In the Australian outback, researchers have discovered the fossil remains of a previously unknown prehistoric species of koala that inhabited our planet about 25 million years ago. The new species has been named Lumakoala blackae, according to a Flinders University-led study published in the journal Scientific Reports.
Fossil teeth of the marsupial were found 100 kilometers south of Alice Springs in the Northern Territory, said lead author Arthur Crichton. With a body weight of only about 2.5 kilograms, ancient koalas were considerably smaller than modern specimens, which can weigh up to 14 kilograms.
They mainly fed on soft leaves, but probably also on insects. The scientists explain in their research that koala teeth are characterized by so-called selenodont teeth. These molars are found in herbivorous mammals. They are characterized by a series of crescent-shaped tubercles used to break down tough plant material.
Fund closes development gap
Crichton says the discovery helps close a 30-million-year gap in the evolution of marsupials. “Our computer analysis of the evolutionary relationships shows that Lumakoala is a member or close relative of the koala family,” he explained. The species also resembles a number of much older fossil marsupials, especially Thylacotinga and Chulpasia, which were found at the 55-million-year-old Tingamarra site in the northeast of the country.
“It has been suggested in the past that the enigmatic Thylacotinga and Chulpasia may be closely related to marsupials from South America,” Crichton said. However, the discovery of Lumakoala suggests that the two species may be early relatives of herbivorous marsupials from Australia, such as koalas, wombats, kangaroos and possums.
Some koalas are critically endangered
The number of modern-day koalas, which live only Down Under, have now been decimated by persistent droughts, devastating bushfires, disease and habitat loss. In some states, the status of the endangered eucalyptus eaters was upgraded from ‘vulnerable’ to ‘endangered’ last year.
Source: Krone
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