A primitive kangaroo has been classified as a new species, after re-analysis of fossil jawbones and teeth found in the remote highlands of Papua New Guinea in the 1970s.
Key points:
That's according to the results of a study published today in Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia.
The fossils were originally discovered on an expedition led by archaeologist Mary-Jane Mountain in the 1970s.
They were then classified in 1983 — by palaeontologist and PhD student at the time Tim Flannery — as belonging to a species in the genus Protemnodon.
Protemnodon is a genus of extinct megafauna that lived in Australia and New Guinea.
The last species in the genus is thought to have gone extinct in Australia about 42,000 years ago, and was a cousin of modern-day eastern grey and red kangaroos.
https://amp-abc-net-au.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/amp.abc.net.au/article/101186864
Key points:
- The kangaroo is thought to be from a new genus that migrated to New Guinea between 5 and 8 million years ago
- The fossil was originally discovered in the 1970s during an expedition led my Mary-Jane Mountain to Simbu Province
- Researchers will be returning to PNG to look for more intact fossil specimens
That's according to the results of a study published today in Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia.
The fossils were originally discovered on an expedition led by archaeologist Mary-Jane Mountain in the 1970s.
They were then classified in 1983 — by palaeontologist and PhD student at the time Tim Flannery — as belonging to a species in the genus Protemnodon.
Protemnodon is a genus of extinct megafauna that lived in Australia and New Guinea.
The last species in the genus is thought to have gone extinct in Australia about 42,000 years ago, and was a cousin of modern-day eastern grey and red kangaroos.
https://amp-abc-net-au.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/amp.abc.net.au/article/101186864