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Palaeontology

Extinct kitten-sized lion species discovered

By T.K. Randall
August 28, 2016 · Comment icon 13 comments
Scientists in Australia have identified a tiny marsupial lion which went extinct 18 million years ago.
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.


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 | Comments (13)




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Recent comments on this story
Comment icon #4 Posted by Gecks 8 years ago
Illustration looks very much like a possum.
Comment icon #5 Posted by Oniomancer 8 years ago
"Miniature marsupial lion?" Wouldn't that make it a marsupial cat?
Comment icon #6 Posted by oldrover 8 years ago
  That vernacular name's already taken I'm afraid. It's used for the quolls. Though, I'm not sure how commonly it's used these days. 
Comment icon #7 Posted by oldrover 8 years ago
 
Comment icon #8 Posted by qxcontinuum 8 years ago
i was always wondered how it is possible that smaller animals wen t extinct in times there were no humans ..
Comment icon #9 Posted by oldrover 8 years ago
Why do you find size significant? 
Comment icon #10 Posted by qxcontinuum 8 years ago
because size mattes... smaller animals don't become extinct just like that ! 
Comment icon #11 Posted by oldrover 8 years ago
Sorry, still can't make any sense out of it. 
Comment icon #12 Posted by Blizno 8 years ago
Is it valid to use "leo" in the scientific name of a marspial? Does "leo" refer only to the African lions? While it may be fine to refer to it as a lion in casual use, like "Tasmanian devil" (not actually a devil), scientific names should be chosen with rigor.
Comment icon #13 Posted by oldrover 8 years ago
Scientific names are often not very 'scientific' when translated. Take the fosa, Cryptoprocta ferox. Which means the 'the fierce hidden anus'. Or the huge land turtles of Pleistocene Australia named after the mutant ninja turtles. Basically, they can say anything. 


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