The “short-faced kangaroo” was one of the species affected by a great extinction that wiped out 85% of large mammals, reptiles and birds.
Photo: Museums Victoria
Archaeologists in Gippsland (Victoria, Australia) found fossil remains that correspond to a species that became extinct about 46,000 years ago.
The fossil was recovered by Museums Victoria and was found to be a Simosthenurus occidentalisknown as the “short-faced kangaroo,” which lived alongside modern kangaroos.
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Researchers say it may have died after falling into a hidden cave about two thousand years before the species became extinct. In fact, it was one of the species affected by a great extinction that wiped out 85% of mammals, reptiles and large birds.
The fossil preserves 71% of the kangaroo’s bones and is one of the most intact of an extinct animal ever found in Australia. As stated for Guardian Tim Ziegler, paleontologist at the Museums Research Institute of Victoria, “this quality and integrity is extremely rare in Australia (….) The incredible unlikelihood of this being preserved for so long created a real sense of responsibility in bringing it out into the open. the surface”.
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According to Ziegler, the discovery will help provide clues to the animal’s lifestyle. “Now we can know what they were capable of doing,” she said. In addition to this fossil, an equally complete fossil was found 50 years ago in southern Australia.
The short-faced kangaroo had a square head with a robust lower jaw, similar to pandas and koalas, so it could digest leaves and branches. In addition, he had flexible shoulders, like those of chimpanzees.
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These were the same height as modern kangaroos, but were heavier and are believed to have walked rather than jumped.
“Short-faced kangaroos illustrate a completely different way of life among Australian marsupials that is unlike anything else today,” Ziegler added.
On the other hand, Gavin Prideaux, director of paleontology at Flinders University, added that “its abrupt extinction along with almost all of Australia’s megafauna is a profound reminder to defend our modern environments against loss.”
