| Thylacinus yorkellus | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Infraclass: | Marsupialia |
| Order: | Dasyuromorphia |
| Family: | † Thylacinidae |
| Genus: | † Thylacinus |
| Species: | †T. yorkellus |
| Binomial name | |
| †Thylacinus yorkellus | |
Thylacinus yorkellus is a fossil species of carnivorous marsupial, a sister species of the recently extinct Thylacinus cynocephalus , the Tasmanian tiger, both of which existed on mainland Australia.
A species described by Adam Yates, published in 2015, emerging from a study of the left dentary of a thylacinid obtained at the Curramulka fossil site in South Australia. The holotype had been examined by Neville Pledge, who remarked on the possibility of a new species in 1992. [2]
The specific epithet combines the name of the region it was discovered, the Yorke Peninsula, and the Latin ellus, a diminutive suffix that denotes a species that was smaller than Thylacinus cynocephalus . [1]
A comparatively small species of Thylacinus that is known to have existed during the late Miocene epoch. The author of the species suggests that evidence supports the species existing during that later Pliocene. The holotype of the species, the dentary, retains the three pemolars, two of four molars, the canine, and alveoli of the incisor and missing second molar. The specimen was broken at the third molar, so presents no evidence of the fourth. [1]
An estimated weight for two known specimens, calculated with regression functions applied to dasyuromorphian data, is noted as 17.8 and 15.9 kilograms. The average body mass of T. cynocephalus was greater than this estimate, around 30 kg, and the species was much smaller than range of estimated weights, 38.7 to 57.3 kg, for Thylacinus potens and Thylacinus megiriani . [1]
![Thylacine Extinct species of carnivorous marsupial from [[Australia (continent)|the Australian continent]]](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d5/Thylacinus.jpg/320px-Thylacinus.jpg)
The thylacine is an extinct carnivorous marsupial that was native to the Australian mainland and the islands of Tasmania and New Guinea. It was one of the largest known carnivorous marsupials, evolving about 2 million years ago. The last known live animal was captured in 1930 in Tasmania. It is commonly known as the Tasmanian tiger or the Tasmanian wolf. Various Aboriginal Tasmanian names have been recorded, such as coorinna, kanunnah, cab-berr-one-nen-er, loarinna, laoonana, can-nen-ner and lagunta, while kaparunina is used in the constructed language of Palawa kani.
Obdurodon is a genus of extinct monotreme. They appeared much like their modern day relative the platypus, except adults retained their molar teeth. Unlike the platypus which forages on the lakebed, Obdurodon may have foraged in the water column or surface.
Thylacinidae is an extinct family of carnivorous, superficially dog-like marsupials from the order Dasyuromorphia. The only species to survive into modern times was the thylacine, which became extinct in 1936.
Thylacinus is a genus of extinct carnivorous marsupials from the order Dasyuromorphia. The only recent member was the thylacine, commonly also known as the Tasmanian tiger or Tasmanian wolf, which became extinct in 1936 due to excessive hunting by humans. Other prehistoric species are known from this genus. An unidentified species is known from Pleistocene New Guinea.
Thylacoleo is an extinct genus of carnivorous marsupials that lived in Australia from the late Pliocene to the late Pleistocene. Some of these "marsupial lions" were the largest mammalian predators in Australia of that time, with Thylacoleo carnifex approaching the weight of a small lion. The estimated average weight for the species ranges from 101 to 130 kg.
Thylacinus potens was the largest species of the family Thylacinidae, originally known from a single poorly preserved fossil discovered by Michael O. Woodburne in 1967 in a Late Miocene locality near Alice Springs, Northern Territory. It preceded the most recent species of thylacine by 4–6 million years, and was 5% bigger, was more robust and had a shorter, broader skull. Its size is estimated to be similar to that of a grey wolf; the head and body together were around 5 feet long, and its teeth were less adapted for shearing compared to those of the now-extinct thylacine.
Thylacoleonidae is a family of extinct meat-eating marsupials from Australia, referred to as marsupial lions. The best known is Thylacoleo carnifex, also called the marsupial lion. The clade ranged from the Late Oligocene to the Pleistocene, with some species the size of a possum and others as large as a leopard. As a whole, they were largely arboreal, in contrast to the mostly terrestrial dasyuromorphs, monitor lizards and mekosuchines.
Josephoartigasia monesi, an extinct species of South American caviomorph rodent, is the largest rodent known, and lived from about 4 to 2 million years ago during the Pliocene to early Pleistocene. The species is one of two in the genus Josephoartigasia, the other being J. magna. J. monesi is sometimes called the giant pacarana, after its closest living relative, the pacarana in the family Dinomyidae. The species may have weighed a ton, orders of magnitude larger than any currently living rodent.
Thylacinus macknessi lived during the early Miocene and is the oldest known member of the genus Thylacinus. It is named after Brian Mackness, a supporter of Australian vertebrate paleontology.
Thylacinus megiriani lived during the late Miocene, 8 million years ago; the area T. megiriani inhabited in the Northern Territory was covered in forest with a permanent supply of water.
Maximucinus muirheadae is the largest known thylacinid species that lived in Queensland, Australia from the late Oligocene to the middle Miocene. The species was a quadrupedal marsupial predator, that in appearance looked similar to a dog with a long snout. Its molar teeth were specialized for carnivory; the cups and crest were reduced or elongated to give the molars a cutting blade. It is estimated to have weighed about 18 kilograms.
Muribacinus gadiyuli lived during the middle Miocene in Riversleigh. The species name comes from Wanyi aboriginal word for "little", in reference to its considerably small size compared to the modern thylacine and was similar in size to a fox-terrier dog, and "father" for the ancestral characteristics of the fossilised teeth.
Mutpuracinus archibaldi is an extinct carnivorous, quadrupedal marsupial that lived during the middle Miocene and is the smallest known thylacinid at approximately 1.1 kilograms, the size of a quoll, though, more closely related to the recently extinct thylacine.
Ngamalacinus timmulvaneyi lived during the early Miocene and has been found in Riversleigh.
Nimbacinus richi lived during the middle Miocene and has been found in deposits in Bullock Creek in the Northern Territory of Australia.
Wabulacinus ridei lived during the early Miocene in Riversleigh. It is named after David Ride, who made the first revision of thylacinid fossils. The material was found in system C of the Camel Spurtum assembledge.
Thylacoleo hilli lived during the Pliocene and was half the size of Thylacoleo crassidentatus.
Simosthenurus occidentalis is a species of sthenurine marsupial that existed in Australia during the Pliocene, becoming extinct in the Pleistocene epoch around 42 000 years ago. A large herbivorous biped that resembles large kangaroos, the species had a heavier body than the modern roo. The structure of the skull and teeth indicates it consumed tough vegetation, resembling koalas and panda bears, and is referred to as a short-faced kangaroo.
Microleo attenboroughi is a very small species of the Thylacoleonidae family from the Early Miocene of Australia, living in the wet forest that dominated Riversleigh about 18 million years ago. The genus Microleo is currently known from a broken palate and two pieces of jaw, containing some teeth and roots that correspond to those found in other species of thylacoleonids. The shape and structure of the blade-like P3 tooth, a premolar, distinguished the species as a new genus. It was found in Early Miocene-aged deposits of the Riversleigh fossil site in Queensland, regarded as one of the most significant palaeontological sites yet discovered, and named for the naturalist David Attenborough in appreciation of his support for its heritage listing. The anatomy of Microleo suggests the genus is basal to all the known thylacoleonids, known as the marsupial lions, although its relative size prompted a discover to describe it as the "feisty" kitten of the family.
Weewarrasaurus is a genus of ornithopod dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous of the Griman Creek Formation near Lightning Ridge, in New South Wales, Australia. The type and only species is W. pobeni, known from the holotype, an isolated dentary preserved in opal, as well as a secondary referred dentary. It is thought to have co-existed with multiple other ornithopods of different sizes and lineages.