odd extinct creatures from Oz

The Tertiary Period saw the evolution of animals which appear at first glance familiar, but upon further inspection reveal themselves as quite odd. Australia was, and to some point still is, no exception to this.


Australian Tertiary Landscape featuring a giant wombat (Diprotodon), giant carnivorous bird (Dromornis), Marsupial Lion (Thylacoleo), Thylacine, Yarala and Sthenurus.




I struggled with the composition on this one a bit. I had to include all of the animals (the size of which varies from a few centimetres to several metres in length) as well as allowing space for text overlays.

In reality the other animals would not have been anywhere near the fearsome marsupial lion. I added a waterhole and a recent kill to give reason for the (all-too-close) proximity of the other animals.

Again this image was created for Japanese publisher DeAgostini this year (2011).