New fossil reveals kangaroo predecessor: 07-12-2007
A fossil has revealed that the predecessor of the kangaroo had fangs, climbed trees and galloped on all fours.
Speaking to The Age newspaper, Ben Kear, a member of the Australian team who analysed the bones and a palaeontologist at La Trobe University, said: "This is really the great, great, great, great grandfather of modern kangaroos."
The skeleton was nearly complete and found in Queensland during the 90s but scientists have named it as a news species called nambaroo gillespieae.
Part of an extinct group of kangaroos called the balbaridae, the animal is believed to have been replaced over time by the direct ancestors of modern kangaroos.
The opposable big toes and flexible feet of the kangaroo meant it could climb trees and scientists believe that it lived on fruit and fungi.
"It's very different to what we would imagine from your average kangaroo... that you see today," said Mr Kear.
Scientists are hoping to analyse the fossil and understand how kangaroos evolved as a result of climate change.
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