Nimbadon

Nimbadon is an extinct genus of the family Ilariidae, from the suborder Vombatiformes, and order Diprotodontia that lived from the Late Oligocene to the Miocene epoches.[1] Many fossils have been found in the Riversleigh World Heritage property in north-western Queensland.

Nimbadon
Temporal range: Late Oligocene–Miocene
Composite N. lavarackorum skeleton from the Riversleigh site
N. lavarackorum mother and juvenile (reconstruction) by Peter Schouten
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Infraclass: Marsupialia
Order: Diprotodontia
Family: †Diprotodontidae
Genus: †Nimbadon
Hand, Archer, Godthelp, Rich & Pledge, 1993.[1]
Species

†Nimbadon lavarackorum
†Nimbadon scottorrorum
†Nimbadon whitelawi

In 1990, skulls were unearthed in a previously unknown cave in the region. Researchers estimate that the first species of Nimbadon first appeared about 25 million years ago[1] and died out about 12 million years ago, perhaps from climate change-induced habitat loss.[2]

Nimbadon lavarackorum

Nimbadon lavarackorum is described as being koala-like. It is known from as many as 24 well-articulated specimens. The species was a tree-dweller, mainly feeding on stems and leaves. The feet and claws were large, being superficially similar to those of the koala. They retracted their claws when walking.[3]

References
  1. Hand, S.J.; Archer, M.; Godthelp, H.; Rich, T.H.; Pledge, N.S. (1993). "Nimbadon, a new genus and three new species of Tertiary zygomaturines (Marsupialia: Diprotodontidae) from northern Australia, with a reassessment of Neohelos". Memoirs of the Queensland Museum. 33: 193–210.
  2. Fossils reveal prehistoric life cycle Archived 2011-03-15 at the Wayback Machine, Australian Geographic, July 20, 2010
  3. Ancient tree-wombat behaved like a koala - By Anna Salleh - Australian Broadcasting Corporation - Retrieved 22 November 2012.


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.