Ancient wallaby ancestor reveals evolutionary leap for kangaroos

by Simon Mansfield
Sydney, Australia (SPX) Nov 12, 2025
Flinders University researchers have traced the origins of kangaroo locomotion by examining fossilized limb bones from Dorcopsoides fossilis, an extinct forest-wallaby ancestor found in the Alcoota fossil field of northern Australia. These marsupials, present about 7 million years ago during the Late Miocene, belonged to the Dorcopsini group, now confined to New Guinea.

Dr Isaac Kerr, from the Palaeontology Lab at Flinders University College of Science and Engineering, led the team that compared fossilized limbs from Dorcopsoides fossilis with those of living kangaroo and wallaby species. This analysis sheds light on how kangaroo evolutionary adaptations corresponded with changes in Australia's environment as rainforests disappeared and the continent became more arid.

Kangaroos in the Macropodinae subfamily diversified rapidly from 11 to 7 million years ago, evolving features that allowed them to thrive in open, dry habitats. Dorcopsoides fossilis displays physical traits similar to today's forest-wallabies but also possesses characteristics seen in grey kangaroos, indicating some capacity for powerful hopping and efficient movement through open terrain. "These features indicate the species was adapted in part to moving through open habitats, able to move efficiently to find food in the drying landscape," Dr Kerr explained.

Professor Gavin Prideaux, coauthor, added that this discovery provides the earliest direct evidence of adaptation to arid environments by kangaroo ancestors, complementing data from later fossils and genetic studies on Macropodinae evolution.

Describing its appearance, Dr Kerr noted, "Living forest-wallabies are peculiar, with slightly sad, whippet-like faces. Their strong, curved tails arch during slow movement so only the very tip touches the ground. Dorcopsoides fossilis may have looked like a larger, longer-legged version."

Research Report:Limb osteology and functional morphology of the extinct kangaroo Dorcopsoides fossilis (Macropodinae, Marsupialia) from Late Miocene central Australia

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