Wakaleo oldfieldi
Wakaleo oldfieldi is an extinct species of marsupial lions of the genus Wakaleo, found in Miocene deposits of South Australia. It had three unfused molar teeth instead of two fused molars as is the case with the Pleistocene Thylacoleo carnifex.
| Wakaleo oldfieldi Temporal range: | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Infraclass: | Marsupialia |
| Order: | Diprotodontia |
| Family: | †Thylacoleonidae |
| Genus: | †Wakaleo |
| Species: | †W. oldfieldi |
| Binomial name | |
| †Wakaleo oldfieldi | |
As with Thylacoleo carnifex, this species is presumed to have used its maxillary (upper) teeth to hold its food and sharpen the mandibular teeth, the latter were also used in slicing and stabbing during eating. The premolars also had a crescent-shaped circumference for slicing.[2]
Taxonomy
A description of the species was published in 1974. It is a species of Wakaleo, marsupial carnivores also found at other fossil sites in Australia.[1]
References
- Clemens, W.A.; Plane, M. (1974). "Mid-Tertiary Thylacoleonidae (Marsupialia, Mammalia)". Journal of Paleontology. 48 (4): 653–660. ISSN 0022-3360.
- "Thylacoleonid Genera and Species - Tertiary Genera". www.naturalworlds.org. Retrieved 1 October 2022.
External links
- Mikko's Phylogeny Archive
- Australias Lost Kingdom
- Information fromCSIRO
- A picture of the specimen's mandible Archived 27 September 2011 at the Wayback Machine
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