Australia: Scientists uncover evidence of previously unknown ancient marsupial, says report

Scientists in Australia have uncovered evidence of a previously unknown ancient marsupial which roamed the country around 25 million years ago munching on fruit and nuts. The team of scientists from Flinders University pieced together fossils uncovered in the country's remote Northern Territory to reveal the long-extinct marsupial named Mukupirna fortidentata.

According to a report by the news agency AFP, Mukupirna fortidentata was thought to weigh up to 50 kg, making it one of the largest marsupials alive at the time. The wombat-like creature boasted a powerful bite and likely ate tough fruits and nuts. The report added that the creature is linked to Mukupirna nambensis.

Professor Gavin Prideaux, the director of the university's palaeontology lab, said on Wednesday (March 29) that although it was unclear what drove the beast extinct, it disappeared during a period of changing climate as ancient forest regions in Australia's centre became increasingly arid.

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Professor Prideaux added that while wombats were very successful over the succeeding period, the mukupirnids seemed to have gone extinct sometime before the end of the late Oligocene (25-23 million years ago).

The scientists also identified an ancient possum Chunia pledgei, which they said had "bizarre nut-cracker teeth".

Arthur Crichton, also from the university's palaeontology lab, said, "These curious beasts are members of marsupial lineages that went extinct long ago, leaving no modern descendants."

Crichton added that learning about these animals helped put the wombat and possum groups which survived today "in a broader evolutionary context."

(With inputs from agencies)

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