''Ngamalacinus timmulvaneyi'' lived during the early

Miocene The Miocene ( ) is the first epoch (geology), 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 mea ...

and has been found in Riversleigh. The species was a carnivorous, quadrupedal marsupial in Australia. In appearance it 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.

Taxonomy

The description of a new species and genus was published in 1997, emerging from examination undertaken by Jeanette Muirhead on specimens obtained at the

Riversleigh World Heritage Area Riversleigh World Heritage Area is Australia's most famous fossil location, recognised for the series of well preserved fossils deposited from the Late Oligocene to more recent geological periods. The fossiliferous limestone system is located ne ...

. The genus combines the

Wanyi The Waanyi people, also spelt Wanyi, Wanji, or Waanji, are an Aboriginal Australian people from south of the Gulf of Carpentaria in Queensland and the Northern Territory. Language The Waanyi language, although earlier thought to be extinct, w ...

''ngamala'', "died out", and the Ancient Greek ''kynos'', alluding to a "dog" for the resemblance to the canid family. The specific epithet names Tim Mulvaney, who was gifted the honour by his aunt, Margaret Beavis, for long time support toward research of

Riversleigh fauna Riversleigh fauna is the collective term for any species of animal identified in fossil sites located in the Riversleigh World Heritage Area. Faunal zones The presence of the Riversleigh in the Oligo-Miocene has been exceptionally well preserved ...

Description

A species assigned to a monotypic genus of

Thylacinidae 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 ...

, most closely resembling the genus ''

Wabulacinus ''Wabulacinus ridei'' lived during the early Miocene in Riversleigh. It is named after David Ride, who made the first revision of thylacinid fossils. The material was found in system C of the Camel Spurtum assembledge. ''W. ridei'' was a carniv ...

'' yet separable from a ''Wabulacinus–Thylacinus'' clade as a sister group of those thylacinids. The size and form of the animal is estimated to have been that of a smaller dog breed and inhabited the Riversleigh area with similar sized thylacinids. The discovered existence of multiple phylogenies in early Miocene

, each presumably specialised to an ecological niche, strongly supported a revised conception of the family's evolutionary history from a monophyletic group of taxa with a narrow range of adaptations and trophic levels. Specimens referred to ''Ngamalacinus timmulvaneyi'' have been obtained at the Inabeyence and Camel Sputum sites at Riversleigh.

References

External links

Natural Worlds
{{Taxonbar, from=Q7021925 Prehistoric thylacines Prehistoric mammals of Australia Miocene marsupials Riversleigh fauna Prehistoric marsupial genera