

Transcript

00:00Australia used to have its own giants. Those were huge animals that could have dwarfed

00:04anything living on this continent these days. Scientists found the remains of many of those

00:09ancient creatures in the Narrakuta Caves in South Australia, 4 hours away from Adelaide.

00:15It's a lovely region, but it can be treacherous. Watch out for holes the ground is pocked with.

00:21Known as pitfall traps, many of them are no wider than a coffee table. They're deep and

00:26plunge into the darkest of caverns. One of such caverns is called Victoria Fossil Cave,

00:32and it's a treasury that's been hiding the bones of around 45,000 animals for centuries.

00:38Some of the oldest bones belong to creatures far more terrifying than any animal you can

00:42encounter today. Those were the ancient Australian megafauna,

00:47huge beasts that roamed the continent during the Pleistocene Epoch. During those, there

00:52were giant snakes, huge flightless birds, wombat-like creatures the size of a rhinoceros,

00:58and many others. One of the largest examples of the Australian

01:02megafauna scientists have discovered so far is the Diprotodon. That giant herbivorous

01:08creature was 10 feet long and 6.5 feet tall and weighed more than 6,000 pounds, about

01:14as much as a small Asian elephant. Even though this terrifying beast didn't eat meat, it

01:20could've smashed other animals with its sheer weight. Scientists have found the remains

01:24of hundreds of such creatures all over Australia, so it's safe to say that no other animal

01:29from that time or in that location was larger than this giant.

01:34Despite its creepy appearance, the Diprotodon was a relative to the modern-day wombat, and

01:39those are known to sometimes pounce humans. The Diprotodon had toes that pointed inward

01:45and were well-suited for digging burrows. On the other hand, Diprotodon was a giant,

01:51and it was unlikely that it used to do so. It was likely a trait it had inherited from

01:55its smaller burrowing ancestors. Or it could've used its claws to search for roots.

02:01This theory is supported by the fact that the animal's pouch was facing backward. It

02:05prevented any dirt from collecting inside while the creature was digging. Since this

02:10animal was so big, it didn't have to worry much about predators. Up until 60,000 years

02:15ago, when the first humans appeared on the continent, full-grown Diprotodons only had

02:20to look out for creatures like the Quincana.

02:23Measuring in at a whopping 20 feet long, the Quincana was a land crocodile. It lived in

02:29Australia from around 20 million to 40,000 years ago. It disappeared along with most

02:35other mega-creatures of the last Ice Age. It's thought to be the result of the first

02:39humans coming to the continent. Even though the Quincana was extremely fast and dangerous,

02:44it was possible that this creature got out-competed by human hunters who took all available prey.

02:51Unlike modern crocodiles that are mainly aquatic, that mighty beast was a land-dweller. Scientists

02:57figured it out by studying the Quincana's legs. They were able to support and carry the body

03:02clear off the ground. It means there was no escape for ancient people once the Quincana

03:07spotted them. Modern crocodiles can only push themselves along on their bellies. Such an

03:12adaptation allowed the Quincana to chase its prey for long periods of time, exhausting it

03:18in the process. Another creepy feature of this ancient monster was its teeth. Aquatic crocs

03:24have conical teeth. Those are great for gripping and holding onto prey underwater. But Quincana

03:30had knife-like teeth, idea for slicing soft-bodied animals like uh-oh mammals.

03:37Another Australian monster, Thiokolio, wasn't all that large, but it didn't make it any less

03:43terrifying. It was still among the top predators and the biggest carnivorous animals in Australia.

03:49This creature was a true oddity of nature, even by prehistoric standards. First, its teeth

03:54resembled not those of a regular predator, but those of a rodent. Its front incisors were enlarged,

04:01taking the place of canines. Premolars were also shaped like blades. They were used for

04:06cutting flesh and bone. At first, scientists thought that Thiokolio used those teeth to eat

04:12nuts and fruits. But later, a study showed that the use of such teeth was better suited on necks

04:18and spines. Uh-oh. The jaws of this ancient creature were immensely powerful. A 220-pound

04:25Thiokolio had a bite force similar to that of a present-day 550-pound lion. It means that the

04:32animal could easily bring down prey much larger than itself. Then there was Thiokolio's tail. It

04:39had strong muscles which provided the animal with the ability to use the tail as support when

04:44tackling large prey. The Thiokolio had retractable claws, and this feature is very uncommon among

04:50marsupials. It allowed the animal to keep its razor-sharp hooks from getting blunt and could

04:56help it get a better grip on its prey. Scientists are quite sure that, like today's leopards,

05:01the Thiokolio could climb trees and jump on other animals from above. It was done so fast and

05:08stealthily they never knew what hit them. The creature's rear feet support this theory. The

05:13first toe there was reduced, but the foot had a rough pad like what modern-day possums have.

05:19It allowed them to have a better grip while climbing.

05:23Right after scientists found the first skull of the Meliolania, this animal was classified as a

05:29lizard. That's why its name translates to small groomer. But after they discovered more complete

05:35fossils, it turned out that the Meliolania was a giant turtle. But that's not all. It was one of

05:41the largest land turtles to ever have existed. The main reason researchers initially believed

05:47the creature to be a lizard was the fact that its skull was adorned with a series of spikes.

05:52It's something the modern-day horned lizard can boast. But even after discovering the true nature

05:58of the Meliolania, scientists still don't know how to properly catalog it. It might've been a

06:04creature that folded its neck under its spine, or it could've folded it to the side.

06:09Beside those defensive mechanisms on its head, the Meliolania was also equipped with a spiked tail,

06:15which was probably used to prevent predators from attacking the animal from behind.

06:20Most species of the Meliolania disappeared around 2,000 to 3,000 years ago

06:25because of humans who hunted them to extinction in both Australia and on the surrounding islands.

06:30It took around two centuries for these turtles to go extinct in that region of the globe.

06:36The Megalania was a giant Australian lizard that existed at the end of the Pleistocene Epoch.

06:42It looked like a Komodo dragon and the Australian monitor lizard,

06:46which are both believed to be Megalania's closest living relatives. Fossils tell us that the

06:51ancient animal was anywhere from 15 to 26 feet in length. The youngest fossil remains of this

06:58ancient Australian monitor lizard date back to about 50,000 years ago. The first indigenous

07:04settlers must've encountered Megalania, which led to the lizard's extinction.

07:09Originally, scientists thought that the Megalania was the only member of the genus

07:13Megalania. But these days, it belongs to the genus Varanus, which means that the

07:18prehistoric creature is closely related to other Australian monitor lizards.

07:24Our next giant creature on our list was once dubbed an ostrich on steroids. I mean,

07:30look at it! It was the last of the Thunderbirds to go extinct in Australia.

07:34The genuris lived on the continent at the same time as early humans.

07:39They might've coexisted for 15,000 years or so before the huge bird eventually disappeared.

07:45This theory has some proof – the bird's fossils found along with human artifacts.

07:50Some cave paintings also depict flightless birds similar to the genuris in size and shape.

07:56Although it wasn't the largest bird in Australia, the goose-like creature was still as tall as a

08:01grown-up man and weighed around 550 pounds. Even a modern-day ostrich can be dangerous if

08:07it feels threatened. Imagine meeting its giant prehistoric relative!

08:12Scientists are still arguing about its diet. Many believe the creature was an herbivore.

08:17But there's still a chance that the genuris was a partial scavenger. Its small, stubby wings

08:24and powerful, hoof-like legs hint that the bird could've been a plant-eater.

08:28But its huge beak and exceptionally deep lower jaw evokes suspicion. Such features are highly

08:34unusual in birds. That's it for today! So, hey, if you pacified your curiosity,

08:40then give the video a like and share it with your friends! Or, if you want more,

08:43just click on these videos and stay on the Bright Side!

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