ARCHAEOLOGISTS have discovered three new species of ancient giant kangaroos.
The fossils were found in Australia and New Guinea and suggest the species was much more diverse than previously thought.
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The three newly discovered species belong to an extinct group called Protemnodon.
These creatures lived between 5 million and 40 thousand years ago.
The largest was about twice the size of modern kangaroos.
Lead researcher Dr. Isaac Kerr and a team focused on three fossils for the study.
The complete fossils were found in 2013, 2018 and 2019 and all belong to the genus Protemnodon.
A new study on the fossils was published in the journal Megatax.
The largest ancient kangaroo mentioned in the study is called Protemnodon viator.
It was much larger and weighed up to 375 kilograms, twice as much as a male red kangaroo.
The species would have been stockier and more muscular than modern kangaroos.
Two other species mentioned in the study are called Protemnodon mamkurra and Protemnodon dawsonae.
“We photographed and 3D scanned more than 800 specimens collected across Australia and New Guinea, taking measurements, comparing and describing them.
“It’s so good to finally release it to the world, after five years of research, 261 pages and more than 100,000 words.
“I really hope this helps carry out more studies on Protemnodon so we can find out more about what these kangaroos were doing.
“Living kangaroos are already such remarkable animals, so it’s amazing to think what these peculiar giant kangaroos could be doing,” Dr Kerr said.
“It’s great to have some clarity on the identities of the Protemnodon species,” said co-author Professor Gavin Prideaux.
“Fossils of this genus are widespread and are found regularly, but most of the time we have no way of knowing for sure which species we are observing.
“This study can help researchers feel more confident when working with Protemnodon.”
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