An odd marsupial that used to snack on snails was discovered from the 24 million years old Riversleigh World Heritage fossil deposits in Queensland, Australia.

This newly found ancient animal known as Malleodectides or translated as "wondrous hammer biter" can be described as a furry creature estimated to be the size of a ferret and possessed giant premolars that are specifically made for cracking open and breaking down whole snails.

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Scientists from the University of Salford, Manchester and University of New South Wales, believe that this snail feasting vicious animal could also be related to other native marsupials that are also carnivorous such as the already extinct Tasmanian Tiger and the endangered Tasmanian Devil.

Prior to this, past research already uncovered some of the remains of the Malleodectidae however, researchers did not realize that they are already analyzing an entire new species when they found a 15 million year old skull from a younger specimen that is buried inside the limestone floor of the cave.

According to lead author of the study, Mike Archer from the University of New South Wales, the Malleodectes mirabilis is indeed a bizarre mammal, that thrived on a diet of snails, which can be considered as its own class so unique such as the koala or kangaroo.

Archer says that its most distinct features were its very huge and extremely powerful premolars that serve as hammers that have the ability to crack and crush the hardest snail shells out there.

Researchers say that this juvenile specimen was teething at the time it died, still possessing baby teeth, where its adult teeth were only starting to emerge. The cause of death of this little marsupial could have involved falling off its mother's back while hunting for snails among rocks around the cave, and fallen into the cave.

Archer adds that about 15 million years ago, the Riversleigh region was thickly covered in rainforest however, due to changing climates at the time, plants and animals suffered greatly, disappearing from this once lush habitat.

This new study is published in the journal Scientific Reports.

Tagsmarsupials, Australia, carnivorous marsupial snails, snail eating marsupial