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Diprotodontidae
The Diprotodontidae are an extinct family of large herbivorous marsupials, endemic to Australia and New Guinea during the Oligocene through Pleistocene periods from 28.4 million to 40,000 years ago. The family consisted of large quadrupedal terrestrial browsers, notably including the largest marsupial that ever lived, the rhino-sized ''Diprotodon''. The group first appeared during the Late Oligocene, with representatives that were mostly sheep-sized, and substantially diversified beginning during the Late Miocene, reaching an apex of diversity during the Pliocene with seven genera, likely due to the increase of open forested landscapes. The last known members of the group including ''Diprotodon'' and '' Zygomaturus'' from mainland Australia, and ''Hulitherium ''Hulitherium tomasetti'' (meaning "Huli beast", after the Huli people) is an extinct zygomaturine marsupial from New Guinea during the Pleistocene. The species name honours Berard Tomasetti, a Catholic priest in Papu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Diprotodon
''Diprotodon'' (Ancient Greek: "two protruding front teeth") is an extinct genus of marsupial from the Pleistocene of Australia, containing one species, ''D. optatum''. The earliest finds date to 1.77 million to 780,000 years ago, but most specimens are dated to after 110,000 years ago. Its massive fossils were first unearthed in 1830 in Wellington Caves, New South Wales, before any serious scientists were active on the continent, and were variably guessed to belong to rhinos, elephants, hippos, or dugongs. ''Diprotodon'', formally described by Sir Richard Owen in 1838, was the first named Australian fossil creature, and set Owen on a path to becoming the foremost authority of his time on other marsupials and Australian megafauna so enigmatic to European science. ''Diprotodon'' is the largest known marsupial to have ever lived, far dwarfing its closest living relatives, wombats and koalas. It grew as large as at the shoulders, over from head to tail, and possibly almost in w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Marsupial
Marsupials are any members of the mammalian infraclass Marsupialia. All extant marsupials are endemic to Australasia, Wallacea and the Americas. A distinctive characteristic common to most of these species is that the young are carried in a pouch. Marsupials include opossums, Tasmanian devils, kangaroos, koalas, wombats, wallabies, bandicoots, and the extinct thylacine. Marsupials represent the clade originating from the last common ancestor of extant metatherians, the group containing all mammals more closely related to marsupials than to placentals. They give birth to relatively undeveloped young that often reside in a pouch located on their mothers' abdomen for a certain amount of time. Close to 70% of the 334 extant species occur on the Australian continent (the mainland, Tasmania, New Guinea and nearby islands). The remaining 30% are found in the Americas—primarily in South America, thirteen in Central America, and one species, the Virginia opossum, in North America, n ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nototherium
''Nototherium'' ("Southern Beast") is an extinct genus of diprotodontid marsupial from Australia and New Guinea. This mammal had hypsodont molars and weighed around 500kg.Ross D.E. MacPhee, Hans-Dieter Sues, 1999, Extinctions in Near Time, p.251, Springer Science & Business Media It was a relative of the larger ''Diprotodon'' and a distant kin to modern wombats. Species * ''Nototherium inerme'' Owen, 1845 * ''Nototherium watutense'' Anderson, 1937 (formerly considered to be a member of ''Kolopsis ''Kolopsis'' is an extinct genus of diprotodontid marsupials from Australia and Papua New Guinea. It contains three species, although ''K. rotundus'' may be more closely related to other zygomaturines than to ''Kolopsis''. *†''Kolopsis rotu ...'') Plio-Pleistocene, New Guinea. * ''Nototherium mitchelli'' Owen, 1845 Pleistocene, Australia (possibly a junior synonym of ''N. inerme'') References * ''Wildlife of Gondwana: Dinosaurs and Other Vertebrates from the Ancient Super ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zygomaturus
''Zygomaturus'' is an extinct genus of giant marsupial belonging to the family Diprotodontidae which inhabited Australia from the Late Miocene to Late Pleistocene. Description It was a large animal, weighing 500 kg (1100 lbs) or over 700 kg (1544 lbs) and standing about 1.5 m (4.9 ft) tall and 2.5 m (8.2 ft) long. Palaeobiology In an analysis of remains from Cuddie Springs, the carbon isotope ratios suggests that it consumed both C3 and C4 plants, with a dental microwear texture indicative of browsing. Preserved remains suggest that ''Zygomaturus'' was widely distributed over Australia during the Pleistocene. Evolution and extinction The earliest members of the genus such as ''Zygomaturus gilli'' appeared during the Late Miocene, during the regional Waitean faunal stage. It is thought that the youngest species, ''Zygomaturus trilobus'' became extinct curing the latter half of the Late Pleistocene, with typical estimates being a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zygomaturinae
The Zygomaturinae are an extinct subfamily of marsupials. The phylogeny and taxonomy of this clade is poorly understood and problematic. Zygomaturines are currently thought to be a subfamily within Diprotodontidae The Diprotodontidae are an extinct family of large herbivorous marsupials, endemic to Australia and New Guinea during the Oligocene through Pleistocene periods from 28.4 million to 40,000 years ago. The family consisted of large quadrupedal te ..., rather than a distinct family. References * Prehistoric Mammals of Australia and New Guinea: One Hundred Million Years of Evolution by John A. Long, Michael Archer, Timothy Flannery, and Suzanne Hand (page 91) Prehistoric vombatiforms Chattian first appearances {{paleo-marsupial-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pyramios
''Pyramios'' is an extinct genus of diprotodont from the Miocene of Australia. It was very large, reaching a length of about 2.5 m (8.2 feet) and a height of about 1.5 m (4.92 feet). ''Pyramios'' is estimated to have weighed 700 kg (1102-1543 pounds). It was comparable in size to its cousin ''Diprotodon ''Diprotodon'' (Ancient Greek: "two protruding front teeth") is an extinct genus of marsupial from the Pleistocene of Australia, containing one species, ''D. optatum''. The earliest finds date to 1.77 million to 780,000 years ago, but most speci ...'', which is also in the family Diprotodontidae.http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/MammalPaleontology/message/672 References * Prehistoric Mammals of Australia and New Guinea: One Hundred Million Years of Evolution by John A. Long, Michael Archer, Timothy Flannery, and Suzanne Hand (page 16) Miocene marsupials Prehistoric mammals of Australia Prehistoric marsupial genera Fossil taxa described in 1967 Prehistoric v ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nimbadon
''Nimbadon'' is an extinct genus of diprotodont marsupial, that lived from the Late Oligocene to the Miocene epoches. Many fossils have been found in the Riversleigh World Heritage property in north-western Queensland. Unlike most members of the family, it is thought to have an arboreal Arboreal locomotion is the locomotion of animals in trees. In habitats in which trees are present, animals have evolved to move in them. Some animals may scale trees only occasionally, but others are exclusively arboreal. The habitats pose nu ..., rather than terrestrial lifestyle. In 1990, skulls were unearthed in a previously unknown cave in the region. Researchers estimate that the first species of ''Nimbadon'' first appeared about 25 million years ago and died out about 12 million years ago, perhaps from climate change-induced habitat loss. ''Nimbadon lavarackorum'' ''Nimbadon lavarackorum'' is described as being koala-like. It is known from as many as 24 well-articulated specimen ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Euryzygoma
''Euryzygoma'' is an extinct genus of marsupial which inhabited humid eucalyptus forests in Queensland and New South Wales during the Pliocene of Australia. ''Euryzygoma'' is believed to have weighed around 500 kg, and differed from other diprotodonts in having unusual, flaring cheekbones that may have been used either for storing food or for sexual display. ''Euryzygoma'' is thought to be the ancestral genus from which ''Diprotodon ''Diprotodon'' (Ancient Greek: "two protruding front teeth") is an extinct genus of marsupial from the Pleistocene of Australia, containing one species, ''D. optatum''. The earliest finds date to 1.77 million to 780,000 years ago, but most speci ...'' evolved. References * "Australia's Lost World: Prehistoric Animals of Riversleigh" by Michael Archer, Suzanne J. Hand, and Henk Godthelp * "Prehistoric Mammals of Australia and New Guinea: One Hundred Million Years of Evolution" by John A. Long, Michael Archer, Timothy Flannery, and Suzanne ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alkwertatherium
''Alkwertatherium'' is an extinct genus of marsupial of the family Diprotodontidae. Only one species has been described, ''Alkwertatherium webbi'', from the Late Miocene of Northern Territory The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory shares its borders with Western Aust ..., Australia. References * Heritage Advisory CouncilAlcoota Fossil Beds Heritage Notes 2002. Prehistoric vombatiforms Miocene mammals of Australia Miocene marsupials Prehistoric monotypic mammal genera Prehistoric marsupial genera Fossil taxa described in 1990 {{paleo-marsupial-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Prehistoric Mammal Families
Prehistory, also known as pre-literary history, is the period of human history between the use of the first stone tools by hominins 3.3 million years ago and the beginning of recorded history with the invention of writing systems. The use of symbols, marks, and images appears very early among humans, but the earliest known writing systems appeared 5000 years ago. It took thousands of years for writing systems to be widely adopted, with writing spreading to almost all cultures by the 19th century. The end of prehistory therefore came at very different times in different places, and the term is less often used in discussing societies where prehistory ended relatively recently. In the early Bronze Age, Sumer in Mesopotamia, the Indus Valley Civilisation, and ancient Egypt were the first civilizations to develop their own scripts and to keep historical records, with their neighbors following. Most other civilizations reached the end of prehistory during the following Iron Age. T ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sheep
Sheep or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are domesticated, ruminant mammals typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus ''Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to domesticated sheep. Like all ruminants, sheep are members of the order Artiodactyla, the even-toed ungulates. Numbering a little over one billion, domestic sheep are also the most numerous species of sheep. An adult female is referred to as a ''ewe'' (), an intact male as a ''ram'', occasionally a ''tup'', a castrated male as a ''wether'', and a young sheep as a ''lamb''. Sheep are most likely descended from the wild mouflon of Europe and Asia, with Iran being a geographic envelope of the domestication center. One of the earliest animals to be domesticated for agricultural purposes, sheep are raised for fleeces, meat (lamb, hogget or mutton) and milk. A sheep's wool is the most widely used animal fiber, and is usually harvested by shearing. In Commonw ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Prehistoric Vombatiforms
Prehistory, also known as pre-literary history, is the period of human history between the use of the first stone tools by hominins 3.3 million years ago and the beginning of recorded history with the invention of writing systems. The use of symbols, marks, and images appears very early among humans, but the earliest known writing systems appeared 5000 years ago. It took thousands of years for writing systems to be widely adopted, with writing spreading to almost all cultures by the 19th century. The end of prehistory therefore came at very different times in different places, and the term is less often used in discussing societies where prehistory ended relatively recently. In the early Bronze Age, Sumer in Mesopotamia, the Indus Valley Civilisation, and ancient Egypt were the first civilizations to develop their own scripts and to keep historical records, with their neighbors following. Most other civilizations reached the end of prehistory during the following Iron Age. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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