Balbaroo
| Balbaroo Temporal range:
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|---|---|
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| Holotype skull of Balbaroo nalima | |
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Infraclass: | Marsupialia |
| Order: | Diprotodontia |
| Family: | †Balbaridae |
| Genus: | †Balbaroo Flannery, Archer & Plane, 1983[1] |
| Type species | |
| †Balbaroo camfieldensis | |
| Species | |
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| Synonyms | |
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Balbaroo is an extinct genus of quadrupedal kangaroo that once lived in Australia during the Late Oligocene to the Middle Miocene.[2] Its fossils have been found in the Northern Territory and Queensland. Four species are currently recognised, B. camfieldensis, B. fangaroo, B. gregoriensis, and B. nalima.
Taxonomy
[edit]The genus was erected in 1983 to describe a new species of early marsupials, Balbaroo camfieldensis.[1] Since then, it has been determined that members of the genus possessed sharp canines. Despite the sharp canines, the presence of low-crowned bilophodont molars seems to indicate an herbivorous diet.[2]
References
[edit]- ^ a b Flannery, T.F.; Archer, M.; Plane, M. (1983). "Middle Miocene kangaroos ( Macropodoidea: Marsupiala) from three localities in northern Australia, with a description of two new subfamilies". BMR Journal of Australian Geology & Geophysics. 7 (4): 287–302.
- ^ a b Black, K.H.; Travouillon, K.J.; Den Boer, W.; Kear, B.P.; Cooke, B.N.; Archer, M.; Evans, A.R (19 November 2014). "A New Species of the Basal "Kangaroo" Balbaroo and a Re-Evaluation of Stem Macropodiform Interrelationships". PLOS ONE. 9 (11): e112705. Bibcode:2014PLoSO...9k2705B. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0112705. PMC 4237356. PMID 25409233.
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