Summary of general statistics for modern <i>Macropus</i> spp. values in different biogeographic and climatic regions from Murphy et al. (2007a).

<p>Isotope values are presented in per mil (‰). See methods for acronyms of region names. Header labels are taxon, n (sample size), biogeographic region (region), climate, carbon isotope value (δ¹³C), oxygen isotope value (δ¹⁸O), and standard deviation (stdev).</p

δ¹³C diet and %C3 diet of fossil and modern marsupials.

<p>δ¹³C diet is obtained by taking the average δ¹³C of enamel and subtracting the diet-enamel enrichment factor of 12‰ (Fraser et al. 2008). %C3 diet is calculated using equation 1 in Johnson et al. (1997) with 26.5‰ and 12.5‰ used as the average for C3 and C4 plants in the landscape.</p

Stable isotope general statistics.

<p>Mean, n, and standard deviation (stdev) for both carbon and oxygen isotope values for all materials sampled. δ¹³C Suess effect is the raw carbon isotope value with 1.2 per mil subtracted to account for the modern depletion in atmospheric δ¹³C. Isotope values are presented in per mil (‰).</p

Summary of ANOVA results.

<p>Summary of the test statistics for each ANOVA, including degrees of freedom (dF), F-statistic, p (probability), and significance.</p

Map of Chinchilla Sand Formation fossil locality.

<p>Chinchilla is marked on this map, along with the shaded areas representing the biogeographic zones where modern kangaroo tooth enamel stable isotope values were taken from Murphy et al. 2007a to compare to fossil values. Abbreviations for biogeographic zones are in the <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0066221#s2" target="_blank">methods</a> section.</p

Summary of results from Tukey's HSD test from the δ¹³C and δ¹⁸O fossil ANOVAs.

<p>Comparisons are pairwise and p values are in bold if significant (p = 0.05).</p

Meloro_etal_Paleobiology_Supplementary_R2

Meloro_etal_Paleobiology_Supplementary_R

3D model from Seasonal migration of marsupial megafauna in Pleistocene Sahul (Australia–New Guinea)

3D pdf model of specimen showing sampling location

Raw data tables from Seasonal migration of marsupial megafauna in Pleistocene Sahul (Australia–New Guinea)

Raw data including geochronology, trace elements, strontium, and carbon and oxygen isotope

Interim report on the vertebrate deposits recovered from the Capricorn Caves, Rockhampton, Queensland

Late Pleistocene to Holocene-aged microfaunal assemblages are rarely reported in Australia despite their critical importance for palaeoecological studies, as well as their bearing on the megafaunal extinction debate. Capricorn Caves, central-eastern Queensland, hosts three Late Pleistocene to Holocene deposits containing significant faunal records. Excavations were conducted on these deposits over several seasons, with analyses of recovered material ongoing. Here, we report interim results and explore their implications for our understanding of the microfaunal record of central eastern Queensland. Fern Chamber was previously dated using U-series to the Holocene (>7.6 ± 0.2 ka). Honeymoon Suite was dated to >6.4 ± 0.2 ka using U-series. However, new charcoal dates from the deposit span approximately 7.5–15.5 ka, although the association between charcoal and fauna is unresolved. The fauna is likely Holocene. Colosseum Chamber is the oldest of the deposits, and new single-grain luminescence ages and age-depth modelling suggest that the deposit likely spans MIS 1–4. We use abundant fragmentary rodent remains to examine palaeoenvironmental change over this period. Carbon and oxygen isotope analyses of rodent incisor fragments reveal broad diets within the rodent community, and significant differences in precipitation between glacial and interglacial conditions. Rodent long bone histological analyses indicate significant differences in bone metabolism at the family level between the MIS 3 and 2 samples, but not MIS 1. We suggest that these data support evidence for a mid-Holocene arid anomaly in the region, and increased aridity through the Holocene relative to the terminal Pleistocene. The sites contain at least 10 small mammal species either globally extinct or locally extirpated, including the Capricorn rabbit-rat (Conilurus capricornensis), the white-footed rabbit-rat (Conilurus albipes), the plains mouse (Pseudomys australis), Gould’s mouse (Pseudomys gouldii), Forrest’s mouse (Leggadina forresti), the long-tailed hopping mouse (Notomys longicaudatus), swamp rat (Rattus lutreolus), the white-tailed rat (Uromys caudimaculatus), the narrow-nosed planigale (Planigale tenuirostris), the Liverpool Plains striped bandicoot (Perameles fasciata), the Cape York brown bandicoot (Isoodon peninsulae), and the southern brown bandicoot (Isoodon obesulus). We also record significant range contractions for frogs (Philoria sp., Neobatrachus sp.) and earless dragons (Tympanocryptis sp.). This study demonstrates that significant changes in the microfaunal community of tropical Queensland occurred between the Late Pleistocene and the late Holocene. It also reinforces how poorly recorded native faunas are from the late Holocene through the historical period, to today. Such records underpin and are thus vital for modern biodiversity conservation efforts. Julien Louys[[email protected]], Australian Research Centre for Human Evolution, Griffith University, Brisbane, Australia; Jonathan Cramb[[email protected]], Queensland Museum, Brisbane, Australia; Kyle Ferguson[[email protected]], School of Earth and Environmental Science, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia; Justine Kemp[[email protected]], Australian Research Centre for Human Evolution, Griffith University, Brisbane, Australia; Rachel Wood[[email protected]], School of Archaeology and Anthropology, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia and Oxford Radiocarbon Accelerator Unit (ORAU), University of Oxford, Oxford, UK; Justyna J. Miszkiewicz [[email protected]], School of Social Science, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia and Naturalis Biodiversity Center, Leiden, the Netherlands; Nathalia R. Dias Guimarães[[email protected]], School of Archaeology and Anthropology, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia; Penny Higgins[[email protected]], EPOCH Isotopes, 6606 E Townline Road, Williamson, NY 14589, USA; Kenny J. Travouillon[[email protected]], Western Australian Museum, Perth, Australia; Scott A. Hocknull[[email protected]], Geosciences, Queensland Museum, Brisbane, Australia; Gregory E. Webb[[email protected]], School of Earth and Environmental Science, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia; Gilbert J. Price[[email protected]], School of Earth and Environmental Science, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia.</p