Giant koala
| Giant Koala Temporal range: Pleistocene
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| Species: | P. stirtoni
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| Phascolarctos stirtoni | |
The Giant Koala (Phascolarctos stirtoni) was an arboreal marsupial which existed in Australia during the Pleistocene epoch. Phascolarctos stirtoni was about one third larger than the contemporary Koala,[1] and has had an estimated weight of 29 lbs or 13 kg (which is the same weight as a large contemporary male Koala).[2] Although considered a part of the Australian megafauna, its body mass excludes it from most formal definitions of Megafauna. It is best described as a more robust koala, rather than a "giant"; whereas a number of Australian megafauna, such as Diprotodon and Procoptodon goliah, were unambiguously giants.
The two koala species co-existed during the Pleistocene, occupying the same arboreal niche.[1] The reason for the extinction of the larger of the two about 50,000 years ago is unknown.
Notes
- ^ a b "Parks South Australia: Naracoorte Caves website". Archived from the original on 2007-09-26. Retrieved 2007-10-27.
- ^ Prideaux, Gavin J.; Roberts, Richard G.; Megirian, Dirk; Westaway, Kira E.; Hellstrom, John C.; Olley, Jon M. (2007). "Mammalian responses to Pleistocene climate change in southeastern Australia" (PDF). Geology. 35: 33. doi:10.1130/G23070A.1.
References
- Piper, Kataryna J. (2005). "An Early Pleistocene Record of a Giant Koala (Phascolarctidae, Marsupalia) from Western Victoria" (PDF). Australian Mammalogy. 2 (27). CSIRO Publishing: 221–223. doi:10.1071/AM05221.
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