microrobert
06-03-2013, 07:55 AM
20-Million-Year-Old Koala Discovered, Named after Australian Philanthropist Dick Smith
Australian paleontologists have discovered a new species of koala that lived in rainforests of northern Australia some 20 million years ago.
http://cdn4.sci-news.com/images/2013/05/image_1114-litokoala.jpg
Skull of the newly discovered Litokoala dicksmithi and the larger skull of a modern koala
The discovery, reported in the Journal of Systematic Palaeontology (http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14772019.2013.768304), brings the number of known prehistoric species of koala to eighteen. Today, only one species of koala (Phascolarctos cinereus) is alive.
The new koala species was named Litokoala dicksmithi in honor of the Australian political activist, aviator, entrepreneur and philanthropist Dick Smith.
20-Million-Year-Old Koala Discovered, Named after Australian Philanthropist Dick Smith | Paleontology | Sci-News.com (http://www.sci-news.com/paleontology/article01114-litokoala-dicksmithi-koala-dick-smith-australia.html)
Australian paleontologists have discovered a new species of koala that lived in rainforests of northern Australia some 20 million years ago.
http://cdn4.sci-news.com/images/2013/05/image_1114-litokoala.jpg
Skull of the newly discovered Litokoala dicksmithi and the larger skull of a modern koala
The discovery, reported in the Journal of Systematic Palaeontology (http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14772019.2013.768304), brings the number of known prehistoric species of koala to eighteen. Today, only one species of koala (Phascolarctos cinereus) is alive.
The new koala species was named Litokoala dicksmithi in honor of the Australian political activist, aviator, entrepreneur and philanthropist Dick Smith.
20-Million-Year-Old Koala Discovered, Named after Australian Philanthropist Dick Smith | Paleontology | Sci-News.com (http://www.sci-news.com/paleontology/article01114-litokoala-dicksmithi-koala-dick-smith-australia.html)