The animal lived in Australia 3.5 million years ago.
The remains of a huge marsupial weighing 250 kilograms have been found in Australia, according to reports Watchman. Using 3D imaging, a team from Flinders University has described a new group of marsupials, namely itinerantIt means wanderer or walker, and it refers to the animal’s legs and feet, which are adapted to travel long distances.
the itinerant Kenny A partial skeleton of this species was discovered in 2017 in the Calamorina Nature Reserve. In the rock that keeps the animal’s foot Jacob Van Zolena PhD student at Flinders University, and colleagues discovered effects on soft tissues.
Many modern herbivores, such as elephants and rhinos, walk without their heels touching the ground. the itinerantOn the other hand, the heel also touched the ground, helping to disperse the mass, and on the front leg, one of the toe joints became a secondary heel.
During this period, Australia’s climate became drier, and the size of grasslands and open areas increased. In this environment, it was advantageous for the animals to travel long distances.
The new species are A Diprotodontidae It belonged to the money chains. This group of herbivores played an important role in the Australian ecosystem for a long time, until they became extinct about 40,000 years ago. the Diprotodontidae Its members were extremely diverse, and there were also 2.7 tons of species among them.
