Rock-wallaby interbreeding causes rethink on evolution »

Scientists have discovered that rock-wallabies living in north east Queensland are sharing genetic material despite belonging to six different species. Rock-wallabies are a very interesting system to explore. It's exciting because it's an iconic Australian marsupial and it brings our research to the forefront of evolutionary theory. Scientists have discovered that rock-wallabies living in north east Queensland are sharing genetic material despite belonging to six different species. These results suggest that the evolution of these iconic Australian marsupials is far more complex than the long-held theory of how species originate. "Understanding these evolutionary processes is pretty fundamental in biology because it helps us define what a species is and understand how different species form," said lead researcher Dr Sally Potter from The Australian National University (ANU). It was previously thought that mating between different rock-wallaby species could not result in fertile offspring.