An artist’s impression of Mukupirna nambensis living in central Australia that was much greener 25 million years ago. Credit: Peter Schouten / UNSW

A giant marsupial that roamed prehistoric Australia 25 million years ago is so different from its wombat cousins that scientists have had to create a new family to accommodate it.

The unique remains of a prehistoric, giant wombat-like marsupial – Mukupirna nambensis – that was unearthed in central Australia are so different from all other previously known extinct animals that it has been placed in a whole new family of marsupials.

Mukupirna – meaning “big bones” in the Dieri and Malyangapa Aboriginal languages – is described in a paper published on June 25, 2020, in Scientific Reports by an international team of paleontologists including researchers from…