Fossils show Tasmanian devils scavenged human camps in WA's Pilbara 45,000 years ago
Jaw and tooth fragments from the Juukan Gorge rock shelter push the marsupial's known range far beyond Tasmania and into the Ice Age outback.
What to know
- A lower jaw fragment (6,900–7,300 years old) and a premolar fragment (42,500–47,100 years old) are the first confirmed Tasmanian devil remains ever reported from the Pilbara.
- Of more than 8,000 cataloged animal bones from Juukan 2, at least ten show gnaw marks consistent with Tasmanian devils, and 263 digested bone fragments are too large for smaller local carnivores, pointing to repeated devil scavenging over tens of thousands of years.
- The find comes from Juukan Gorge, on Puutu Kunti Kurrama and Pinikura Country, part of the same rock shelter complex Rio Tinto blew up during mining in 2020; the study's authors describe the older fossil identification as tentative.
- Tasmanian devils vanished from the Australian mainland about 3,200 years ago, likely outcompeted by dingoes, after once ranging across the continent including its arid interior.
“We picture them today living in the cold, wet forests of Tasmania. But they're in fact a highly adaptable species that could be found across the entire mainland continent, including the arid, rocky gorge lands of the Pilbara.”
Timothy Churchill, Paleontologist, University of New South Wales · The Guardian (via Smithsonian) ↗ · Sep 15
Timothy Churchill Paleontologist and zooarchaeologist, University of New South WalesGavin Ashburton Researcher, PKKP Aboriginal CorporationPKKP Aboriginal Corporation Puutu Kunti Kurrama and Pinikura Aboriginal CorporationRio Tinto Mining company
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How it unfolded 4 developments, newest first · click a bar or a number to jump articlesposts
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Coverage flags Rio Tinto link and tentative older dating
A later post ties the find explicitly back to the Juukan 2 shelter Rio Tinto destroyed in 2020 and notes the study's authors call the older, ~45,000-year-old identification tentative.
“Two Tasmanian devil specimens came out of Juukan 2, the Pilbara rock shelter Rio Tinto blew up in 2020... the first direct evidence devils ever lived in that part of Australia, though the authors call the older identification tentative…”
— RealJournalism@mastodon.social, Mastodon user · source -
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Two Tasmanian devil specimens came out of Juukan 2, the Pilbara rock shelter Rio Tinto blew up in 2020, one dated to about 7,000 years ago and the other to between 42,500 and 47,115, the first direct evidence devils ever lived in that part of Australia, though the authors call the older identification tentative https://…
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Reader jokes coverage should clarify these are Tasmanian devils
A social media commenter reacted to the reporting with a joke that outlets should specify the animal, not the demon, given the species' folkloric name.
“Huhhh maybe they should have added the context that these are *Tasmanian* devils...”
— ljwrites@writeout.ink -
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“The study, published in Archaeology in Oceania, also shows repeated devil activity at the site. Bone marks suggest devils fed on animal remains left behind by people.” Huhhh maybe they should have added the context that these are *Tasmanian* devils... https:// archaeologymag.com/2026/09/tas manian-devils-lived-in-australia-for-45000-years/ #…
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Bone-mark analysis details tens of thousands of years of devil scavenging
A detailed writeup lays out the evidence: over 8,000 cataloged bones, 1,000-plus showing chew marks, at least ten with devil-consistent tooth pits, and 263 digested bone fragments too large for smaller Pilbara carnivores, spanning deposits from before the Last Glacial Maximum into the Holocene.
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Tasmanian devils lived in outback Western Australia for at least 45,000 years Tasmanian devils once lived across much of mainland Australia. New fossil evidence now places these animals in the Pilbara region of Western Australia for the first time. The evidence comes from Juukan 2 rockshelter on Puutu Kunti Kurrama and Pinikura Country... More…
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Study finds Tasmanian devils lived in Pilbara 45,000 years ago
Researchers led by Timothy Churchill and Gavin Ashburton, published in Archaeology in Oceania, describe a jaw fragment and tooth fragment from Juukan 2 as the first confirmed evidence Tasmanian devils once lived in Western Australia's Pilbara region, alongside cave-dwelling Ice Age humans.
“Having a garbage compactor on four legs running around would have definitely been an advantage.”
— Timothy Churchill -
background
Rio Tinto destroys Juukan Gorge rock shelters during mining — Mining operations in 2020 damaged or destroyed rock shelters at Juukan Gorge that held evidence of human habitation stretching back tens of thousands of years, the same site later shown to contain the Tasmanian devil fossils.