Lumakoala

Lumakoala Temporal range: Oligocene PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Infraclass:	Marsupialia
Order:	Diprotodontia
Family:	Phascolarctidae
Genus:	† Lumakoala Crichton et al.,2023
Species:	†L. blackae
Binomial name
†Lumakoala blackae Crichton et al.,2023

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

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

1. 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.