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eppur_se_muova

(36,269 posts)
Thu Jun 21, 2012, 12:38 PM Jun 2012

'Giant wombat' grave found in Queensland, Australia (BBC)

Scientists have unearthed the biggest find yet of prehistoric "giant wombat" skeletons, revealing clues to the reasons for the species' extinction.

The find, in Queensland, Australia, of about 50 diprotodons - the largest marsupial that ever lived - has been called a "palaeontologists' goldmine".

The plant-eating giants, the size of a rhinoceros, had backward-facing pouches big enough to carry an adult human.

The fossils are believed to be between 100,000 and 200,000 years old.

Lead scientist Scott Hocknull, from the Queensland Museum in Brisbane, said: "When we did the initial survey I was just completely blown away by the concentrations of these fragments.
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more: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-18533038

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