Palaeontology

Extinct kitten-sized lion species discovered

By T.K. Randall
August 28, 2016

Image: Lion in Serengeti National Park, Tanzania
Credit: Thomas Fuhrmann / CC BY-SA 4.0 (adapted) Named Microleo attenboroughi after legendary British naturalist Sir David Attenborough, this miniature cat-like marsupial was so small that it could have fit inside a lady's handbag.

A new species of lion called the micro lion has been identified. Sounds cute right?>> https://t.co/gtvInRovA2 pic.twitter.com/FBclXm7myV

— BBC Newsround (@BBCNewsround) August 26, 2016

The species was identified from teeth and bone fragments unearthed at the Riversleigh World Heritage Fossil site in north-western Queensland, Australia.

"It likely ran through the treetops, gobbling up birds, frogs, lizards and insects," said Dr Anna Gillespie from the University of New South Wales."We weren't expecting to find a marsupial lion of this small size. It might have been a bit too big to fit in your pocket, but it would have fit quite comfortably in a handbag. It would have been very cute."

The largest marsupial lion by comparison, a creature known as Thylacoleo carnifex which went extinct around 100,000 years ago, weighed in at 130kg making it over 200 times larger.

"Until quite recently there were only a few marsupial lion species known," said Stephen Wroe, an associate professor of zoology and palaeontology at the University of New England.

"Over the last decade or two evidence from Riversleigh has seen this jump to 11 subspecies."

Source: BBC News

Tags: Australia, Lion