''Zygomaturus'' is an extinct genus of giant

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 ...

belonging to the family Diprotodontidae which inhabited Australia from the Late

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 recent" ...

Late Pleistocene The Late Pleistocene is an unofficial age in the international geologic timescale in chronostratigraphy, also known as Upper Pleistocene from a stratigraphic perspective. It is intended to be the fourth division of the Pleistocene Epoch within ...

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 The Pleistocene ( , often referred to as the '' Ice age'') is the geological epoch that lasted from about 2,580,000 to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was finally confirmed ...

Evolution and extinction

The earliest members of the genus such as ''Zygomaturus gilli'' appeared during the Late

, during the regional Waitean faunal stage. It is thought that the youngest species, ''Zygomaturus trilobus'' became extinct curing the latter half of the

, with typical estimates being about 45,000 years ago, around the time of Aboriginal arrival in Australia. A surprisingly late date between 33.3 ±3.7 Kya and 36.7 ±5.1 Kya was reported in 2017 from the

Willandra Lakes Region The Willandra Lakes Region is a World Heritage Site in the Far West region of New South Wales, Australia. The Willandra Lakes Region is the traditional meeting place of the Muthi Muthi, Ngiyampaa and Barkinji Aboriginal tribes. The area was in ...

in New South Wales, which if correct would represent the latest known date for any Australian Megafauna.

Related genera

References

*'' Wildlife of Gondwana: Dinosaurs and Other Vertebrates from the Ancient Supercontinent (Life of the Past)'' by Pat Vickers Rich, Thomas Hewitt Rich, Francesco Coffa, and Steven Morton *''Marsupial Nutrition'' by Ian D. Hume * *''Life of Marsupials'' by Hugh Tyndale-Biscoe *'' Magnificent Mihirungs: The Colossal Flightless Birds of the Australian Dreamtime (Life of the Past)'' by Peter F. Murray, Patricia Vickers-Rich, and Pat Vickers Rich *'' Classification of Mammals'' by Malcolm C. McKenna and Susan K. Bell *'' Australia's Lost World: Prehistoric Animals of Riversleigh'' by Michael Archer, Suzanne J. Hand, and Henk Godthelp * ''World Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs & Prehistoric Creatures: The Ultimate Visual Reference To 1000 Dinosaurs And Prehistoric Creatures Of Land, Air And Sea ... And Cretaceous Eras (World Encyclopedia)'' by Dougal Dixon * ''The Illustrated Encyclopedia Of Prehistoric Life'' by Dougal Dixon

External links