More than 40,000 years ago, Australia used to be home to many species of giant kangaroos. One, the short-faced kangaroo, had a single-toed clawed foot (modern-day kangaroos have three toes), and weighed more than 260 pounds (118 kilograms, modern-day kangaroos reach only 200 lbs). And the short-faced kangaroo had a box-shaped head. A recent study of the short-faced kangaroo’s odd skull shape found that it was specifically adapted to eat tough foods like mature leaves, stems, and branches when other food sources were scarce.
That makes the short-faced kangaroo very similar to the modern-day giant panda. They both have thick jaws, and specialized skulls, evolved for eating the toughest plants that other animals can’t. When times are hard, the short-faced kangaroo and the giant panda both have a competitive edge.
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