Fossils of ancient 'super-koala' found

[Still Waters]

Australia's treetops were home 15 million years ago to sheep-sized, 150-pound relatives of modern day wombats that looked much like koalas, scientists say.

Karen Black from the University of New South Wales said the creatures, knows as Nimbadons, were climbers living in rainforest canopy.

"Nimbadon was a highly capable, habitual climber and its specialized anatomy suggests it may have adopted a trunk-hugging method of climbing similar to the living koala," Black said.

The climbing ability would have helped Nimbadons compete for food with other herbivores, such as kangaroos, and escape from predators, such as marsupial lions, Black said.

http://www.upi.com/S...86411336086449/

[catfishyeah]

I always wondered if koalas had different ancesters than some animals, or shared, and branched off from the ones today.

[Lady Llayne]

Very Interesting... I love how they are able to link things together.

[Bella-Angelique]

It's so cute in the drawing. Wish it still existed. I wonder if they might bring it back somehow?

[Ealdwita]

You really wouldn't want that dropping on your head from a eucalyptus tree, would you!

[Chooky88]

Why is there a picture of a wombat on a koala story? Big difference,

[Chooky88]

OK. Read it. It was a wombat that resembled a koala. Well here's a fact. Wombat poo is cube shaped. So they make a little pile to mark territory and it won't roll away. Your never short of dice in the au outback :-)