Discovered 23 million-year-old extinct lion fossils in Australia

Researchers have discovered a new species of marsupial lion in the fossilized area of ​​Australia. In its heyday, this species terrified many other animals.

The lion Lekaneleo , also known as Leo , lived in a remote northwestern part of Queensland (Australia) - Adels Grove and the Riversleigh World Heritage, which went extinct at least 23 million years ago.

The area is an important fossil site, once visited by famous British natural history host David Attenborough.

The lion is about the size of a domestic cat today, was formerly thought to belong to the extinct predatory marsupial family Priscileo roskellyae (Thylacoleonidae). It has 3 canines and 4 molars with relatively small size.

Lions have the smallest pocket

A research paper by Anna Gillespie, Michael Archer and Suzanne Hand from the University of New South Wales presented details of the reclassification that Dr. Archer said was one of the interesting things, according to ABC News. He said that the lion belongs to the 'strange' marsupial group .

'The little guy we call Lekaneleo roskellyae . is one of the smallest marsupial lions we have ever seen. It's really equal to a pussy cat ', Dr. Archer said.

'What we gradually found in Riversleigh, where there was a wonderful door to understanding the evolution of this very strange group of marsupials, was that they started from really small animals, smaller than a pussy cats'.

'In Australia, marsupial lions are extremely dangerous predators, which existed at least 30 million years ago in history.'

Lekaneleo, nicknamed Leo, at Riversleigh.(Photo: ABC News).

'And this new guy, we just realized it was very different from any other species we've ever seen. That's why it's called a new species of marsupial lion. '

In addition to Lekaneleo, some other marsupial lions found in Riversleigh include: Microleo attenboroughi, named after host David, Wakaleo schouteni the size of a cheetah and a lion larger than Thylacoleonids.

Dr. Archer said all Riversleigh lions are characterized by sharp fangs.

Riversleigh's serious exploration began in 1976 and continues to this day.In the photo, the team of Dr. Mike Archer and colleagues at the Garden of Neville.(Photo: ABC News).

'They have sharp fangs, long as a blade , ' he said. 'This is the most extraordinary adaptation and evolution a carnivore has achieved anywhere in the world.' 'Their teeth are capable of piercing straight through the bone'.

Therefore, even though Leo may be the size of a domestic cat, he will not obediently curl up on the couch.

'I think many of the animals in the ancient Riversleigh rainforest will tremble when they see Leo,' said Dr. Archer. 'No living animals today can tell us what these animals did (in the past). These forests are far more complex than anything you see '.

Biodiversity fades with increasing temperatures

Riversleigh is a famous fossil site in the world and a place where Dr. Archer has studied for 4 decades, starting in 1976.

He said that nowhere in Australia is as diverse as where Leo once existed.'We see that over time as the climate changes, as the tropical forests disappear from the continent, Australia's biodiversity has shrunk , ' Archer explained.

He says observing the past is the best way to predict the future and Riversleigh is a great place to do it.

At some point in history, Riversleigh witnessed an increase in temperatures to 2 degrees Celsius and as a result, 50% of its animals disappeared.

Illustration of Riversleigh fossil site 18 million years ago.(Photo: ABC News).

But when the temperature returned, the animals began to regenerate, about 300,000 to 400,000 years ago.

'The message here is that if we continue to raise the Earth's temperature, we will suffer a great loss of biodiversity,' Archer continued.

'We actually had a fossil record at Riversleigh, telling us what happened in the past.'

'Specifically, about 15 million years ago, we witnessed a great loss of species. But then we observed, over hundreds of thousands of years, the diversity of species comes back as the planet's temperature begins to decline. '

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