GENYORNIS-NEWTONI AND DROMAIUS-NOVAEHOLLANDIAE AT 30,000 BP IN CENTRAL NORTHERN NEW-SOUTH-WALES

Fossil remains of Genyornis newtoni and Dromaius novaehollandiae recov ered from horizons at Cuddie Springs, in central northern New South Wa les, are securely dated to greater than 30,000 b.p. Genyornis newtoni and D. novaehollandiae were found in sequential layers in association with artefacts of human occupation and other species of megafauna. Pal aeoenvironmental information indicates the specimens of G. newtoni wer e deposited when the region supported an arid vegetation community, pr incipally chenopod shrubland with scattered Eucalyptus and Acacia spec ies. The appearance of Dromaius and disappearance of Genyornis coincid ed with a local shift to grasslands and the drying of the Cuddie Sprin gs lake. New evidence is presented for the persistence of Genyornis in the arid zone during the lead up to the Last Glacial Maximum.