Australia - Monster platypus find
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Thanks to a large ancient tooth, a university student has filled in an evolutionary gap with a giant carnivorous platypus that became extinct at least 5 million years ago.
The extinct species was probably around a meter long, three times the average 38cm length of the modern platypus. Before the discovery in northern Australia, fossil records suggested only one species of platypus lived at any one time, with the creatures, and their teeth, becoming smaller over time.
“A new platypus species, even one that is highly incomplete, is a very important in understanding these fascinating mammals,” said the discoverer, paleontology student Rebecca Pian.
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