Phascolonus
| Phascolonus | |
|---|---|
| |
| Phascolonus | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Infraclass: | Marsupialia |
| Order: | Diprotodontia |
| Family: | Vombatidae |
| Genus: | †Phascolonus Owen, 1872 |
| Species | |
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Phascolonus was a genus of prehistoric Australian marsupials in the wombat family. The largest species, Phascolonus gigas, weighed as much as 200 kg (450 lb).[2] Phascolonus existed alongside an even larger marsupial, Diprotodon, which weighed as much as three tons and was distantly related to wombats.[3] Both disappeared at the end of the Late Pleistocene in a Quaternary extinction event together with many other large Australian animals.
At Tea Tree Cave, a two-million-year-old Phascolonus fossil was found alongside that of the crocodilian Quinkana.[4]
References
- ^ "Mikko's Phylogeny Archive". Archived from the original on 2007-06-11. Retrieved 2007-09-30.
- ^ Long, J.; Archer, M.; Flannery, T.; Hand, S. (2002). Prehistoric Mammals of Australia and New Guinea: One Hundred Million Years of Evolution. University of New South Wales Press. pp. 161–162. ISBN 978-0-8018-7223-5. OCLC 49860159.
- ^ [https://web.archive.org/web/20071013092821/http://www.museum.vic.gov.au/dinosaurs/lifetime-modern.html Archived 2007-10-13 at the Wayback Machine Museum Victoria [ed-online] Dinosaurs & Fossils - The rise of the modern fauna and flora]
- ^ Chillagoe Interpretive Centre
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