The 170-kilometre-long Protymanodon is the hero of the discovery of three new extinct species of kangaroo.

A group of researchers from Australiashared the latest results of three new types of “Kangaroo “Prehistoric” belongs to the genus Protymnodon.

Scientists have named the three types Protymnodon mamcura, P. dawsonae and P. PhytorThe latter is the most famous, because, according to its discoverers, it was a specimen that weighed up to 170 kilograms and could reach more than two meters in height.

P. PhytorAccording to scientists, it was extremely well adapted and used its narrow feet, short femurs and long legs to move quickly and efficiently in search of food and water sources across arid habitats.

The results of a team of researchers were published in the scientific journal MegataxaIn it, they identified three new extinct species of giant kangaroos that lived during prehistoric times in the region now known as Australia, the island of Tasmania and New Guinea more than 40,000 years ago.

These species belong to the genus Protymnodon (An extinct family of large creatures that lived during the Ice Age in the same area where the aforementioned fossils were found), according to the news agency. EvieThey adapted to different processes, including the prehistoric environments in which they lived.

One of the discovered species is “almost” twice the size of the largest red kangaroo existing today, according to a press release issued by the authority. Flinders University.

The discovery of “multiple” complete skeletons found in the lake Calabunalocated in the far northern part of South Australia, in the years 2013, 2018 and 2019 allowed Isaac Kerr, the lead researcher, to solve what the authorities in the academic establishment considered “an almost 150-year-old mystery” in which the protagonist was the “identities” of the Protymnodon species.

During the study, scientists found that in addition to adapting to different environmental conditions, the newly discovered species also jumped “in different ways.”

The specialists indicated in the statement that the members of the clan Protymnodon It was very similar to a gray kangaroo, except that it was more “muscular” and weighed about 50 kilograms, although “the others were much larger than any living animal of this species.”

One of the most important discoveries of the group of researchers was the discovery Protymnodon PhytorIts weight reaches 170 kilograms, “about twice” the weight of the largest male red kangaroo, according to experts from the authority. Flinders University.

P. Phytor It had excellent adaptations to evolve properly in its “arid environment” in Australia and lived in areas similar to those where red kangaroos live today.

He had long limbs that he used to jump “with perfect speed and efficiency,” as he was named (Phytor) means “traveler” or “pedestrian” in Latin.

“With its narrow feet, relatively short hip bones and long legs, it had dimensions very similar to those of living red and gray kangaroos. This would have helped it navigate between water and food sources,” Kerr said in an interview with the magazine. CNN.

The lead researcher hypothesized that individuals of this species would have moved in large groups, just as modern kangaroos do.

Likewise, Kerr said the species' main predator is extinct Thylacoleo carnifexalso known as the “marsupial lion.”

“The size of a large dog, Thylacoleo “It was an ambush predator believed to specialize in hunting kangaroos,” Kerr confirmed.

The remaining two types were: Protymnodon mamcura Which, as Kerr detailed in his press release Flinders University, It means “big kangaroo” and is considered a “large but strong kangaroo with a thick bone” and was “most likely” slow and rarely jumped.

And P. dawsonnae, named after Australian paleontologist Lyndall Dawson, who extensively studied kangaroo systematics, it is “most likely” that members of the species, according to experts at the academic establishment, were “medium-speed jumpers”, similar to the swamp wallaby. .

“Fossils of this genus are widespread and are found regularly, but most of the time there is no way to be sure what you are looking for,” Kerr concluded, expressing his hope that his study will help researchers feel more confident when working with it. “Protemnodon.”