Standing around three feet high, the modern koala is roughly 25 pounds of claws and teeth, tufty ears and fluffy white marsupial tummy. You could give one a hug — experts suggest that they prefer it if you don’t — but you wouldn’t want to carry it around all day. Now imagine that same koala, or one quite like it, weighing in at a much more manageable (and potentially cuter) six pounds. Researchers at Flinders University in Adelaide, Australia, believe that such a creature, named Lumakoala blackae, once made its home in the country’s Northern Territory some 25 million years ago, most likely spending its days snacking on soft leaves and the occasional insect. Their research, based on the discovery of fossilized molars at the Pwerte Marnte Marnte fossil site in the Australian outback, was published in the journal Scientific Reports this month.

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Persons: Lumakoala blackae Organizations: Flinders University Locations: Adelaide, Australia, Northern Territory