ILLUSTRATION BY PETER SCHOUTEN IN THE JOURNAL OF SYSTEMATIC PALAEONTOLOGY
Marsupial lions come in all sizes. Previous research suggests some of the mammals were as small as squirrels, and researchers today are saying a new species was dog-sized.
A team at the University of New South Wales published a paper in the Journal of Systematic Palaeontology on December 6 describing Wakaleo schouteni, a prehistoric species of marsupial lion. By studying the fossilized remains of the animal’s teeth, skull, and humerus, the researchers determined the 50-pound climber roamed rainforests about 18 to 26 million years ago, during the late Oligocene and early Miocene eras. The dog-sized predator had a flat head and large, blade-like teeth that could slice through flesh and munch on vegetation.
“The identification of these new species has brought to light a level of marsupial lion diversity that was quite unexpected and suggest even deeper origins for the family,” lead author Anna Gillespie says in a press release.
A MAMMALIAN MARCH OF PROGRESS
W. schouteni would have lived during the same time as the Microleo attenboroughi, the 1.3-pound micro lion found in the Neville’s Garden fossil deposit. M. attenboroughi was a squirrel-sized omnivore that climbed trees in the rainforests of prehistoric Australia. The much-larger W. schouteni was also arboreal.
This discovery contrasts with previous research saying no two marsupial lion species existed concurrently.
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SOURCE: National Geographic, Elaina Zachos
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