Scientists have solved a timeless question that has divided Andrew and myself, more than once leading us to come to blows...And as it turns out, only one species of giant wombat roamed the planet between 2 million and 10,000 years ago, despite evidence that they varied significantly in size. Boo hoo, Andrew. You lose again!
Majestic, weren't they?
A study by Gilbert Price in the last issue of the Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society , focused on tooth specimens of the giant wombats (the largest ever marsupials to reign on Earth). After comparing over...
...a thousand teeth, Price realized that they all displayed similar markings and thus appear to come from the same species.
Scientists previously studying giant prehistoric wombats had assumed that there existed anywhere from two even up to eighteen or more different species of wombat. This assumption was made because of the varying sizes of the adult fossils found. Specimens ranged from just a few feet long to up to nine feet long and almost six feet tall!
A large wombat in Australia. In this picture, it appears to be holding a stuffed animal.
Price and his team, however, are attributing the size range to sexual dimorphism (differences in size based on sex). They are speculating that the smaller prehistoric wombats were most likely female and the larger, male.
Says Price in his study, "As a single morphospecies, D. optatum had a near-continental geographical distribution, similar to that of extant megaherbivores, possibly indicating its niche as a habitat generalist." Or in layman's terms, suck it Andrew.
Life Science
Comments
Sure, they look cute.
But we're lucky they aren't that big anymore.
Posted by: Jives | June 24, 2008 2:32 PM
A large wombat in Australia. In this picture, it appears to be holding a stuffed animal.
sir!!!! comport yourself!
sincerely,
c.v. snicker
Posted by: chet snicker | June 24, 2008 3:30 PM
What a great "stuffed animal." Should fill with beans like a bean bag.
Posted by: ym | June 24, 2008 6:32 PM
Unlike most, I have personally been attacked by a wombat. Sure, they are cute and cuddly, until they get to be older males defending their territory, at which point they become VW Beetles with teeth and claws.
A 3m long wombat doesn't bear thinking about.
But I would hold off demanding my bet be paid out, if I were you. Morphological paleospecies are at best only a rough surrogate for actual species, and morphoclines are common between good species.
Posted by: John S. Wilkins | June 24, 2008 9:24 PM
One of the best picture books of all time: Diary of a Wombat!
Posted by: Leesy | June 25, 2008 1:42 PM
Oh, and in case you were wondering, yes, you can knit your own wombat (look in the top left hand Autralian-themed scene).
Posted by: Leesy | June 26, 2008 8:16 AM
what, no 'eats, roots, shoots, and leaves' joke?
Posted by: djlactin | June 29, 2008 5:38 AM
a la video c pas un wombat
Posted by: mael | January 16, 2009 1:16 PM
Hello, I was wondering if I might have permission to use the photo of the woman holding a full-grown wombat as an avatar?
Posted by: Steve Lind | February 25, 2009 7:44 PM
I wrote originally requesting permission to use the photo of a woman holding a wombat as an avatar. I replied to the e-mail you sent back but have received no response; possibly message did not transmit? The site on which I found the photo is: http://scienceblogs.com/zooillogix/2008/06/when_giant_wombats_ruled_the_e.php
thank you for considering my request!
Posted by: Steve Lind | February 27, 2009 4:58 PM