Fossils suggest giant prehistoric kangaroos never hopped too far

Despite their size, species of prehistoric giant kangaroos from a site in Queensland were probably homebodies with a surprisingly small range compared with other kangaroos, according to Australian research.

- Petra Stock

Protemnodon, which lived on the Australian continent between 5m and 40,000 years ago, was significantly larger than its modern relatives. Some species weighed up to 170kg (375lb), making them more than twice as heavy as the largest red kangaroo.

Given their size, researchers had thought they may have had an expansive territory, said Chris Laurikainen Gaete, a palaeo-ecologist at the University of Wollongong in New South Wales and co-author of the study, published in Plos One.