British scientists from the University of Bristol have studied the remains of giant kangaroos that lived in Australia and its nearest islands during the Pleistocene period, from about 2.5 million to 10,000 years ago. They concluded that the ancestors of modern kangaroos and wallabies apparently did not know how to jump. The study was published in the scientific journal broadcasting Journal of Mammalian Evolution (JME).
The growth of giant kangaroos, or protemnodons, reached two meters, and their weight reached 170 kilograms, which was twice as much as their living relatives.
Previous research had shown that Protemnodon’s ankle bones could not withstand the stress of jumping.
The team showed that Protemnodon’s limb proportions were completely different from those of any modern kangaroo.
This is particularly evident in the giant kangaroo’s short feet, which supports the idea that it was a quadruped rather than a hoofed like modern large kangaroos.
The researchers also found that another subfamily of extinct kangaroos, the stenurines, stood on two legs but walked rather than hopped.
Experts say this diversity shows that prehistoric Australia had a variety of landscapes that suited different types of movement.
Previously, paleontologists opened A new species of subterranean dinosaur that digs holes and tunnels.
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Source: Gazeta
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