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New Fossils in Lightning Ridge Reveal 'Age of Monotremes'

May 26, 2024, 11:27 PM

New fossils unearthed in New South Wales (NSW) provide evidence for an 'Age of Monotremes', suggesting Australia once had a diverse range of egg-laying mammals. The fossils, found in an opal field at Lightning Ridge, reveal three new species, including a prehistoric species dubbed the 'echidnapus'. This discovery brings the tally of monotreme species found at Lightning Ridge to six, making it the most diverse monotreme site on Earth. The fossils foreshadow the modern platypus and echidna, the only two egg-laying mammals in the world today.