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Phascolarctid
The Phascolarctidae (''φάσκωλος (phaskolos)'' - pouch or bag, ''ἄρκτος (arktos)'' - bear, from the Greek ''phascolos'' + ''arctos'' meaning pouched bear) is a family (biology), family of Marsupialia, marsupials of the order Diprotodontia, consisting of only one extant species, the koala, and six well-known fossil species, with another five less well known fossil species, and two fossil species of the genus ''Koobor'', whose taxonomy is debatable but are placed in this group. The closest relatives of the Phascolarctidae are the wombats, which comprise the family Vombatidae. The fossil record of the family dates back to the Middle Miocene or Late Oligocene. Classification Family Phascolarctidae * Genus ''Nimiokoala'' **Riversleigh rainforest koala - ''Nimiokoala greystanesi'' * Genus ''Invictokoala'' **''Invictokoala monticola'' * Genus ''Madakoala'' **''Madakoala robustus'' **''Madakoala wellsi'' **''Madakoala devisi'' * Genus ''Litokoala'' **''Litokoala garyjohnst ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Phascolarctos
''Phascolarctos'' is a genus of marsupials with one living species, the koala ''Phascolarctos cinereus'', an iconic animal of Australia. Several extinct species of the genus are known from fossil material, these were also large tree dwellers that browsed on ''Eucalyptus'' leaves. Taxonomy The genus was named by French zoologist Henri Marie Ducrotay de Blainville in 1816. The type species, the modern koala, was named as '' Lipurus cinereus'' by G. A. Goldfuss in 1817, later combined as ''Phascolarctos cinereus''. Goldfuss published this name with a reproduction of John Lewin's 1803 illustration of the species in New South Wales. An accepted synonomy of other generic names referring to ''Phascolarctos'' was published in 1988. The koala is listed in national conservation legislation as "''Phascolarctos cinereus'' (combined populations of Qld, NSW and the ACT)", previously determined in 2012 to be "a species for the purposes of the EPBC act 1999" (EPBC). The koala was classified as ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Phascolarctos Cinereus
The koala or, inaccurately, koala bear (''Phascolarctos cinereus''), is an arboreal herbivorous marsupial native to Australia. It is the only extant representative of the family Phascolarctidae and its closest living relatives are the wombats. The koala is found in coastal areas of the mainland's eastern and southern regions, inhabiting Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, and South Australia. It is easily recognisable by its stout, tailless body and large head with round, fluffy ears and large, spoon-shaped nose. The koala has a body length of and weighs . Fur colour ranges from silver grey to chocolate brown. Koalas from the northern populations are typically smaller and lighter in colour than their counterparts further south. These populations possibly are separate subspecies, but this is disputed. Koalas typically inhabit open ''Eucalyptus'' woodland, as the leaves of these trees make up most of their diet. Because this eucalypt diet has limited nutritional and calori ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Koala
The koala or, inaccurately, koala bear (''Phascolarctos cinereus''), is an arboreal herbivorous marsupial native to Australia. It is the only extant representative of the family Phascolarctidae and its closest living relatives are the wombats. The koala is found in coastal areas of the mainland's eastern and southern regions, inhabiting Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, and South Australia. It is easily recognisable by its stout, tailless body and large head with round, fluffy ears and large, spoon-shaped nose. The koala has a body length of and weighs . Fur colour ranges from silver grey to chocolate brown. Koalas from the northern populations are typically smaller and lighter in colour than their counterparts further south. These populations possibly are separate subspecies, but this is disputed. Koalas typically inhabit open ''Eucalyptus'' woodland, as the leaves of these trees make up most of their diet. Because this eucalypt diet has limited nutritional and calor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Koalas
The koala or, inaccurately, koala bear (''Phascolarctos cinereus''), is an arboreal herbivorous marsupial native to Australia. It is the only extant representative of the family Phascolarctidae and its closest living relatives are the wombats. The koala is found in coastal areas of the mainland's eastern and southern regions, inhabiting Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, and South Australia. It is easily recognisable by its stout, tailless body and large head with round, fluffy ears and large, spoon-shaped nose. The koala has a body length of and weighs . Fur colour ranges from silver grey to chocolate brown. Koalas from the northern populations are typically smaller and lighter in colour than their counterparts further south. These populations possibly are separate subspecies, but this is disputed. Koalas typically inhabit open ''Eucalyptus'' woodland, as the leaves of these trees make up most of their diet. Because this eucalypt diet has limited nutritional and calori ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Koala
The koala or, inaccurately, koala bear (''Phascolarctos cinereus''), is an arboreal herbivorous marsupial native to Australia. It is the only extant representative of the family Phascolarctidae and its closest living relatives are the wombats. The koala is found in coastal areas of the mainland's eastern and southern regions, inhabiting Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, and South Australia. It is easily recognisable by its stout, tailless body and large head with round, fluffy ears and large, spoon-shaped nose. The koala has a body length of and weighs . Fur colour ranges from silver grey to chocolate brown. Koalas from the northern populations are typically smaller and lighter in colour than their counterparts further south. These populations possibly are separate subspecies, but this is disputed. Koalas typically inhabit open ''Eucalyptus'' woodland, as the leaves of these trees make up most of their diet. Because this eucalypt diet has limited nutritional and calor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Riversleigh Rainforest Koala
The Riversleigh rainforest koala (''Nimiokoala greystanesi'') is an extinct marsupial, closely related to the extant koala, that inhabited northwestern Queensland in the early-middle Miocene (23–16 million years ago). Along with species of sister genus ''Litokoala'', the Riversleigh rainforest koala is the smallest representative of family '' Phascolarctide''.Black, K. (2014) 1192. Based on cladistic analysis, ''Nimiokoala'' is one of the more basal genera of ''Phascolarctide''. It died out due to climate change rendering the environment more arid. It probably had a more generalized diet than that of the modern species, but its exact food preferences are unknown. Etymology The generic name, ''Nimiokoala,'' is derived from the Latin word ''Nimio'' "excessive" referring to its complex molar morphology relative to other koala species. The specific name, ''greystanesi,'' honors Greystanes High School. History of research As of 2013, the fossil record of extinct koalas ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vombatiforms
The Vombatiformes are one of the three suborders of the large marsupial order Diprotodontia. Seven of the nine known families within this suborder are extinct; only the families Phascolarctidae, with the koala, and Vombatidae, with three extant species of wombat, survive. Among the extinct families are the Diprotodontidae, which includes the rhinoceros sized ''Diprotodon'', believed to be the largest marsupials ever, as well as the "marsupial lions" Thylacoleonidae and "marsupial tapirs" Palorchestidae. "Vombatiformes" is neo-Latin for "wombat-shaped things", and took its name from its type family. The suborder Vombatiformes, with its closely related members and their compact body form, contrasts with the other two diprotodont suborders, the Macropodiformes: kangaroos, wallabies, and the quokka; and the Phalangeriformes: possums, including the gliders such as the wrist-winged gliders. The koala and wombats are believed by many biologists to share a common ancestor and to have di ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Madakoala
''Madakoala'' is a genus of extinct phascolarctid marsupials with three known species, ''Madakoala devisi,'' ''Madakoala wellsi'' ''and'' ''Madakoala robustus''. It is allied to extinct genera ''Invictokoala, Koobor, Litokoala, Nimiokoala, Perikoala, Phascolarctos'' and ''Priscakoala'', along with ''Phascolarctos'', the genus of the existing koala. ''Madakoala'' went extinct around 280,000 years ago in the Pleistocene epoch. They are known to exist by limited cranial material in fossils, so the existence of some of the subspecies is questionable because of missing dental data. References External links * Koalas Prehistoric vombatiforms Fossil taxa described in 1987 Prehistoric mammals of Australia Prehistoric marsupial genera {{Paleo-marsupial-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Litokoala
''Litokoala'' is an extinct genus of marsupials, and along with '' Nimiokoala'', is closely related to the modern koala. The three genera may have diverged at an earlier date, although the drying of the continent and the expansion of ''Eucalyptus'' forests towards the late Miocene may have delayed the evolution of cranial features unique to the modern genera. This indicates that either fossil genus could be an ancestor of the modern genus, or the modern genus has a common ancestor to both. More material needs collection to improve their taxonomical relationships. The genus lived about 10–16 million years ago in the middle Miocene Riversleigh of Queensland. This area is described as a rainforest habitat at time of sediment deposition. It had a different diet to the modern species, with the dental symphysis unfused, indicating a diet that was properly varied in nature, unlike the specialised nature of ''Phascolarctos''. The size is estimated to be only half of the modern ge ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Priscakoala
''Priscakoala'' is an extinct genus of koala from the Early Miocene of Riversleigh, Australia. As cited in It has one species: ''Priscakoala lucyturnbullae''. The prefix "''prisca''" comes from the Latin meaning old, ancient, primeval or primitive. It was used to indicate that this genus is one of the oldest and simplest form of the koala. The species ''P. lucyturnbullae'' was named for Lucy Turnbull a businesswoman, wife of former Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull Malcolm Bligh Turnbull (born 24 October 1954) is an Australian former politician and businessman who served as the 29th prime minister of Australia from 2015 to 2018. He held office as leader of the Liberal Party of Australia. Turnbull grad ..., and supporter of the research that discovered the genus. References Prehistoric vombatiforms Koalas Prehistoric marsupial genera Miocene mammals of Australia Miocene marsupials Riversleigh fauna {{Diprotodont-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Giant Koala
The giant koala (''Phascolarctos stirtoni'') is an extinct arboreal marsupial which existed in Australia during the Pleistocene epoch. ''Phascolarctos stirtoni'' was about one third larger than the contemporary koala, ''P. cinereus'', and has had an estimated weight of , which is the same weight as a large contemporary male koala. Although considered a part of the Australian megafauna, its body mass excludes it from most formal definitions of megafauna. It is better described as a more robust koala, rather than a "giant"; in contrast, a number of Australian megafauna, such as ''Diprotodon'' and '' Procoptodon goliah'', were unambiguously ''giants''. The two koala species co-existed during the Pleistocene, occupying the same arboreal niche. The reason for the extinction of the larger of the two about 50,000 years ago is unknown, although there are various hypotheses for the extinction. Taxonomy A description of the species was published by Alan Bartholomai in 1968, based on a parti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Diprotodontia
Diprotodontia (, from Greek language, Greek "two forward teeth") is the largest extant order (biology), order of marsupials, with about 155 species, including the kangaroos, Wallaby, wallabies, Phalangeriformes, possums, koala, wombats, and many others. Extinct diprotodonts include the hippopotamus-sized ''Diprotodon'', and ''Thylacoleo'', the so-called "marsupial lion". Characteristics Living diprotodonts are almost all herbivores, as were most of those that are now extinct. A few insectivore, insectivorous and omnivore, omnivorous diprotodonts are known, and the Potoridae are almost unique among vertebrates in being largely Fungivore, fungivorous, but these seem to have arisen as relatively recent adaptations from the mainstream herbivorous lifestyle. The extinct Thylacoleonidae, thylacoleonids ("marsupial lions") are the only known group to have exhibited Carnivore, carnivory on a large scale. Diprotodonts are restricted to Australasia. The earliest known fossils date to the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
