A group of paleontologists recently revealed a new creature that looks like a wombat, only it’s four times bigger and almost bear-like.
What happened:
- A new study, published Thursday in the journal Scientific Reports, revealed the discovery of this creature, which is “so unusual that it has its own family classification,” according to CNET.
- The researchers said they discovered part of an animal’s skull, which was originally found in 1973 in Australia. It has now been linked to the wombat ancestor.
- This cousin of modern wombat is so unique that it has earned its own marsupial classification, the researchers said.
What the creature was like:
- The creature – called Mukupirna, which means “big bones” in Australian languages The Dieri and Malyangapa language was probably about the size of a bear.
- The creature’s teeth suggest that the animal ate plants for the most part. The animal also had strong limbs for digging, according to CNET.
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Robin Beck, co-author of the study, said: “Mukupirna was clearly an impressive and powerful beast, at least three times bigger than modern wombats.”
- “Koalas and wombats are incredible animals, but animals like Mukupirna show that their extinct relatives were even more extraordinary and many of them were giants.”
The bigger picture (literally)
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Paleontologist Trevor Worthy of Flinders University told ABC in Australia that the discovery of Mukupirna was going to happen eventually. He said the creature is a sign that huge creatures existed a short time ago.
- “It combines the skills of three generations of paleontologists to describe a spectacular new member of Australian marsupial radiation that reveals multiple giants over 100 kg existed some 25 million years ago at the end of the Oligocene.”
- University of Queensland paleontologist Gilbert Price agreed, according to ABC Australia.
- “Studies like this show that there is no denying the fact that there were large animals around a long time before humans appeared that would have been susceptible to climate change.”
