‘Platypus-zilla’ fossil unearthed in Queensland Australia

Archaeologists in Australia’s Queensland province have unearthed the partial skeletal fossil of what they believe are a prehistoric platypus or Obdurodon tharalkooschild. This one platypus was so large compared to its modern-day equivalents that it has been nicknamed “platypus-zilla”.

The researchers believe it could have been as long as one meter (~3ft) which is almost 100% larger than its descendants. In fact, the researchers claim that the average human being would be afraid to swim besides such a creature. They believe that the creature survived on a diet of fish, frogs, turtles, and crustaceans.

They now believe that there are previously unknown branches to the evolutionary lineage of the mammal. This singular finding is believed to be between 5 and 15 million years old. It should be noted that the skeleton is not complete so that the researchers cannot determine the exact shape and look of this creature. In all honesty, the scientists said that the remains they found represents but a “little” portion of the full skeleton and that to try and determine what it looked like would involve speculation which presumably isn’t invoked in science. However, given the small sample of the skeleton, it appears that speculation has already been invoked.

Prof Mike Archer, from the University of New South Wales, said: “Suddenly up pops ‘playtpus-zilla’ – this gigantic monstrosity that you would have been afraid to swim with.

“It indicates there are branches in the platypus family tree that we hadn’t suspected before.”

“The discovery of this new one was a bit of a shock to us. It was a wake-up call that the platypus’s story, the more we know about it, is increasingly more complicated than we thought.”

The research team are now hoping to discover more platypus fossils in the same area to try to shed more light these enigmatic Australian animals.

On The Web:
New Platypus-Zilla Species Discovered
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/weird-news/new-platypus-zilla-species-discovered-after-2677876