Paleontologists in Queensland say they have uncovered the world's biggest marsupial

Paleontologists in Queensland say they have uncovered the world's biggest marsupial, a wombat-like creature that weighed about three tons and roamed the earth some 2.5 million years ago.


The Australian scientists have labeled him "the beast."  One of the researchers, Dr. Sue Hand, told the Telegraph, "It was the biggest of them all--the biggest marsupial that ever lived on any continent." The creature, which became extinct about 55,000 years ago, resembled a wombat, but looked more like a rhinoceros, with a tiny brain and massive tusks.

The virtually complete skeleton of the plant-eating diprotodon was found on a remote cattle station in Australia, in an area rich in the remains of prehistoric mega-fauna. The discovery of the 14-foot fossil makes it one of Australia's most significant prehistoric discoveries