Australian's marsupials are loved the world over for the uniqueness and
cuteness. But what if they were ten times their size? Would they still
be considered cute and furry or would they be considered beasts? The
truth is that over 40,000 years ago the marsupials that populated
Australia were actually quite large and frightening. There was
the marsupial lion, which the BBC reports had the "most powerful bite of any mammal species -- living or extinct." There was the D. optatum, a massive wombat that the BBC says "reached more than two and a half tonnes on average." And there were many, many other giant marsupials and dangerous creatures that used to roam Australia including meat-eating kangaroos according to another BBC new story:
One of those monsters was a seven-metre long goanna lizard (Megalania prisca).
An adult would have weighed up to 600 kg. Then there were the tree-climbing
crocodiles, (Trilophosuchus rackhami) nicknamed the "drop crocs" for the way
they are thought to have leapt down on to their victims.
"And if that didn't get you," Professor Archer said, "there were meat-eating
kangaroos that would have stood up at your shoulder and torn your arm off."
