An artists impression of the recently explained fossil types Protemnodon viator and its relative Protemnodon anak, compared at scale to the living red kangaroo and eastern grey kangaroo. These amazing fossils permitted lead researcher Dr Isaac Kerr, then a PhD student, to unpick an almost 150-year-long puzzle around the identities of the types of Protemnodon.Diversity Among Protemnodon SpeciesThe new Flinders University research study reviewed all species of Protemnodon, discovering that they were quite various from one another. The Australian researchers found 2 other brand-new species– Protemnodon mamkurra and Protemnodon dawsonae– while likewise revisiting the work of earlier researchers including British naturalist Sir Richard Owen who created the term dinosaur in Victorian England.A near-complete fossil skeleton of the extinct giant kangaroo Protemnodon viator from Lake Callabonna, missing just a couple of bones from the tail, hand and foot.
An artists impression of the newly explained fossil types Protemnodon viator and its relative Protemnodon anak, compared at scale to the living red kangaroo and eastern grey kangaroo. Credit: Flinders UniversityResearchers at Flinders University have actually determined 3 unusual brand-new species of huge fossil kangaroo from Australia and New Guinea, revealing greater diversity in their type, geographical circulation, and locomotion than was previously recognized.The three brand-new types are of the extinct genus Protemnodon, which lived from around 5 million to 40,000 years back– with one about double the size of the largest red kangaroo living today.The research follows the discovery of several complete fossil kangaroo skeletons from Lake Callabonna in arid South Australia in 2013, 2018, and 2019. These extraordinary fossils enabled lead researcher Dr Isaac Kerr, then a PhD trainee, to unpick a nearly 150-year-long puzzle around the identities of the species of Protemnodon.Diversity Among Protemnodon SpeciesThe brand-new Flinders University research study evaluated all species of Protemnodon, discovering that they were quite various from one another. While some species were around 50 kg, others were much bigger than any living kangaroo.However, one new types called as part of the most current research study– named Protemnodon viator– was much larger, weighing up to 170 kg. The Australian researchers discovered 2 other new types– Protemnodon mamkurra and Protemnodon dawsonae– while also reviewing the work of earlier scientists including British naturalist Sir Richard Owen who created the term dinosaur in Victorian England.A near-complete fossil skeleton of the extinct giant kangaroo Protemnodon viator from Lake Callabonna, missing just a few bones from the hand, tail and foot.