Giant platypus discovered in Queensland

The fossilised tooth of a giant platypus has been found in Queensland.

The scientists who found the tooth think it belonged to a platypus that was one-metre long and ate crayfish, fish, frogs and small turtles. Modern platypuses grow to about fifty centimetres long, don't have any teeth and mostly eat crayfish and other small crustaceans.

The new species is named Obdurodon tharalkooschild after a character in an Aboriginal dreamtime story called Tharalkoo. She was a duck that mated with a water rat and gave birth to the first platypus.

But here at Death Ray Science News we're calling it...

Predatorpus!

Now you know why turtles and platypuses don't get along
Drawing by Peter Schouten, tooth photo by Rebecca Pian

The giant platypus joins a long list of giant Australian animals called megafauna.

Destruction Duck!

A three-metre tall duck, Dromornis stirtoni. By Nobu Tamura

Lion-Tiger!

Marsupial lion, Thylacoleo carnifex. By Nobu Tamura

Sheepchidna!

An echidna the size of a sheep, Zaglossus hacketti. Unknown artist

Killeroo!

A two-metre tall kangaroo, Procoptodon goliah. By Nobu Tamura

Hippowombat!

A three-metre long wombat, Diprotodon optatum. By Dmitry Bogdanov

And now, to the question on everyone's lips. Who would win in a fight?

I vote for the duck.

Mega-links
Read more about the giant platypus and the site where they found the fossil.
Check out more megafauna at ABC Science.