Teeth Fossil of Extinct Platypus Found in Australia

Scientists have found a fossilized molar of an extinct relative of platypus, which helped them determine the size of the platypus. The aminmal was about three feet long or about twice the length of a modern-day platypus.

Australia seems to be throwing up multiple surprises. Recently, researchers had found three new species in the 'lost world' while others had discovered a new species of dolphin near one of its coasts.

Obdurodon tharalkooschild- the ancient, giant relative of the unique mammal- could have lived between 15 and 5 million years ago. Researchers used the single tooth from the famous Riversleigh World Heritage Area of northwest Queensland to describe the size of the animal. The platypuses found today are toothless and instead have "horny pads in its mouth"

The latest discovery has shaken-up the evolutionary tree of the mammal. Earlier, it was believed that the creature had just one species living at a given time. The new study shows that a Godzilla-like platypus had once branched-off from the family-tree.

"Monotremes (platypuses and echidnas) are the last remnant of an ancient radiation of mammals unique to the southern continents. A new platypus species, even one that is highly incomplete, is a very important aid in developing understanding about these fascinating mammals," said PhD candidate Rebecca Pian, lead author of the study, according to a news release.

Analysis of the fossil sample also shed light on the creatures' lifestyle and diet.               

"Like other platypuses, it was probably a mostly aquatic mammal, and would have lived in and around the freshwater pools in the forests that covered the Riversleigh area millions of years ago," said Dr. Suzanne Hand of the University of New South Wales, a co-author of the study. "Obdurodon tharalkooschild was a very large platypus with well-developed teeth, and we think it probably fed not only on crayfish and other freshwater crustaceans, but also on small vertebrates including the lungfish, frogs, and small turtles that are preserved with it in the Two Tree Site fossil deposit."

Platypuses are quite strange and were earlier considered a hoax. The animal looks like it was made using parts of many creatures- bill and webbed feet from the duck, tail from a beaver and body and fur from an otter or a rabbit.

The study is published in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology.