Protemnodon
| Protemnodon[1] Temporal range: Pliocene-Pleistocene
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| Skull of Protemnodon anak at the Melbourne Museum | |
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| Genus: | †Protemnodon Owen, 1873
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†P. otibandus | |
Protemnodon (also called the giant kangaroo) is a genus of megafaunal macropods that existed in Australia, Tasmania, and Papua New Guinea in the Pliocene and Pleistocene.
Taxonomy
Based on fossil evidence, Protemnodon is thought to have been physically similar to wallabies, but far larger. Protemnodon hopei was the smallest in the genus, weighing about 45 kg; the largest species, Protemnodon roechus, weighing around 170 kg.[2]
Recent analysis of mtDNA extracted from fossils indicates that Protemnodon was closely related to Macropus.[3]
References
- ^ Haaramo, M. (20 December 2004). "Mikko's Phylogeny Archive: Macropodidae - kenguroos". Archived from the original on 31 March 2007. Retrieved 15 March 2007.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ Helgen, K.M., Wells, R.T., Kear, B.P., Gerdtz, W.R., and Flannery, T.F. (2006). "Ecological and evolutionary significance of sizes of giant extinct kangaroos". Australian Journal of Zoology. 54 (4): 293–303. doi:10.1071/ZO05077.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Llamas, B.; Brotherton, P.; Mitchell, K. J.; Templeton, J. E. L.; Thomson, V. A.; Metcalf, J. L.; Armstrong, K. N.; Kasper, M.; Richards, S. M.; Camens, A. B.; Lee, M. S. Y.; Cooper, A. (2014-12-18). "Late Pleistocene Australian marsupial DNA clarifies the affinities of extinct megafaunal kangaroos and wallabies". Molecular Biology and Evolution. 32: 574–584. doi:10.1093/molbev/msu338. PMID 25526902.
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