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| Obdurodon tharalkooschild | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Nov 5 2013, 05:34 PM (2,130 Views) | |
| Taipan | Nov 5 2013, 05:34 PM Post #1 |
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Obdurodon tharalkooschild![]() Temporal range: Middle and upper Miocene (5–15 mya) Scientific classification Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Order: Monotremata Family: Ornithorhynchidae Genus: †Obdurodon Species: †Obdurodon tharalkooschild Obdurodon is an extinct monotreme genus containing four species. It is sometimes referred as the Riversleigh Platypus, after the location of its discovery at Riversleigh. The Obdurodon differed from modern platypuses in that adult individuals retained their molar teeth (in the modern Platypus, individuals lose all of their teeth upon reaching adulthood). Obdurodon tharalkooschild was a Miocene species of platypus, in the genus Obdurodon. Now extinct, it is known from a single tooth found in found at the Two Tree Site fossil beds in Riversleigh in Queensland, Australia. The tooth was discovered in 2012 by a team from the University of New South Wales including Mike Archer, Suzanne Hand, and Rebecca Pian. The species was present in the middle and upper Miocene (5–15 million years ago). It is believed to have been carnivorous and twice the size of the modern platypus at a metre long. The name was chosen in honour of an indigenous Australian creation story for the platypus, where a duck named Tharalkoo gives birth to a chimeric creature after being ravished by a water-rat. Species - Obdurodon tharalkooschild Discovered in 2012 by a team from University of New South Wales including Mike Archer, Suzanne Hand, and Rebecca Pian. Habitat : Queensland Epoch : Middle and upper Miocene (5–15 mya) Evidence for Obdurodon tharalkooschild was based on a single molar tooth discovered at the Two Tree Site of the Riversleigh fossil beds in northwest Queensland. The species is believed to have been carnivorous and twice the size of the modern platypus at a metre long. The name was chosen in honour of an indigenous Australian creation story for the platypus, where a duck named Tharalkoo gives birth to a chimeric creature after being ravished by a water-rat. Fossil of Largest Platypus Discovered in Australia By Laura Poppick, Staff Writer | November 04, 2013 03:01pm ET 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. About the size of a child, the largest-known platypus roamed what is now Australia as far back as 15 million years ago, according to newfound fossil remains of the giant monotreme. A team of paleontologists from the University of New South Wales in Australia identified the new species, called Obdurodon tharalkooschild, based on a single molar they discovered in the Riversleigh fossil field in northwestern Queensland, Australia. From measurements of the molar, the scientists have estimated the animal grew to be about 1 meter long (3.3 feet), which is twice the size of a modern platypus, and larger than the previously largest-known platypus ancestor, Obdurdon dicksoni. Modern adult platypuses don't have teeth to compare the fossil to. But ancient platypuses, like O. dicksoni, did have teeth, and like many features of the platypus that set it apart from other mammals — such as its long bill, webbed feet and the fact that it lays eggs — platypus teeth are quite distinctive from all other mammal teeth, and are fairly easy to identify in the fossil record, study co-author Rebecca Pian, a graduate student at Columbia University, told LiveScience. "The overall shape of it, including the arrangement of the bumps on the top of the tooth, the way that those are arranged in a distinct shape, and the arrangement, shape and size of the roots are all distinctive," Pian said. "At least to somebody who knows what they are looking at." ![]() The researchers believe this molar came from the extinct platypus' lower jaw. The structure of the tooth suggests the animal was capable of eating not only the small insects and crayfish on which modern platypuses dine, but also small vertebrates such as certain fish and amphibians, and even small turtles, the team reports. Based on the sedimentary rocks and other fossil assemblages surrounding the area where the tooth was found, the team has estimated that the animal lived between 5 million and 15 million years ago, though they still need to conduct further analyses to determine a more precise age. Prior to this discovery, scientists had thought platypuses evolved fairly linearly, with only one species ever existing at any given time. But O. tharalkooschild appears to have coexisted with the slightly smaller O. dicksoni, suggesting the animal's evolutionary history is more complex than previously thought. "It means that there is lot that we still don't know," Pian said. "It's just highlighting how much we don't know about this very unique group of mammals, and how much there is still out there to learn about this group — where they came from, how they evolved, that kind of thing." For now, the team has concluded their analyses of the tooth and will have to wait until they find more remains of the animal to conduct any follow-up work. Pian is optimistic that they will find something in the coming years, given the overall abundance of well-preserved fossils at the Riversleigh site. The findings will be detailed next Tuesday (Nov. 12) in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. http://www.livescience.com/40930-new-giant-platypus.html Edited by Taipan, Nov 8 2013, 02:28 PM.
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12:02 AM Jul 12