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About the size of a child , the largest - know platypus roamed what is now Australia as far back as 15 million years ago , accord to newfound fossil remains of the giant monotreme .
A team of paleontologist from the University of New South Wales in Australia identified the Modern species , calledObdurodon tharalkooschild , based on a individual molar they break in the Riversleigh dodo field in northwestern Queensland , Australia . From mensuration of the molar , the scientist have estimated the animal grew to be about 1 cadence long ( 3.3 foot ) , which is twice the size ofa modern platypus , and larger than the antecedently great - knownplatypusancestor , Obdurdon dicksoni .
At about one meter (more than 3 feet) in length and with powerful teeth (inset: a first lower molar),Obdurodon tharalkooschild would have been capable of killing much larger prey, such as lungfish and even small turtles, than its much smaller living relative.
modernistic adult Ornithorhynchus anatinus do n’t have dentition to compare the fossil to . But ancient platypuses , likeO. dicksoni , did have teeth , and like many features of the platypus that set it aside from other mammals — such as its long greenback , webbed groundwork and the fact that it lays eggs — platypus teeth are quite distinctive from all other mammal teeth , and are fairly easy to identify in thefossil record , subject field co - source Rebecca Pian , a graduate pupil at Columbia University , tell LiveScience . [ Images : 25 Amazing Ancient Beasts ]
" The overall shape of it , including the arrangement of the jut on the top of the tooth , the direction that those are coif in a discrete shape , and the placement , shape and size of the antecedent are all classifiable , " Pian said . " At least to somebody who knows what they are looking at . "
The structure of the tooth advise the animal was capable of rust not only the little insects and crayfish on which modern platypuses dine , but also minuscule vertebrates such as sure fish andamphibians , and even small turtleneck , the squad report .
The researchers believe this molar came from the extinct platypus' lower jaw.
Based on the sedimentary rock and other dodo gathering beleaguer the domain where the tooth was found , the team has gauge that the animal lived between 5 million and 15 million years ago , though they still ask to conduct further analyses to determine a more precise geezerhood .
Prior to this discovery , scientist had thought platypuses develop fairly linearly , with only one species ever existing at any give time . ButO. tharalkooschildappears to have coexisted with the slenderly smallerO. dicksoni , suggesting the animal ’s evolutionary account is more complex than previously thought .
" It mean that there is lot that we still do n’t know , " Pian said . " It ’s just highlight how much we do n’t roll in the hay about this very unique group of mammals , and how much there is still out there to get word about this chemical group — where they derive from , how they evolved , that kind of matter . "
For now , the team has concluded their analyses of the tooth and will have to wait until they find more stiff of the animal to lead any stick with - up piece of work . Pian is optimistic that they will find something in the number years , give the overall copiousness of well - preserved fossils at the Riversleigh site .
The findings will be detail next Tuesday ( Nov. 12 ) in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology .
