Ancient Marsupials Rewriting Evolution | Science News

Science News Today | 2 Min News | The Daily News Now! · Jul 19, 2026 · 2m

Scientists have unearthed fossils of a mysterious, insect-eating marsupial group called Keeunamorphia, revealing Australia’s ancient mammal evolution was far more complex than previously believed. These tiny creatures, which lived in rainforests 18 million years ago and vanished as climates shifted, may be ancestral to today’s carnivorous marsupials. Their unique teeth and genetic ties to modern species suggest a separate evolutionary branch that thrived for millions of years, challenging the idea that marsupials descended from a single ancestor. This discovery hints that Australia once…