Frans Lanting via Getty Images A Thylacoleo carnifex at an archaeological dig in Australia's Naracoorte National Park.

For years, the Australians have been lying to us.

Our “friends” down under have long perpetuated a blatant falsehood that their island nation is home to “drop bears” -- large, predatory koalas that supposedly drop from eucalyptus trees to kill and eat prey, including humans.

Even the Australian Museum perpetuates the hoax, with a page on its website written as if drop bears were real.

But guess what? The joke is on them. It turns out drop bears aren't totally the stuff of legend. Or at least, there was once a prehistoric creature that suspiciously resembles the animal of Australian lore, explained science writer Brian Switek in a National Geographic blog post this week.