Ancient remains of Tasmanian devils have been found in the Pilbara

Scientists from the University of New South Wales (UNSW), in collaboration with Indigenous representatives, have uncovered the first conclusive evidence that Tasmanian devils once inhabited the Pilbara region in Western Australia. The oldest find is a tooth fragment from deposits dating back 42,500–47,100 years, according to UNSW.

The remains were discovered in the Juukan 2 rock shelter, which was used by humans. Signs of damage on other bones suggest that the carnivorous marsupials came there for the remains of human prey.

Details

There are two main finds: a fragment of a lower jaw containing two molars and part of a small molar. The jaw comes from a layer dating back 6,900–7,300 years, whilst the individual tooth comes from significantly older deposits. The age was determined based on the surrounding deposits, rather than by direct dating of the remains themselves.

In total, the team examined over 8,000 recorded animal bones. Among the 55 samples analysed for bite marks, at least ten had indentations most closely matching the size of those made by a Tasmanian devil. This is reported by palaeontologist Timothy Churchill and Gavin Ashburton, a representative of the Puutu-Kunti-Kurrama people, in the study’s author’s explanation.

Such damage is found in strata from different geological periods. According to the researchers’ interpretation, the devils visited the shelter repeatedly over tens of thousands of years. Large animals, whose remains they may have gnawed on, ended up there partly as a result of human hunting.

Why this is important

The findings fill a gap in the known range of the species and show that its former habitat included arid, rocky areas. The story of Juukan also highlights the value of archaeological sites: in 2020, the refuge was severely damaged during blasting operations carried out by Rio Tinto.

However, there are as yet only two direct remains of Tasmanian devils, and the similarity of bite marks does not allow every damaged bone to be unequivocally attributed to this species. The data support the hypothesis of foraging near human settlements, but do not indicate domestication.

The authors suggest that, later on, dingoes may have displaced the devils from food scraps found near human settlements. This is a possible contributing factor to the species’ disappearance from the mainland around 3,200 years ago, though it is not a proven cause of extinction.

Source

Timothy Churchill and Gavin Ashburton: explanation of the findings on the UNSW website, September 2026; official UNSW press release dated 11 September 2026.

According to the authors, the research paper has been published in *Archaeology in Oceania*. It has not been possible to independently verify the full text of the journal article, its DOI or its full bibliographic details; this material has been prepared based on reports from the researchers and the university. No information regarding the funding of the research is provided in the available reports. UNSW notes that the authors’ text has been reprinted from The Conversation under a Creative Commons licence, without specifying the version of the licence on the available page.