Lumakoala
Appearance
Lumakoala Temporal range:
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Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Mammalia |
Infraclass: | Marsupialia |
Order: | Diprotodontia |
Family: | Phascolarctidae |
Genus: | †Lumakoala Crichton et al.,2023 |
Species: | †L. blackae
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Binomial name | |
†Lumakoala blackae Crichton et al.,2023
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Lumakoala is an extinct genus of phascolarctid that inhabited the Northern Territory of Australia during the Oligocene epoch. It was a member of the Pwerte Marnte Marnte Local Fauna and is known from a single species, Lumakoala blackae.
Palaeoecology
[edit]Fossilised teeth of Lumakoala blackae were characterised by their relatively undeveloped enamel crenulations and their diminutive crown height, suggesting that it fed primarily on a diet of soft plants. It is hypothesised that it occasionally opportunistically engaged in insectivory like extant members of Phalangeriformes do.[1]
References
[edit]- ^ Crichton, Arthur I.; Beck, Robin M. D.; Couzens, Aidan M. C.; Worthy, Trevor H.; Camens, Aaron B.; Prideaux, Gavin J. (4 September 2023). "A probable koala from the Oligocene of central Australia provides insights into early diprotodontian evolution". Scientific Reports. 13 (1): 14521. Bibcode:2023NatSR..1314521C. doi:10.1038/s41598-023-41471-0. ISSN 2045-2322. PMC 10477348. PMID 37666885.