He’s been extinct for some 46,000 years, but the Diprotodon is set to make his comeback … sort of.
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A new exhibition is currently on at the Australian Fossil and Mineral Museum featuring Darren the Diprotodon, running until March 31.
The Diprotodon, which looked like a giant wombat, is the largest known marsupial to have ever lived.
The largest specimens ever found of the beast were roughly the size of a hippopotamus – about three metres from nose to tail, standing two metres tall at the shoulder and weighing about 2,790 kilograms.
The remains on show at the museum were ones excavated at a dig site at Tambar Springs, almost 69 kilometres south of Gunnedah.
Museum coordinator Emma McLean said the exhibition is quite special, because the remains have not been fully excavated.
“We have the lower jaw, a part of his skull and a vertebrae of his neck,” she said.
“It’s interesting to see how it’s been taken from the ground and to the museum for the exhibition.
“We’ve got it kept in a special holder to help preserve the remains.”
The Diprotodon existed approximately 1.6 millions year before going extinct around 46,000 years ago.
The museum is open Monday to Saturday from 10am to 4pm and on Sunday from 10am to 2pm.
Children under 5 years of age get in for free.