Nimbadon

Nimbadon; Temporal range: Late Oligocene–Miocene PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
	Composite N. lavarackorum skeleton from the Riversleigh site
	N. lavarackorum mother and juvenile (reconstruction) by Peter Schouten
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Infraclass:	Marsupialia
Order:	Diprotodontia
Superfamily:	†Diprotodontoidea
Genus:	†Nimbadon; Hand, Archer, Godthelp, Rich & Pledge, 1993.
Species
	†Nimbadon lavarackorum; †Nimbadon scottorrorum; †Nimbadon whitelawi

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.

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

^ ^a ^b ^c 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.
^ Fossils reveal prehistoric life cycle Archived 2011-03-15 at the Wayback Machine, Australian Geographic, July 20, 2010
^ Ancient tree-wombat behaved like a koala - By Anna Salleh - Australian Broadcasting Corporation - Retrieved 22 November 2012.

External links

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[Hand1993-1] 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.

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