A giant creature which used to roam on the streets of Australia, some 45, 000 years ago was likely to be died out not because of climate change, but due to human activities, suggested a recently published study. During a scientific breakthrough, the researchers from Monash University in Victoria, Australia and the University of Colorado Boulder found solid evidence of some massive and astounding species that once roamed Australian cities which are clearly indicating that the primary reason behind their death is human beings, not climate change.
The scientists have discovered some evidence of ancient poop, which confirmed the existence of a massive and monstrous animal in the city, around 45, 000 years ago. Conducted by the research team from Monash University and the University of Colorado Boulder, the study involved the detailed experiment of the ancient poop. The researchers also draw upon the information from a residue core which had spores from a toadstool, known as Sporormiella.
The studied residue core enabled the scientists to get a blurred idea about the ancient Australia. The experiment of the toadstool, called Sporormiella helped them to look back into many centuries back, might be more than 150,000 years, when the last full glacial sequence of Earth took place. In the residue core layers, the researchers found the fungal spores from the plant-eating mammal dung to be plentiful in number, which is expected to date back 150,000 years to nearly 45,000 years.
After studying the ocean sediment core, the scientists concluded the southwest to be one of the few Australian areas that had intense forests both 45,000 years ago and nowadays too. It means, like the current era, before 45, 000 years ago, it was also a breeding ground for biodiversity. Due to the compactness of trees and shrubs, the scientists now expect it to likely be the last residing areas of those massive creatures, some 45,000 years back. At that time there were no significant changes in climate, neither we have any proof of climate change, which means, the possible human activities have caused the extinction of the mysterious huge animal in Australia, said the lead author.
The study, co-led by Sander van der Kaars of Monash University and professor Gifford Miller from the University of Colorado Boulder, was published in the academic journal ‘Nature Communications’, on this Thursday.