The subfamily Sthenurinae is believed to have separated from its sister taxon, the Macropodinae (kangaroos and wallabies), halfway through the Miocene, and then its population grew during the Pliocene.

[3] A 1997 study analysed the diets of the fauna at various fossil site localities in South Australia, using stable carbon isotope analysis 13C/12C of collagen.

It found that at older localities such as Cooper Creek, the species of Sthenurus were adapted to a diet of leaves and twigs (browsing) due to the wet climate of the time between 132 and 108 thousand years ago (kya - by thermoluminescence dating and uranium dating), which allowed for a more varied vegetation cover.

The overall anatomy of the genus did not alter in response to the change in diet and dentition did not adapt to the varying toughness of the vegetation between grasses, shrubs, and trees.

[4] Other animals found in the Cuddie Springs habitat include the flightless bird Genyornis, the red kangaroo, Diprotodon, humans, and many others.

The data show that three closely allied sthenurine species coexisted sympatrically at Lake Callabonna: a new giant taxon, S. stirlingi, an intermediate-sized S. tindalei, and the considerably smaller S. andersoni.

[7] Teapot Creek, a tributary of the MacLaughlin River in the Southern Monaro, southeastern New South Wales, contains a sequence of terraces.

[11] Their skeletal structure was very robust with powerful hind limbs, a broad pelvis, a short neck, and longer arms and phalanges than modern species.

Due to their giant height and weight, the largest species possibly did not hop as a form of locomotion, but rather walked bipedally in a similar manner to hominids.

[14] From evidence gathered at Cuddie Springs, Native Australians inhabited the same habitat as that of Sthenurus and various other extant and extinct species of animals.