Ancient DNA extracted from extinct Giant kangaroos

A team of scientists led by Dr Bastien Llamas and Professor Alan Cooper from the University of Adelaide's Australian Centre for Ancient DNA (ACAD) have extracted DNA sequences from two species: a giant short-faced kangaroo (Simosthenurus occidentalis) and a giant wallaby (Protemnodon anak). These specimens died around 45,000 years ago and their remains were discovered in a cold and dry cave in Tasmania.

Dr Bastien Llamas with a skull of an extinct short-faced kangaroo (Simosthenurus occidentalis)

From the out come of this research work it is found that the extinct giant wallabies are very close relatives of large living kangaroos, such as the red and western grey kangaroos. Their skeletons had suggested they were quite primitive macropods─a group that includes kangaroos, wallabies, pademelons and quokka.

The research has also confirmed that short-faced kangaroos are a highly distinct lineage of macropods, which had been predicted on their unusual anatomy.

In addition to poor DNA preservation, most of the extinct Australian megafauna do not have very close relatives roaming around today, which makes it more difficult to retrieve and interpret the genetic data.

Although ancient DNA confirms that the short-faced kangaroos left no descendants, it also shows their closest living cousin could be the banded hare-wallaby (Lagostrophus fasciatus), which is now restricted to small isolated islands off the coast of Western Australia.

The research is published online (ahead of print) in Molecular Biology and Evolution.

Source: Science Daily