格里菲斯大学研究团队在南澳大利亚开展的一项新研究，为破解灭绝巨型动物的秘密提供了突破口。[1]博士候选人梅格·沃克和澳大利亚人类进化研究中心主任朱利安·卢伊斯教授领导的研究小组，对绿水洞和古尔登斯陷阱洞两个水下洞穴系统中的动物骨骼进行了分析。[1]研究发现，水下洞穴环境虽然能够极好地保存骨骼遗骸，但会在化石表面留下独特的化学和生物学标记，这些标记因周围水中的光线和生物条件而异。[1]
这项研究建立了首个解读水下洞穴中灭绝巨型动物化石如何形成、保存和演变的分析框架，为古生物学家和考古学家提供了强有力的新工具。[1]研究团队分析的样本来自绿水洞和古尔登斯陷阱洞，包括牛、袋鼠、鸸鹋、羊、猪、野狗、兔子、负鼠、棕袋鼠和沼鼠等多种动物的骨骼。[1]相关成果已于2026年发表在《PLOS One》杂志第21卷第7期（文章编号e0343896），论文题为《水下洞穴中脊椎动物遗址形成的新埋藏学特征》。[1]
Researchers from Griffith University have developed the first framework for understanding how fossils of extinct megafauna form and survive in underwater cave systems.[1] The study, led by doctoral candidate Meg Walker and Professor Julien Louys, director of the Australian Research Centre for Human Evolution, analyzed animal bones from two submerged cave systems in South Australia: Green Waterhole and Gouldens Sinkhole.[1]
The research reveals that while underwater caves preserve skeletal remains exceptionally well, the specific cave environment leaves distinctive chemical and biological markers on bones that depend on factors such as light levels and biological activity in the surrounding water.[1] By examining remains from various species—including cattle, kangaroos, emus, sheep, pigs, dingoes, rabbits, possums, wombats, and swamp rats—the team established characteristic "fingerprints" unique to each cave setting.[1] This new analytical approach provides paleontologists and archaeologists with a powerful tool for interpreting how fossilized remains were deposited and altered over time in subaquatic environments.[1] The findings were published in PLOS ONE, Volume 21, Issue 7, Article e0343896, in 2026.[1]