L’Australia, prima dell’apparizione dell’homo sapiens, ospitava specie animali giganti come ad esempio canguri di 450 chili, wombat che pesavano quanto un rinoceronte, lucertole lunghe otto metri e tartarughe della grandezza di un’automobile.
Un wombat contemporaneo
Per molto tempo si è pensato che la loro estinzione, circa 45'000 anni fa, era da imputare ai cambiamenti climatici ma, un nuovo studio, avanza una nuova ipotesi. Secondo una ricerca apparsa sulla rivista Nature Communications sarebbero stati gli umani a metter fine alla loro esistenza. In che modo?
La causa è da ricercare nella caccia eccessiva di questi bestioni, soprattutto in tenera età. Settantamila anni fa inoltre, il sud-ovest del continente era ricoperto da eucalipto. E’ diventato poi una distesa arida 23'000 anni fa.
AFP/AlesS
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