Goliath Kangaroo
Procoptodon goliath
📈😶
Chordata
Mammalia
Diprotodontia
Macropodoidea
Macropodidae
Procoptodon
Procoptodon goliath
The Giant Short-Faced Kangaroo — Procoptodon goliath, the largest kangaroo ever to exist, was an Ice Age browser that stood as tall as a man and hopped through the dry heart of Pleistocene Australia on single-toed feet like a muscular bipedal shadow.
Description
Procoptodon goliath was a massive, short-faced kangaroo and one of the most specialized marsupials ever known. Unlike modern kangaroos, which use their tails for balance while hopping, Procoptodon’s anatomy suggests it walked upright, striding on powerful hind limbs with a stiff, columnar posture.
It stood up to 2.2 meters tall and bore a deep chest, shortened skull, and forward-facing eyes — giving it excellent binocular vision. Its hands were large, with long, opposable fingers capable of grasping branches, and its broad muzzle and high-crowned teeth show it fed on leaves and tough shrubs rather than grass.
Fossils are abundant in Lake Callabonna (South Australia), Cuddie Springs (New South Wales), and Nullarbor caves, revealing a widespread presence across arid and semi-arid inland Australia.
Quick Facts
Max Mass
Shoulder Height
Standing Height
Length
Diet
Trophic Level
240
2
3
3
kg
m
m
m
Mixed Feeder
Omnivores – Balanced
Hunt History
There is no direct kill evidence, but Procoptodon goliath vanished soon after the arrival of humans in Australia. Its size, predictable habits, and slow movement likely made it easy prey. Fire-stick farming — deliberate burning to manage vegetation — may also have reduced its food supply. Together, human hunting and ecological disruption likely pushed it to extinction within a few millennia of human colonization.
Archaeological and fossil associations:
Lake Callabonna, SA — Nearly complete skeletons preserved in dry lake clay, showing upright posture (~50,000 years BP).
Cuddie Springs, NSW — Procoptodon bones found in sediment layers with stone artifacts (~40,000 years BP).
Nullarbor Caves, WA — Well-preserved skulls and limb bones with collagen suitable for radiocarbon dating (~45,000 years BP).
Time & Range
Extinction Status
Globally Extinct
Extinction Date
Temporal Range
Region
20000
BP
Late Pleistocene
Australia
Wiki Link
Fat Analysis
Fatness Profile:
Medium
Fat %
5
Est. Renderable Fat
12
kg
Targeted Organs
Visceral & subcutaneous
Adipose Depots
Visceral/subcutaneous (general)
Preferred Cuts
Visceral depot
Hunt Difficulty (x/5)
3