Riversleigh Rainforest Koala

Riversleigh Rainforest Koala
Riversleigh Rainforest Koala
Temporal range: middle Miocene
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Infraclass: Marsupialia
Order: Diprotodontia
Family: Phascolarctidae
Genus: Nimiokoala
Species: N. greystanesi
Binomial name
Nimiokoala greystanesi
Black and Archer, 1997

The Riversleigh Rainforest Koala (Nimiokoala greystanesi) is an extinct species of marsupial, closely related to the modern Koala, that lived 10-16 million years ago in the middle Miocene of Queensland. It probably had a diet of leaves similar to that of the modern species, but whether it specialized on eucalypt leaves is unknown.[1] It was a third of a modern Koala's size, being 25 - 30 cm long, and the mouth protruded from the skull.[1] To date a partial skull has been found along with several lower jaws and isolated teeth, containing in aggregate the entire dentition.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c Riversleigh Rainforest Koala at the Australian Museum
Abyssal Brachiopod 00148.jpg Paleontology portal


This article about a diprotodont is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.