Tuesday, March 19, 2024
Contact    |    RSS icon Twitter icon Facebook icon  
Unexplained Mysteries
You are viewing: Home > News > Palaeontology > News story
Welcome Guest ( Login or Register )  
All ▾
Search Submit

Palaeontology

'Vampire' kangaroos lived longer than thought

By T.K. Randall
October 15, 2017 · Comment icon 1 comment

Fanged kangaroos disappeared millions of years ago. Image Credit: CC BY-SA 3.0 Lilly M
An extinct species of fanged kangaroo survived five million years longer than previously believed.
An analysis of fossilized teeth discovered at the Riversleigh World Heritage Area in north Queensland has revealed that these wallaby-sized fanged marsupials went extinct around 10 million years ago, which is five million years later than earlier studies had suggested.

The discovery means that existing extinction theories concerning the species will now have to be thrown out because the timing of their disappearance no longer fits.

"Northern Queensland was predominantly covered in rainforest when these fanged kangaroos first appear in the fossil record," said Univesity of Queensland PhD student Kaylene Butler.
"Every hypothesis we have about their extinction doesn't line up with the timing of when they went extinct so we kind of have to start from scratch now."

There are however two major events at the time of their disappearance that could help to explain it.

"You were starting to see the extension of open grasslands and open woodlands and at the same time you were also seeing potential ancestors of modern kangaroos on the scene," said Butler.

"Potentially the answer is that the fanged kangaroo was outcompeted in food and resources."

Source: The Age | Comments (1)




Other news and articles
Recent comments on this story
Comment icon #1 Posted by jarjarbinks 7 years ago
what's going on with all these kangooroo articles lately ?


Please Login or Register to post a comment.


Our new book is out now!
Book cover

The Unexplained Mysteries
Book of Weird News

 AVAILABLE NOW 

Take a walk on the weird side with this compilation of some of the weirdest stories ever to grace the pages of a newspaper.

Click here to learn more

We need your help!
Patreon logo

Support us on Patreon

 BONUS CONTENT 

For less than the cost of a cup of coffee, you can gain access to a wide range of exclusive perks including our popular 'Lost Ghost Stories' series.

Click here to learn more

Recent news and articles