Extinct giant kangaroos discovered in Australia

A team of researchers has determined three new species of huge kangaroos just after examining fossils from Australia.

Paleontologists from Adelaide’s Flinders College recently reviewed numerous full kangaroo fossils from Lake Callabonna in South Australia that had been identified in 2013, 2018 and 2019. By reviewing all species of Protemnodon, a genus of extinct kangaroos that lived from 5 million to 40,000 several years in the past, scientists discovered a few new species of kangaroos, one of which is twice the dimension of the largest purple kangaroo alive nowadays, in accordance to a university press launch.

The conclusions of the study’s direct researcher, Isaac Kerr, and his co-authors were not too long ago printed in Megataxa.

The discovery discovered characteristics of the new species that differed enormously from every single other—for instance, the kangaroos lived in distinct environments and hopped in distinct ways.

The new species were named Protemnodon viator, Protemnodon mamkurra and Protemnodon dawsonae. The former was the major species recognized by the researchers—reaching two times the measurement of crimson male kangaroos today. Purple kangaroos can stand up to nearly 6 feet.

The study mentioned Protemnodon viator was remaining named for its prolonged-limbed mother nature, which authorized it to “hop quite immediately, the press release stated.

The other species, Protemnodon mamkurra and Protemnodon dawsonae, were recognized when researchers examined the get the job done of early researchers.

Protemnodon mamkurra probable moved on all four legs, generating it slower than Protemnodon viator. “A massive but thick-boned and strong kangaroo, it was in all probability quite slow-shifting and inefficient. It may well have hopped only not often, most likely just when startled,” Kerr mentioned.

Kerr’s analysis spans 5 several years. The scientists photographed and 3-D-scanned far more than 800 specimens collected from Australia and New Guinea and in comparison them.

“It was rather the enterprise,” Kerr reported, in accordance to the press release. “It feels so good to last but not least have it out in the entire world, following 5 a long time of study, 261 webpages and much more than 100,000 terms. I actually hope that it helps far more research of Protemnodon occur, so we can come across out more of what these kangaroos had been accomplishing.

“Dwelling kangaroos are previously these kinds of extraordinary animals, so it is remarkable to think what these peculiar large kangaroos could have been getting up to,” he extra.

All Protemnodon species went extinct on mainland Australia 40,000 several years back, and the purpose just isn’t apparent, in particular simply because quite a few species differed in measurement, habitat and other markers. Researchers are learning why comparable animals, like wallaroos and gray kangaroos, didn’t working experience the identical fate.

“It truly is good to have some clarity on the identities of the species of Protemnodon,” Flinders professor Gavin Prideaux, a co-creator of the Megataxa examine, reported about the species.

“The fossils of this genus are popular and they’re found consistently, but much more normally than not you have no way of remaining specified which species you might be hunting at. This examine could aid scientists sense more confident when working with Protemnodon.”

Newsweek arrived at out to Prideaux by electronic mail for further more remark.