- Mutpuracinus archiboldi
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Mutpuracinus archiboldi
Temporal range: Middle MioceneConservation status Scientific classification Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Infraclass: Marsupialia Order: Dasyuromorphia Family: †Thylacinidae Genus: †Mutpuracinus Species: †M.archibaldi Binomial name Mutpuracinus archibaldi Mutpuracinus archibaldi lived during the middle Miocene and is the smallest known thylacinid at approximately 1.1 kilograms, the size of a quoll.
M. archibaldi 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.
M. archibaldi has been discovered in deposits at Bullock Creek in the northern territory and in the same deposits as N. richi. It is named in honor of Ian Archibald for his contributions to the northern territory. Fossil records that exist of M. archibaldi are a premaxilla with alveoli for four incisors, and a holotype left maxilla. Skull fossils from Thylacinidae are exceedingly rare and M. archiboldi is one of only three species known from fossil crania.
External links
- Natural Worlds
- Thylacindae
- Australian Mammalia
- MURRAY. P AND MEGIRIAN. D., Two new genera and three new species of Thylacinidae (Marsupialia) from the Miocene of the Northern Territory, Australia
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