Bizarre Australian mole even more unusual than first thought, new research reveals Experts say marsupial mole DNA shows they are closely linked to bandicoots and bilbies and their ancestors likely evolved in a rainforest environment.
Despite the animal’s striking resemblance to “true” moles from Africa and parts of the northern hemisphere, marsupial moles were most closely related to bandicoots and bilbies, the study in Science Advances said.
Dr Stephen Frankenberg, who specialises in reproductive biology and genetics and was the lead author of the study, said the analysis showed the species probably lost its eyesight progressively over millions of years, with the lens deteriorating first, then colour vision.
University of Melbourne researchers, who led the study, extracted DNA from a museum specimen then sequenced and analysed its genome to uncover the evolutionary secrets of the golden-haired species, about which “almost nothing is known”.
New research into one of Australia’s most specialised and bizarre animals has revealed the marsupial mole’s biology is as unusual as its appearance.
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