These giant armored lizards roamed South Australia 40,000 years ago.

Fossil analyzes led to the description of a new species of prehistoric reptile. With an impressive cuirass and fearsome jaws, this creature roamed what is now South Australia during the late Pleistocene.

Tilica frankens

In 2009 and 2013, scientists discovered two mysterious fossils (part of a jaw bone and a skull) in Wellington Caves, New South Wales. If these appear to belong to the skin race, the family Lizards Found on almost all continents and today there are nearly 1,700 species, their size is extraordinary.

An in-depth analysis of dozens of similar fossils recently discovered at an Australian site has revealed that they all belong to the same species: a giant prehistoric skink. Tilica frankens who lived in the region about 47,000 years ago. His close relative Diligua rugosaAlso known as rough skin, especially found in the drier parts of New South Wales.

A comparison of their bone properties suggests that D. Frankens It would have been twice as heavy and tall D. rugosaMost modern skinks weighing ten centimeters weigh no more than 2 grams, weighing about 2.3 kilograms per 60 centimeters in length.

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A giant skink with spiked armor and powerful jaws roamed Australia’s interior as far back as 47,000 years ago, according to newly discovered fossils. https://t.co/bVO1Lo12O5

— News Scientist (@newsscientist) June 16, 2023

Fossil evidence includes teeth, parts of the skull, bone armor, vertebrae and leg bones. D. Frankens It had a broad and deep skull, powerful jaws and thick spiked armor. Reptile, its short, stubby legs suggest that it moved slowly to ward off its predators. Like it D. rugosaIt mainly feeds on plants.

A species once widespread in South Australia

The authors of a new study published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society bThey also identified other evidence of ancient skin in old museum collections, indicating the species was once widespread in the dry, open environment of southern Australia.

D. Frankens Giant kangaroos and other marsupials, including wombats and “marsupial lions,” lived at the same time. Occurring 40,000 years ago, it disappeared along with other representatives of Australia’s prehistoric megafauna, possibly related to the arrival of humans or climate change.