Scientists uncover surprising link between koala and Ice Age 鈥渕arsupial lion鈥�
A sleepy koala may seem worlds apart from a giant Ice Age predator, but scientists have uncovered the first molecular evidence linking the two.
The discovery, published in the journal , provides the first biomolecular data linking several extinct Australian megafauna species to their living relatives.
Led by at The University of Manchester, an international team analysed 51 fossilised marsupial bones collected from caves and swamps across Tasmania 鈥� one of the last refuges of these giant animals. Using an innovative technique called zooarchaeology by mass spectrometry (ZooMS), or collagen fingerprinting, the team was able to analyse fossils more than 100,000 years old 鈥� far beyond the age limit for traditional DNA analysis.
Dr Buckley said: 鈥淯ntil now, we鈥檝e struggled to determine exactly how many of these extinct species were related because Australia鈥檚 hot climate destroys DNA over time. However, collagen proteins survive in much older and even extremely fragmented bones, allowing us to identify species and reconstruct the evolutionary relationships between extinct and living marsupials that could not be achieved through traditional methods.鈥�
The most surprising discovery was that despite being wildly different animals, the koala and the marsupial lion - one of the largest meat-eating mammals ever to roam Australia - shared a common ancestor around 25-35 million years ago. This places the two animals much closer previously thought.
The research also provides new biomolecular data for two other extinct species 鈥� Zygomaturus trilobus and Palorchestes azael. Comparisons of their ancient collagen sequences confirmed that both belonged to the broader wombat鈥搆oala group, known as Vombatiformes.
The findings could help solve one of Australia鈥檚 biggest prehistoric mysteries surrounding the extinction of the continent鈥檚 giant animals.
During the Late Pleistocene, Australia lost nearly 90% of its giant land animals in one of the greatest extinction events in Earth鈥檚 history. Scientists are still debating whether the cause was climate change, human hunting, or a combination of both.
Because ZooMS can identify even tiny bone fragments and reveal their species, it could help scientists refine the timeline of when Australia鈥檚 megafauna disappeared and how long they overlapped with humans.
Dr Bucky added: 鈥淶ooMS also allows thousands of fossil specimens to be analysed quickly, so it could be a game-changer for the study of extinct species. We can now identify more fossils, improve extinction chronologies, and better understand ancient biodiversity.鈥�
This paper was published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B
Full title: Collagen fingerprinting and sequence analysis provides a molecular phylogeny of extinct Australian megafauna
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