Amin
Wed, 24th January 2007, 22:17:11
Caverns give up huge fossil haul
An astonishing collection of fossil animals from southern Australia is reported by scientists.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/spl/hi/pop_ups/07/sci_nat_enl_1169658723/img/1.jpg
The marsupial lion was a top predator. Although about the size of an African lion, it was more closely related to its modern marsupial cousin, the wombat.
The creatures were found in limestone caves under the Nullabor Plain and date from about 400,000-800,000 years ago.
The palaeontological "treasure trove" includes 23 kangaroo species, eight of which are entirely new to science.
Researchers tell Nature magazine that the caves also yielded a complete specimen of Thylacoleo carnifex, an extinct marsupial lion.
It appears the unsuspecting creatures fell to their deaths through pipes in the dusty plain surface that periodically opened and closed over millennia.
Most of the animals were killed instantly but others initially survived the 20m drop only to crawl off into rock piles to die from their injuries or from thirst and starvation.
The preservation of many of the specimens was remarkable, said the Nature paper's lead author, Dr Gavin Prideaux.
All shapes
"To drop down into these caves and see the Thylacoleo lying there just as it had died really took my breath away," the Western Australian Museum researcher told the BBC's Science In Action Programme.
http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/42491000/jpg/_42491621_hole_wam_203.jpg
Animals would have fallen through surface holes to their deaths
"Sitting in the darkness next to this skeleton, you really got the sense of the animal collapsing in a heap and taking its last breath. It was quite poignant.
"Everywhere we looked around the boulder piles, we found more and more skeletons of a very wide array of creatures."
In total, 69 vertebrate species have been identified in three chambers the scientists now call the Thylacoleo Caves.
These include mammals, birds and reptiles; and the kangaroos, which range from pint-sized bettongs to 3m giants.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/spl/hi/pop_ups/07/sci_nat_enl_1169659770/img/1.jpgDr Prideaux and colleagues believe the Nullabor collection suggests the ancient megafauna of Australia could not have been driven to extinction by climate change.
The team even found an unusual wallaby with large brow ridges.
"When we first glanced at the animal, we thought they were horns but on closer inspection we realised they must have performed some sort of protective function," Dr Prideaux explained.
"The beast must have been sticking its head into spiny bushes and browsing on leaves."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6296029.stm
An astonishing collection of fossil animals from southern Australia is reported by scientists.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/spl/hi/pop_ups/07/sci_nat_enl_1169658723/img/1.jpg
The marsupial lion was a top predator. Although about the size of an African lion, it was more closely related to its modern marsupial cousin, the wombat.
The creatures were found in limestone caves under the Nullabor Plain and date from about 400,000-800,000 years ago.
The palaeontological "treasure trove" includes 23 kangaroo species, eight of which are entirely new to science.
Researchers tell Nature magazine that the caves also yielded a complete specimen of Thylacoleo carnifex, an extinct marsupial lion.
It appears the unsuspecting creatures fell to their deaths through pipes in the dusty plain surface that periodically opened and closed over millennia.
Most of the animals were killed instantly but others initially survived the 20m drop only to crawl off into rock piles to die from their injuries or from thirst and starvation.
The preservation of many of the specimens was remarkable, said the Nature paper's lead author, Dr Gavin Prideaux.
All shapes
"To drop down into these caves and see the Thylacoleo lying there just as it had died really took my breath away," the Western Australian Museum researcher told the BBC's Science In Action Programme.
http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/42491000/jpg/_42491621_hole_wam_203.jpg
Animals would have fallen through surface holes to their deaths
"Sitting in the darkness next to this skeleton, you really got the sense of the animal collapsing in a heap and taking its last breath. It was quite poignant.
"Everywhere we looked around the boulder piles, we found more and more skeletons of a very wide array of creatures."
In total, 69 vertebrate species have been identified in three chambers the scientists now call the Thylacoleo Caves.
These include mammals, birds and reptiles; and the kangaroos, which range from pint-sized bettongs to 3m giants.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/spl/hi/pop_ups/07/sci_nat_enl_1169659770/img/1.jpgDr Prideaux and colleagues believe the Nullabor collection suggests the ancient megafauna of Australia could not have been driven to extinction by climate change.
The team even found an unusual wallaby with large brow ridges.
"When we first glanced at the animal, we thought they were horns but on closer inspection we realised they must have performed some sort of protective function," Dr Prideaux explained.
"The beast must have been sticking its head into spiny bushes and browsing on leaves."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6296029.stm