''Mutpuracinus archibaldi'' is an extinct carnivorous, quadrupedal marsupial that lived during the middle

Miocene The Miocene ( ) is the first geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and means "less recen ...

and is the smallest known thylacinid at approximately 1.1 kilograms, the size of a

quoll Quolls (; genus ''Dasyurus'') are carnivorous marsupials native to Australia and New Guinea. They are primarily nocturnal and spend most of the day in a den. Of the six species of quoll, four are found in Australia and two in New Guinea. Anoth ...

, though, more closely related to the recently extinct

thylacine The thylacine ( , or , also ) (''Thylacinus cynocephalus'') is an extinct carnivorous marsupial that was native to the Australian mainland and the islands of Tasmania and New Guinea. The last known live animal was captured in 1930 in Tasman ...

. ''M. archibaldi'' would have resembled a dog with a long snout. Its molar teeth were specialized for carnivory, the cups and crest were reduced or elongated to give the molars a cutting blade. Fossils of ''M. archibaldi'' have been discovered in deposits at

Bullock Creek (Northern Territory) The Bullock Creek Fossil site is one of three known vertebrate fossil sites in the Northern Territory of Australia, along with the Alcoota Fossil Beds and the Kangaroo Well site on Deep Well Station. It is located about south-southeast of Dar ...

in the Northern Territory of Australia, and in the same deposits as ''

Nimbacinus richi ''Nimbacinus richi'' lived during the middle Miocene and has been found in deposits in Bullock Creek in the Northern Territory of Australia. ''Nimbacinus richi'' is distinguished from Nimbacinus dicksoni by a well-preserved holotype of a right ...

''. It is named in honor of Ian Archibald for his contributions to the northern territory. Fossil specimens of ''M. archibaldi'' include a premaxilla with alveoli for four incisors, and the holotype, a left maxilla.

thylacinid Thylacinidae is an extinct family of carnivorous, superficially dog-like marsupials from the order Dasyuromorphia. The only species to survive into modern times was the thylacine (''Thylacinus cynocephalus''), which became extinct in 1936. The ...

skull fossils are exceedingly rare and ''M. archiboldi'' is one of only three species known from fossil crania.

Taxonomy

The description of a new species and genus was published in 2000, the results of examination of fossil material discovered at the "Blast Site", associated with the Bullock Creek fossil beds in the Northern Territory. The describing authors, Peter F. Murray and

Dirk Megirian A dirk is a long bladed thrusting dagger.Chisholm, Hugh (ed.), ''Dagger'', The Encyclopædia Britannica, 11th ed., Vol. VII, New York, NY: Cambridge University Press (1910), p. 729 Historically, it gained its name from the Highland Dirk (Scot ...

, assigned the name ''Mutpuracinus'' to the new

genus, combining the Ancient Greek ''kynos'', alluding to the canid family of dogs and wolves, and the word ''mutpura'' in reference to an Indigenous Australian people associated with the district at Camfield.

References

External links

Natural WorldsAustralian MammaliaMURRAY. P AND MEGIRIAN. D., Two new genera and three new species of Thylacinidae (Marsupialia) from the Miocene of the Northern Territory, Australia
Prehistoric thylacines Prehistoric mammals of Australia Miocene marsupials Prehistoric marsupial genera {{paleo-marsupial-stub