the University of New South Wales The discovery of the Tasmanian tiger, also known as the marsupial wolf, which had been extinct for 88 years, has been announced (thylacinus cynocephalus) Three Oligocene ancestors have been identified, dating from 23-25 million years ago. These are the oldest known animal ancestors, according to a report. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology Experts reported in the journal.
The remains were found in the Riversleigh World Heritage Conservation Area in North Queensland, in rock layers here from the Oligocene and Miocene periods, nearly 20 million years of mammalian evolution are present in fossils. For a long time, the accepted view was that this period was the age of predatory reptiles in Australia, but thanks to the fossils discovered at this site, this view has now changed radically.
Jaws and teeth of ancestors
Source: University of New South Wales
The largest of the three newly described species is about the size of a living Tasmanian devil, and must have weighed between 7 and 11 kilograms. The race is Badgson's Tymphawalkeneri Named for its jaws, it easily crushes the bones of other animals – including the Tasmanian devil. This may be the oldest known ancestor of the Tasmanian tiger.
Type II A Nimbacinus peterbridgei It may have been slightly larger than the giant marsupial, and experts believe it weighed about 3.7 kilograms. The animal was identified based on a nearly complete jaw fossil.
According to the researchers, it was probably a generalist predator, perhaps hunting smaller mammals in its forest habitat. It is believed that this animal was an early representative of the lineage that eventually led directly to the Tasmanian tiger. In Hungary, it seems, a Nimbacinus peterbridgei The oldest direct ancestor of the Tasmanian tiger.
the Badgson's Tymphawalkeneri Devours its prey
Source: University of New South Wales
The third predecessor is A Ngamalasinos Njelmarvini This animal could have weighed up to 5.1 kilograms, making it about the size of a red fox. It was the most predatory of the three species, as evidenced by the V-shaped grooves and ridges on its lower molars. In the case of this species, the teeth had the stronger and more advanced shape typical of these predators. Each of the three species is named after paleontologists Tim Faulkner, Peter Bridges and Nigel Marvin.
The fact that three species were found at this site in the Oligocene suggests that marsupials evolved into many species in a short period of time after their formation. Additionally, they also reveal that different ecological niches were available to animals in the forests at that time, with each individual species potentially having different lifestyles and different teeth.
Eventually, only one subspecies survived to the present day, the others becoming extinct 8 million years ago. This subspecies continued for a long time after that, when on September 7, 1936, the last known representative of the species died in Hobart Zoo, and the marsupials disappeared forever.
