Flinders University researchers have identified three unusual new species of giant fossil kangaroos in Australia and New Guinea, revealing greater diversity in their shape, geographic distribution and movement than previously thought.

Three new species from an extinct genus Protemnodon, One of these kangaroos, which existed about 5 million to 40,000 years ago, is about twice the size of the largest living red kangaroo today.

The study follows the discovery of several complete fossil kangaroo skeletons at Lake Callabonna in arid South Australia in 2013, 2018 and 2019. These extraordinary fossils were discovered by lead researcher Dr. It allowed Isaac Kerr to take samples from the nearly 150-year-old animal. Puzzle surrounding the identity of the species Protemnodon.

Diversity of Protemnodon species

A new study from Flinders University looked at all species Protemnodon They discover that they are very different from each other. Species have adapted to living in different environments and even jumping in different ways. Protemnodon It looked like a gray kangaroo but was generally stockier and more muscular. Some species weighed around 50 kg, while others were much larger than living kangaroos.

But a new species has been named as part of the latest study. Protemnodon viator, was much larger and weighed up to 170 kg. This is approximately twice the size of the largest male red kangaroo.

Protemnodon viator It was well adapted to its arid habitat in central Australia and lived in areas similar to modern red kangaroos. It was a long-legged kangaroo that could jump quite quickly and effectively. His name viator is Latin for “wanderer” or “wanderer”. Australian researchers have discovered two new species: Protemnodon mamkurra And Protemnodon dawsonae – In examining the work of earlier researchers, including British naturalist Sir Richard Owen, who coined the term “dinosaur” in Victorian England.

first kind Protemnodon It was described in 1874 by the British paleontologist Owen, who followed the traditional approach of the period by focusing mainly on fossil teeth. He noticed small differences among the teeth of his specimens and identified six species. Protemnodon . Later research has disproved some of these early descriptions, but new research from Flinders University concurs with one of the types: Protemnodon anak. This first described specimen, called the holotype, is currently preserved in the Natural History Museum in London.

Dr. Some or all of it had been considered before, Kerr said. Protemnodon They were four-legged. “But our research shows this is only true for three or four species Protemnodon, They may have been propelled by something like a quokka or potor, meaning they sometimes jumped on all fours and sometimes on two.

“Recently announced Protemnodon mamkurra, is probably one of them. A large but strong and sturdy kangaroo was probably quite slow and inefficient. Maybe he only jumped occasionally, maybe only when he was scared.”

Dr Kerr says the best fossils of this species come from Green Hole Cave, located in the south-east of South Australia, on the territory of the Boandik people. The name of the species, mamkurra, was chosen by Boandika elders and Burrandi Corporation’s linguists. It means “big kangaroo”.

According to him, it is unusual for a single kangaroo species to be found in such different environments. “For example, it is now known that there are different types Protemnodon “It lived in a wide range of habitats, from arid central Australia to the high-rainfall forested mountains of Tasmania and New Guinea.”

The third of the new species, Protemnodon dawsonae, is known from fewer fossils than the other two and carries more mysteries. It was most likely a medium-speed bunker similar to Swamp Wallaby. It is named after the research work of Australian palaeontologist Dr Lyndall Dawson, who studied kangaroo taxonomy and fossil material from the ‘Big Shell’, part of the Wellington Caves in New South Wales, where the species is primarily known.

Results of the study

To collect data for the research, Dr. Kerr visited the collections of 14 museums in four countries and examined “almost every piece.” Protemnodon, existing”.

“We photographed and 3D-scanned, measured, compared and described more than 800 samples collected from Australia and New Guinea. It was a serious task. After five years of research, 261 pages and more than 100,000 words, it was a great pleasure to finally release this to the world.” nice I hope this leads to further research. Protemnodon So we can learn more about what these kangaroos do. “Live kangaroos are already such amazing animals that it’s incredible to imagine what these strange giant kangaroos could become.”

Although fossils Protemnodon Fairly common in Australia, these bones have historically been found “isolated” or as individual bones without the rest of the animal. This situation prevented paleontologists from conducting research. Protemnodon In the past, this made it difficult to determine the number of species, how to distinguish them, and how species differ in size, geographic distribution, movement, and adaptation to their natural environment.

About 40,000 years ago everyone Protemnodon It became extinct on the Australian mainland and probably persisted for some time in New Guinea and Tasmania. This extinction occurred despite differences in size, adaptation, habitat, and geographic distribution.

For unknown reasons, the same thing did not happen in many similar and closely related animals, such as the wallaroo and gray kangaroo. Further research, supported in part by this study, may soon answer this question.

“It’s great to have some clarity on species identity Protemnodon ” says Flinders Professor Gavin Prideaux, co-author of an important new paper. mega tax . Fossils of this genus are common and regularly found, but often you can’t be sure which species you’re looking at. This research may help researchers feel more confident when working with: Protemnodon“.