Overview
- Flinders University researchers described 25‑million‑year‑old remains of Obdurodon insignis from the Pinpa Local Fauna at Billeroo Creek in South Australia.
- The new material includes the species’ first known premolar and part of the shoulder girdle, which confirm adult teeth and a forelimb built for strong swimming.
- The tooth shape and large molars point to a diet that could crush hard‑shelled prey such as yabbies, crayfish, molluscs and clams.
- The animal was slightly larger than today’s platypus and, unlike the modern species, kept its teeth as an adult instead of switching to horny grinding pads.
- The peer‑reviewed study in Australian Zoologist places this toothed platypus in late Oligocene lakes with lungfish, waterfowl, flamingos and small freshwater dolphins, adding rare detail to monotreme evolution.