Study says tiny lion with teeth like bolt-cutters once roamed Australia

6 Mar 2020

Study says tiny lion with teeth like bolt-cutters once roamed Australia

Study says tiny lion with teeth like bolt-cutters once roamed AustraliaScientists have discovered a new type of lion, which lived in Australia around 24 million years ago.

What do we know about this animal?

Scientists have named it Lekaneleo roskellyae.
 	It was very small, about the size of a domestic cat and lived on trees.
 	It was carnivorous (ate meat). Scientists say it had tiny but the most powerful flesh-cutting teeth that they've ever seen.
 	However, even though they are named "lions," they were more closely related to kangaroos and koalas.

Where did they make this discovery?

Researchers from the University of New South Wales, Australia, discovered the fossil at Riversleigh World Heritage Area in Queensland.
 	They initially thought it belonged to a family of marsupial lion which died out 35,000 years ago.
 	However, after they discovered more samples, they realized its a new type of marsupial lion.

What are marsupials?

They are a group of mammals who carry their young in a "pouch".
 	They are found in Australasia and the Americas.
 	Marsupials include koalas, kangaroos, wallabies and wombats.

Why is this discovery important?

Many diverse animals used to exist before but died out due to environmental change.
 	Understanding how they died out helps us understand how climate change will also affect modern-day animals.

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