Researchers have found 50 skeleton fossils in northeastern Australia of the extinct marsupial Diprotodon.
The Diprotodon probably was the largest marsupial that has ever lived. As it could be up to 3 meters (9,84 feet) tall with a weight of up to 2,000 kilos (4409 LBS).
The Diprotodon is believed to have arrived about 1,6 million years ago and died out quite recently, some 25,000 to 45,000 years ago. These newfound fossils are believed to be between 10,000 and 20,000 years old.
BBC talked to lead scientist Scott Hocknull from Queensland Museum in Brisbane, “When we did the initial survey I was just completely blown away by the concentrations of these fragments”. “It’s a paleontologist’s goldmine where we can really see what these megafaunas were doing, how they actually behaved, what their ecology was. “With so many fossils it gives us a unique opportunity to see these animals in their environment, basically, so we can reconstruct it.”
This is the greatest and most complete skeleton of Diprotodon ever found. And the researchers now believe that with the help of these they will be able to find out more about how this huge marsupial.
The site where the Diprotodon was found was also the home of many other peculiar prehistoric species. Including a 6 meter (20 feet) long lizard called Megalania and an enormous prehistoric crocodile.
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http://www.qm.qld.gov.au/Research/Projects/Projects/Geosciences/Queenslands+megafauna
http://australianmuseum.net.au/Diprotodon-optatum
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