''Pyramios'' is an
extinct genus
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...
of
diprotodont
Diprotodontia (, from Greek "two forward teeth") is the largest extant order of marsupials, with about 155 species, including the kangaroos, wallabies, possums, koala, wombats, and many others. Extinct diprotodonts include the hippopotamus-sized ...
from the
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 ...
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 vombatiforms
{{Diprotodont-stub