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Science Tips Tips Tricks Technology Mukupirna: What is the new creature? It’s a wombat bear, study says

Science Tips Tips Tricks Technology

A group of paleontologists recently revealed a new creature that resembles a wombat — only it’s four times as big and almost bear-like.

What happened:

  • A new study — published Thursday in the journal Scientific Reports — revealed the discovery of this creature, which is “so unusual it’s got its own family classification,” according to CNET.
  • The researchers said they discovered part of an animal skull, which was originally found in 1973 in Australia. It has now been linked to the wombat ancestor.
  • This cousin to the modern-day wombat is so unique it has earned its own marsupial classification, researchers said.

What the creature was like:

  • The creature — called Mukupirna, which means “big bones” in the Australian languages Dieri and Malyangapa language — was likely the size of a bear.
  • The creature’s teeth suggests the animal ate plants for the most part. The animal had strong limbs for digging, too, according to CNET.
  • Robin Beck, co-author on the study, said: “Mukupirna clearly was an impressive, powerful beast, at least three times larger than modern wombats.”
  • “Koalas and wombats are amazing animals but animals like Mukupirna show that their extinct relatives were even more extraordinary and many of them were giants.”

The bigger picture (literally)

  • Palaeontologist Trevor Worthy of Flinders University told ABC in Australia that the discovery of Mukupirna was going to happen eventually. He said the creature is a sign that huge creatures existed only a short time ago.
  • “It combines the skills of three generations of palaeontologists to describe a new and spectacular member of the Australian marsupial radiation revealing multiple 100+kg giants existed about 25 million years ago at the end of the Oligocene.”
  • University of Queensland paleontologist Gilbert Price agreed, according to ABC Australia.
  • “Studies like this show you can’t deny the fact that there were large animals around a long time before humans turned up that would have been susceptible to climatic change.”

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The realistic wildlife fine art paintings and prints of Jacquie Vaux begin with a deep appreciation of wildlife and the environment. Jacquie Vaux grew up in the Pacific Northwest, soon developed an appreciation for nature by observing the native wildlife of the area. Encouraged by her grandmother, she began painting the creatures she loves and has continued for the past four decades. Now a resident of Ft. Collins, CO she is an avid hiker, but always carries her camera, and is ready to capture a nature or wildlife image, to use as a reference for her fine art paintings.

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