More than 85 percent of Australian terrestrial genera with a body mass exceeding
44 kilograms became extinct in the Late Pleistocene. Although most
were marsupials, the list includes the large, flightless mihirung Genyornis newtoni.
More than 700 dates on Genyornis eggshells from three different climate
regions document the continuous presence of Genyornis from more than
100,000 years ago until their sudden disappearance 50,000 years ago, about the
same time that humans arrived in Australia. Simultaneous extinction of Genyornis
at all sites during an interval of modest climate change implies that
human impact, not climate, was responsible.