Although long dead, fossil skeletons provide an incredible window into the lifestyle and environment of an extinct animal.
We began by removing a section from the shaft of the bone and embedded it in resin. Using a diamond-edged blade, we cut our samples into thin sections and polished them further until light could pass through them. These thinned sections were mounted on glass microscope slides to be studied.
Remarkably, even after millions of years of fossilization, the microscopic structure of the fossil bones had remained intact. We were amazed to discover thatgrew in periodic spurts. Individuals had fast growth periods, each followed by a slow growth period, often associated with a band of arrested growth.Cyclical growth patterns have previously been documented for marsupials such as in the living western grey kangaroo.
Given the constant surprises that research into this extraordinary, extinct Riversleigh mammal has already produced, we are eager and prepared for still more.'s teeth to determine this legendary drop bear's diet. We expect that what we find down the track will continue to upend our naïve first presumptions about the lifestyles of this and many of the other strange inhabitants of the ancient inland rainforests of Riversleigh.
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