The ancestors of today's kangaroos walked and didn't hop across the ground, says new research from Brown University in Rhode Island.

Researchers analyzed bone and body structures of extinct giant kangaroo ancestors and discovered they apparently didn't have the ability to hop unlike modern day kangaroo.

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These ancient kangaroos called "sthenurines" were indigenous to Australia around 13 million years ago. The animals died out 30,000 years before the Common Era, which wasn't long before the first humans emerged on the continent.

The largest species from the sthenurine family are the Procoptodon goliahs that stand over six feet tall and measured 10 feet long from nose to tail. They weighed a massive 530 pounds and had faces resembling modern day rabbits.

They walked upright like humans as opposed to modern kangaroos that cannot walk this way.

According to Christine Janis, paleontologist from Brown University, today's kangaroos hop fast. But at a slower pace, kangaroos revert to a pentapedal walk where they use their four legs and their tail.

Researchers investigated 140 kangaroo skeletons. They also examined kangaroo cousins like wallabies and found body structure evidence that kangaroo ancestors indeed walked instead of hopped.

Teeth samples also demonstrated these ancestors ate leaves from the trees as opposed to grass and bushes, proving these extinct animals stood upright.

Researchers also believe smaller sthenurines preferred walking most of the time despite having the capability to hop at fast speeds. Larger sthenurines were more likely to walk compared to the smaller species.

The sheer gargantuan size of the Procoptodon suggested they had a difficult time hopping because of their limited tendon strength. The Procoptodon species are also described as having a short face instead of their modern counterparts that have long faces.

This study of kangaroo ancestors was published in the journal, PLOS One.

TagsGiant Kangaroo Ancestors Walked Like Humans Not Hopped, Australia, kangaroos, kangaroo ancestors, giant huge ancient ancestors kangaroos walked not hopped too heavy, procoptodon