Credit: University of Manchester
A sleepy koala may seem worlds apart from a giant Ice Age predator, but scientists have uncovered the first molecular evidence linking the two.
The discovery, published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, provides the first biomolecular data linking several extinct Australian megafauna species to their living relatives.
Unlocking ancient relationships with collagen
Led by Dr. Michael Buckley at The University of Manchester, an international team analyzed 51 fossilized marsupial bones collected from caves and swamps across Tasmania—one of the last refuges of these giant animals. Using an innovative technique called zooarchaeology by mass spectrometry (ZooMS), or collagen fingerprinting, the team was able to analyze fossils more than 100,000 years old—far beyond the age limit for traditional DNA analysis.
Dr. Buckley said, “Until now, we’ve struggled to determine exactly how many of these extinct species were related because Australia’s hot climate destroys DNA over time. However, collagen proteins survive in much older and even extremely fragmented bones, allowing us to identify species and reconstruct the evolutionary relationships between extinct and living marsupials that could not be achieved through traditional methods.”
Surprising connections among Australian megafauna
The most surprising discovery was that, despite being wildly different animals, the koala and the marsupial lion—one of the largest meat-eating mammals ever to roam Australia—shared a common ancestor around 25–35 million years ago. This places the two animals much closer than previously thought.
The research also provides new biomolecular data for two other extinct species—Zygomaturus trilobus and Palorchestes azael. Comparisons of their ancient collagen sequences confirmed that both belonged to the broader wombat–koala group, known as Vombatiformes.
Implications for extinction mysteries and future research
The findings could help solve one of Australia’s biggest prehistoric mysteries surrounding the extinction of the continent’s giant animals.
During the Late Pleistocene, Australia lost nearly 90% of its giant land animals in one of the greatest extinction events in Earth’s history. Scientists are still debating whether the cause was climate change, human hunting, or a combination of both.
Because ZooMS can identify even tiny bone fragments and reveal their species, it could help scientists refine the timeline of when Australia’s megafauna disappeared and how long they overlapped with humans.
Dr. Buckley added, “ZooMS also allows thousands of fossil specimens to be analyzed quickly, so it could be a game-changer for the study of extinct species. We can now identify more fossils, improve extinction chronologies, and better understand ancient biodiversity.”
More information:
Michael Buckley et al, Collagen fingerprinting and sequence analysis provides a molecular phylogeny of extinct Australian megafauna, Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences (2025). DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2025.0856
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Scientists uncover surprising link between koala and Ice Age ‘marsupial lion’ (2025, November 13)
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