Fossil Find Could Save One of Australia's Most Endangered Species

Diminished annual snowfall in Australia's "Alps"—like on 5,922 foot Mt. Buller, seen here—has eroded the mountain pygmy possums' habitat.

Image credit: thomasrdotorg/Flickr

Snow, it has long been thought, is essential to the survival of the highly-specialized mountain pygmy possum, which burrows beneath the drifts to hibernate each year. Global warming, however, is shrinking this already limited habitat range to a few dangerously small patches.
The fate of the possum, then, seems to be sealed but a new discovery in the fossil record suggests that there may be more hope for this species than anyone thought.

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