In preparation for the 150th anniversary of Freestone State School I turned to Trove, the National Library of Australia’s Online Newspaper Archive. One of the stories that emerged was the discovery of megafauna fossils, some of which were in close proximity to the school.
Contact with the Queensland Museum revealed that four fossil species of interest to the museum have been found in the vicinity of Freestone Creek, of which the first three could be described as megafauna.
Kukadonta robusta - a diprotodon (giant wombat)
Nototherium - another diprotodon
Protocoptodon rapha - a giant kangaroo, and
Dasyurus dunmalli - an ancient quoll
The presence of prehistoric megafauna on the Darling Downs has been known for a long time. The explorer Ludwig Leichhardt wrote in his journal …
The Condamine forms, for a great distance, the separation of the sandstone country to the westward, from the rich basaltic plains to the eastward. These plains, so famous for the richness of their pasture, and for the excellency of the sheep and cattle depastured upon them, have become equally remarkable as the depositaries of the remains of extinct species of animals, several of which must have been of a gigantic size, being the Marsupial representatives of the Pachydermal order of other continents.
Mr. Isaacs' station is particularly rich in these fossil remains; and they have been likewise found in the beds and banks of Mr. Hodgson's and of Mr. Campbell's Creeks, and also of Oaky Creek. At Isaacs' Creek, they occur together with recent freshwater shells of species still living in the neighbouring ponds, and with marly and calcareous concretions; which induces me to suppose that these plains were covered with large sheets of water, fed probably by calcareous springs connected with the basaltic range, and that huge animals, fond of water, were living, either on the rich herbage surrounding these ponds or lakes, or browsing upon the leaves and branches of trees forming thick brushes on the slopes of the neighbouring hills.
Ludwig Leichhardt (1847) Journal of an Overland Expedition in Australia. https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/5005/pg5005-images.html
The mid-nineteenth century was a period of vigorous and sometimes contested discovery and some of the big names of science showed an interest in the discoveries which were emerging from the Australian colonies. Among them was Richard Owen, best known for creating the term ‘dinosaur’. Owen wrote about the Darling Downs megafauna, and the names they carry through to today are his creation.
The name of Professor Richard Owen, F.R.S., C.B., &c, f&c., superintendent of the Natural History Department of the British Museum, is a household one in every home in the colonised world where science throws even its shadows across the threshold of the door.
http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article51904089
I mention him because you bump into his name again and especially in the attribution of names to specimens.
Timeline
Articles in date order - genus mentioned
1895 - Nototherium, Diprotodon
Natural History Society.
The fortnightly meeting of the Natural History Society was held last week in the Museum Library. The hon. secretary (Mr. A. T. O. Preston) announced the receipt of additions to the library from the Royal Society, Department of Agriculture, and from Messrs. H. Tryon and A. Meston. The preliminary business included the nomination of two candidates for membership, after which a paper was read on "Some Extinct Animals from Jimbour Creek, Darling Downs." The following is a summary thereof :—
The Downs has ever been a district productive of fossils. Most of the creeks discharging into the Condamine, if examined after a fresh or two, will reveal scattered bones and teeth, either in the bed of gravel, where they have settled after the first swift rush of water, or jutting from the bank, where they have been deposited in successive layers during the preceding changes of the river bed. The banks of King and Gowrie Creeks, on Canning Downs, Freestone Creek, and all the various watercourses of the Western plains, from Chinchilla inwards, and probably further out West, have supplied various fossil bones to the museum. As in many other creeks on the Downs, the fossil remains so numerous under the plains round Dalby and Chinchilla, are found embedded in a calcareous deposit, with which they are often so much coated as to form a tufa, in which the hidden bone is almost unrecognisable, so much has its shape been altered. Mixed with this are fresh water shells of the same form as those at present procurable in existing creeks and waterholes, leading one to the conclusion that these mighty animals had somewhat the amphibious tendencies of their larger predecessors, the reptile dinosaurs of the Old and New World strata ; dying as the water receded, perishing by degrees, until now, we have the whole of the underlying strata of these plains one immense cemetery, one jumbled mass of broken bones; grim, silent remains, telling of a long-lost world of animal creation. The whole of the bed and banks of Jimbour Creek supply fossil remains in scattered and broken fragments, but in great abundance, those of Nototharas, Diprotodons, Macropods and Halmaturi being typical.
The first of these that I had the good fortune to expose was the greater portion of the skeleton of Diprotodon Australis — a paterfamilias as Mr. de Vis informs me, a full-toothed old chap. These animals usually measured 6ft. to 8ft. high, with a length from 10ft. to 12ft., and were herbivorous. The bones of this example were in a poor state of preservation, much crushed, and displaced by the mass of black soil overlaying them, and of a crumbling texture. The greater part of the fore-skeleton was observable jutting from the bank, but no feet, or bone fragments of the same were found, this being the only portion not yet obtained, of this gigantic marsupial. Most of the ribs were there, a portion of the verte-bra, and the immense skull fully 3ft. in length and 18in. in breadth across the cranium. The enamel on the molars was perfectly preserved, but terribly crushed out of shape.
Since then many fragments, well preserved and fossilised, consisting of the limb bones—namely, the tibia, fibula, ulna, radius, and humerus, together with portions of ribs and vertebral joints, of the same animal, have been unearthed. Not less important was the discovery of two or three maxillaries with large incisors and molars, more or less worn, attached. One or two of the latter measured from 2 ½ in. to 3in. in length and 1½in. across.
Of other members of this order I have met with jaws, teeth and leg-bones in splendid preservation, the possessors of which belonged to the Macropods, and must have been of immense size as compared with the kangaroos and wallabies of the present day. The lower maxillaries so often found here belonging to Macropus pan and Magister, must have been 8in. to a foot in length ; one very good specimen in particular showed much worn molars, with the new teeth supplying their place in underlying cavities. The Halmaturi unearthed here include H. anak, which, from its name, I should say was the largest of the genus ; H. Cooperi or Cooper's wallaby ; H. orcinus, vincens, minor, Thor. and Siva, the two latter evidently receiving their specific names historically from ancient gods of the Vikings and Hindoos respectively. All of these mandibles contained teeth of perfect shape and preservation, apparently undamaged by the wear and tear of ages of chafing by water and rock.
Of the third or wombat family specimens of no less than two, perhaps more, species of "Nototheres" are met with here, one of which proved to be N. Mitchell. Perhaps the most important find on this creek was that of a scapholunar of the ankle, the fourth metatarsal, and the cuneiform from the foot of a Nototherium, which discovery goes far to prove the affinity of the Nototharia to that large branch of the animal kingdom to which also the Diprotodon belongs—namely, the "wombats." I may state that since that discovery I have met with and unearthed another foot fragment further down the same creek, which as yet I have not submitted to Mr. De Vis, through whose kindness I have been able to name the fragments.
Before leaving the subject finally I should not forget to mention the very common occurrence of portions of the caudal vertebrae of the immense iguano-like lizard of that period, the Megalania prisca of the late Sir Richard Owen. This reptile, from the abundance of its vertebral joints, which are black, solid, and 3in. by 1½ in. at the head, and much constricted between, ought to have been no very great rarity in the Nototherian period of ancient Australia.
The hon. secretary, who read the paper in the absence of its author, also gave extracts from a lecture on the subject given by Mr. C. W. De Vis, M.A., at one of the congresses of the Science Association. Characteristic examples of the remains of the various animals alluded to were exhibited, and served to enlighten the members with regard to these extinct forms of life.
In the discussion which followed, Mr. J. P. Thomson, F.R.G.S., expressed the hope that the Natural History Society would take up the question of paleo-climatic conditions, and endeavour to elucidate as far as possible what these were at the time when this uncouth land fauna existed. He thought that this would not be an unworthy aim. Mr. A. Meston also spoke, and produced a number of fossils from his own collection.
Other extinct animals were referred to by Mr. H. Tryon, many of whose remains he had found on the Darling Downs, and some of which had not been brought to notice previously. ...
1898 - Nototherium, Procoptodon?
Extinct Marsupial Remains.
Mr. James McIntosh, of Blinkbonnie, who some time ago made a discovery of fossil bones in the Freestone Creek, has (says the Warwick Argus) received the following letter from Mr. C. W. de Vis, curator of the Brisbane Museum to whom they were forwarded for examination: —
"I have to thank you very much for the opportunity you have given me for examining the fossil bones from Freestone. They are—
(1) A right lower jaw of an old male Nototherium (Dunense), one of the large herbivorous marsupials of past life;
(2) a part of the edge of the hip-bone of another individual of the same sort;
(3) the middle part of an arm-bone of one of the gigantic kangaroos of the period ; and
(4) two fragments too shattered and water worn for recognition.
I have taken the liberty of having the broken bones repaired.
If your interest in these relics is awakened, and you are prosecuting a search for them, I shall I hope be again favoured by you in the same way. In such case, let me ask you to search for the smaller—even the smallest— bones, as these are often the most valuable, though the least striking. The neglect of them has been much to the loss of science."
Writing to Mr. A. Morgan, M.L.A., on the same subject, Mr. de Vis says:—"l trust, now that curiosity is roused, search will be made in your neighbourhood for these interesting remains of our geological find yesterday, to the further edification of Science."
Source:
(1889, February 16). The Queenslander (Brisbane, Qld. : 1866 - 1939), p. 289. Retrieved September 22, 2021, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-page2271967
Also:
The Morning Bulletin, ROCKHAMPTON. (1889, February 18). Morning Bulletin (Rockhampton, Qld. : 1878 - 1954), p. 4. Retrieved September 22, 2021, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article52275869
1907 - Nototherium
FOSSIL FRAGMENTS.
Dr. Thompson, secretary of the Royal Geographical Society, definitely classifies the fragments recently found by a local party at Freestone, as portion of a post-Pliocene marsupial, known as the Nototheruim—a member of a family related to the Giant Diprotodon. The Nototherium is only slightly inferior to the Diprotodon in size, and was associated with it in the great interior region of the continent.
Source:
FOSSIL FRAGMENTS. (1907, December 7). Warwick Examiner and Times (Qld. : 1867 - 1919), p. 4. Retrieved September 22, 2021, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article82293322
1922 - Diprotodon, Nototherium
Extinct Animals : Prehistoric Queensland.
PRESENT DAY EVIDENCE
(By JOHN FEWTRELL, ex-Inspector of Schools.)
The study of prehistoric animal life in Queensland is a most interesting subject, extensive fields for investigation being found in various parts of the State. Although much has been accomplished during recent years, it is but a fraction of what remains to be carried out in the exploration of the great animal cemeteries such as those found on the black soil plains of the Darling Downs and other localities. Remains, when unearthed, serve a valuable purpose in enlightening us regarding various features of the land as it then existed, condition of the vegetable life needed to support herds of monstrous creatures then living, the conditions which brought about eventually their extinction, and the modifications which allowed the survival of the fittest for altered environment.
GIANT MARSUPIALS.
Portions of the skeletons of marsupials of immense size have been discovered at various times protruding from the steep banks of creeks, especially in the Condamine basin. This exposure has usually taken place after the banks have been more or less denuded by flood currents. The sight of the immense bones was the cause of great astonishment to the discoverer, and, as a rule, every effort was made to dislodge them, the crude method very often entailing their destruction. Amongst the fossil-grounds may be mentioned King's, Gowrie, Freestone, and Jimbour creeks, and the black-soil plains in the country extending from Dalby to Chinchilla. Further north, remains of the gigantic marsupials have been discovered at the Burdekin, and at Gogango Creek. One fine specimen of a jaw and teeth in my collection was found in the Richmond district. The largest of the present-day marsupials is but a dwarf in comparison with the inhabitants of the grant marshes of those days. Among the widely distri-buted species two are conspicuous— the Diprotodon and the Nototherium.
THE DIPROTODON
We seem to have become more familiar with the remains of this animal than with most of the other allied species. It receives its name from the presence of two remarkable front teeth, which are often looked upon by the bushman as tusks, to which they bear a striking resemblance when found loose in the soil. When the fossil "find" is made it is usually in a good state of preservation, on account of having a fine covering of enamel, and a body of round dentine capable of resisting the ravages of decay for ages. These incisors are lengthy, curved, and very powerful In the specimen before me while writing the length is 9in and width 2in. These teeth, with the cutting edge much worn down in what were aged animals are splendidly adapted for cutting down the rank reeds and coarse, tall herbage which formed their staple food. When full-grown, the Diprotodon probably attained the size of a rhinoceros. Its front limbs were much longer than those of its successors, while the hind limbs were considerably shorter: thus it was enabled to progress by walking on the land, and not leaping as our kangaroos do. From the form and size of these bones great strength was a prominent feature.
There is a curious formation of the ankle articulation which gave a means for a rotatory movement of the paws. The animal must have stood from 6ft to 8ft high, and grew to a length of 10ft to 12ft. It was herbivorous, and, as noted above fed on the rank, coarse reeds. etc., which were profuse in the enormous swamps and along the edges of lakes and creek banks in those days. In examining a skull for identification of species, particular notice is given to the number and arrangement of the teeth, and the similarity to, or variation from, the dentition of allied members of the family. The jaw should, when perfect, have six upper cutting teeth— the incisors — the two middle ones, as noted above, being large, curved, and chisel shaped, the two lower ones being round and similar to tusks. There are generally four grinding teeth. One of the finest skulls discovered, now deposited in the British Museum London, measures 3ft 5in in length by 1ft 10in in width.
THE NOTOTHERIUM
Closely related to the Diprotodon is a large extinct marsupial known as the Nototherium, whose remains are found interred with those of the former. This fact, and the form of the teeth of the latter, allow the inference that it was herbivorous, and, like its fellow marsupial, also had its domicile in the large swamps. Portions of the skeleton, often very fragmentary, when placed in position, so far as possible, show that at maturity it attained to the size of a large bullock. Skulls are unearthed with undecayed teeth. Such a specimen now lies before me, and was found in the Richmond district a few years ago. One tooth stands well above the jaw, but slightly out of line with its fellows. The crown has three sharp protuberances, with the covering enamel intact. Such teeth were admirably adapted for crunching the succulent vegetation of the lake margins and the marshes of that period of enormous rainfalls. Some years ago bones or fragments belonging to the pedal extremities were brought to light at Jimbour, on the Downs, and afforded good evidence that, like other extinct animals of marsupial type, the Nototheria were members of the wombat family. To the paleontologist this large extinct marsupial is known as the Nototherium Mitchelli. Another very interesting extinct marsupial is the "pouched lion" — Thylacoleo carnis, of the size of a lion. This will be described in a future article.
Source:
Extinct Animals. (1922, August 13). The Daily Mail (Brisbane, Qld. : 1903 - 1926), p. 20. Retrieved September 22, 2021, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article213055455
1952 - Nototherium
Fossilised Remains found at Freestone Creek
Fossilised remains found recently near Freestone Creek by Mr. J. Symons, and believed to be 100,000 years old, have been presented to the Queensland Museum.
The first suggestion of identification was made by the Rev. Canon W. Hoog, Rector of St. Mark's, Warwick.
Museum officials, in confirming that the remains were those from diprotodon and nototherium species, said that they were in an excellent state of preservation and were in fact the best they had seen.
In an authoritative text of palaentology the diprotodon is described as apparently intermediate in structure between phalangers and kangaroos, and of size comparable with a rhinoceros.
The nototherium species, according to the same source, seems to link diprotodon with wombats and phalangers. Its size is given as comparable with a bull.
It is believed that the species date from the Pleistocene age, and that they abounded on the great central plains of Queensland, New South Wales and South Australia, where their remains occur in old lake-basins, mud-springs and river-beds. Their destruction was due to a great diminution of rainfall in the late Pleistocene time.
It is also claimed that discovery of nototherium relics in Tasmania , indicates that Tasmania had not then lost, or had temporarily re-established, land connection with the mainland.
Although the nototherium was a herbivorous or grass-eating animal, experts say that the unusual feature of tusks in the lower jaw, as seen clearly in the illustration, leaves quite a field for speculation.
 |
| Fossilised jawbone of a nototherium, found at Freestone Creek by Mr. J. Symons and stated to be 100,000 years old, provided a natural history lesson for Rosemary Lane, aged 10, a niece of the Rev. Canon W. Hoog Rector of St. Mark's, Warwick, who gave provisional identification and was instrumental in persuading the finder to present the relic to the Queensland Museum. Experts and consultants at the Museum accept the jawbone as authentic and state that it is the best specimen they have seen. |
Source:
Fossilised Remains Found at Freestone Creek (1952, September 9). Warwick Daily News (Qld. : 1919 -1954), p. 2. Retrieved September 22, 2021, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article191086344
Ancient Fossil Found Near Freestone
BRISBANE: A well preserved specimen of the lower jaw of a nothotherium. which roamed the Darling Downs millions of years ago, has been presented to the Queensland Museum by Mr. J. Simon, of Freestone, near Warwick.
Mr. Simon found the fossil last month.
The Museum director (Mr. G. Mack) said it was the finest of its kind found in Queensland.
He said he had never seen anything like the wear to the teeth. The enamel was completely worn from some molars, and was very sparse on others.
Few harmless herbivorous marsupials lived so long that they wore the enamel off their teeth.
With Museum geologist Mr. T. Woods, Mr. Mack said the animal was about the size of a big bullock, and superficially resembled a wombat. It was sturdily built, with a stout body and heavy legs, and was believed to have had a shaggy coat.
The fossil is about 15in. long, 9in. at the widest part, and 6in. at the deepest.
Two chisel-like tusks protrude about four inches. from the jaw, which holds five teeth on either side. The biggest teeth are about 2in. from front to back.
Mr. Mack said the fossil belonged to the pleistocene geological period, which extends from about 1,000,000 B.C., to about 28,000 B.C.
WAS HE KING OF THE DARLING DOWNS?
Roamed plains million years ago
WAS he king of the Darling Downs, say a million years ago? He might have been. Few harmless, herbivorous marsupials live so long that they wear the enamel off their teeth.
He is a nototherium, an associate or Diprotodon, and has been extinct for about a million years. A particularly well preserved specimen of his lower jaw has been presented to the Queensland Museum by Mr. J. Simon, of Freestone, near Warwick. Mr. Simon found the fossil in a gully last month. The Museum Director (Mr. G. Mack) said it was the finest of its kind found in Queensland. He said he had never seen anything like the wear to the teeth. The enamel was completely worn from some molars and was very sparse on others. Size of bullock With museum geologist, Mr. J. T. Woods, Mr. Mack said the animal was about the size of a big bullock and superficially resembled a wombat. It was sturdily built with a stout body and heavy legs, and was believed to have had a shaggy coat. The fossil is about 15in long, 9in at the widest part, and 6in at the deepest. Two chisel-like tusks protrude about four inches from the jaw, which holds five teeth on either side. The biggest teeth are about 2in from front to back. Mr. Mack said the fossil belonged to the pleistocene geological period, which extended from about a million BC , to about 28,000 BC. The Downs was an area of pleistocene deposits, he added.
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| MUSEUM geologist Mr. J. T. Woods examines the million-year-old jawbone of the Darling Downs fossil. Note the size of the monster's teeth. |
Source:
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