Thylacoleonidae
Encyclopedia
Thylacoleonidae is a family
of extinct meat-eating
marsupials from Australia
, referred to as marsupial lions. The best known is Thylacoleo carnifex, also called the Marsupial Lion
. The clade
ranged from the Late Oligocene
to the Pleistocene
, with some species the size of a possum and others as big as a leopard.
Family (biology)
In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...
of extinct meat-eating
Carnivore
A carnivore meaning 'meat eater' is an organism that derives its energy and nutrient requirements from a diet consisting mainly or exclusively of animal tissue, whether through predation or scavenging...
marsupials from Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, referred to as marsupial lions. The best known is Thylacoleo carnifex, also called the Marsupial Lion
Marsupial Lion
The Marsupial Lion is an extinct species of carnivorous marsupial mammal that lived in Australia from the early to the late Pleistocene...
. The clade
Clade
A clade is a group consisting of a species and all its descendants. In the terms of biological systematics, a clade is a single "branch" on the "tree of life". The idea that such a "natural group" of organisms should be grouped together and given a taxonomic name is central to biological...
ranged from the Late Oligocene
Oligocene
The Oligocene is a geologic epoch of the Paleogene Period and extends from about 34 million to 23 million years before the present . As with other older geologic periods, the rock beds that define the period are well identified but the exact dates of the start and end of the period are slightly...
to the Pleistocene
Pleistocene
The Pleistocene is the epoch from 2,588,000 to 11,700 years BP that spans the world's recent period of repeated glaciations. The name pleistocene is derived from the Greek and ....
, with some species the size of a possum and others as big as a leopard.
Classification
There are three genera currently accepted as belonging to this family.- Genus †PriscileoPriscileoPriscileo was the basal-most genus of Thylacoleonidae. Fossils of this genus have been found in Oligocene and Miocene strata of South Australia and Queensland. It was about the size of a possum and was less powerful than the other marsupial lions...
- †Priscileo pitikantensisPriscileo pitikantensisPriscileo pitikantensis lived in Australia about 25 million years ago from the late Oligocene to middle Miocene and was approximately the size of a cat....
(Upper OligoceneOligoceneThe Oligocene is a geologic epoch of the Paleogene Period and extends from about 34 million to 23 million years before the present . As with other older geologic periods, the rock beds that define the period are well identified but the exact dates of the start and end of the period are slightly...
) - †Priscileo roskellyae (Middle MioceneMioceneThe Miocene is a geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about . The Miocene was named by Sir Charles Lyell. Its name comes from the Greek words and and means "less recent" because it has 18% fewer modern sea invertebrates than the Pliocene. The Miocene follows the Oligocene...
)
- †Priscileo pitikantensis
- Subfamily Wakaleoninae
- Genus †WakaleoWakaleoWakaleo , was a genus of medium-sized thylacoleonids that lived in Australia in the early to late Miocene. It was approximately 2.5 ft long, or the size of a dog...
- †Wakaleo alcootaensisWakaleo alcootaensisWakaleo alcootaensis lived during the late Miocene, approximately 10 million years ago and was about the size of a dog.It has been found in Alcoota in the northern territory and is known from a single fossil maxilla fragment found in 1974 by Dr. Michael Archer.-External links:**...
(Upper MioceneMioceneThe Miocene is a geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about . The Miocene was named by Sir Charles Lyell. Its name comes from the Greek words and and means "less recent" because it has 18% fewer modern sea invertebrates than the Pliocene. The Miocene follows the Oligocene...
) - †Wakaleo oldfieldiWakaleo oldfieldiWakaleo oldfieldi is an extinct species of marsupial lion found in the tertiary deposits of South Australia. There are three unfused molar teeth instead of two fused molars as is the case with the Pleistocene Thylacoleo carnifex.As with T...
(Lower—Upper MioceneMioceneThe Miocene is a geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about . The Miocene was named by Sir Charles Lyell. Its name comes from the Greek words and and means "less recent" because it has 18% fewer modern sea invertebrates than the Pliocene. The Miocene follows the Oligocene...
) - †Wakaleo vanderleueriWakaleo vanderleueriWakaleo vanderleueri lived during the middle Miocene, approximately 21.6 million years ago. It’s been found in limestone deposits in Riversleigh....
(Middle—Upper MioceneMioceneThe Miocene is a geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about . The Miocene was named by Sir Charles Lyell. Its name comes from the Greek words and and means "less recent" because it has 18% fewer modern sea invertebrates than the Pliocene. The Miocene follows the Oligocene...
)
- †Wakaleo alcootaensis
- Genus †Wakaleo
- Subfamily Thylacoleoninae
- Genus †Thylacoleo
- †Thylacoleo carnifex (PleistocenePleistoceneThe Pleistocene is the epoch from 2,588,000 to 11,700 years BP that spans the world's recent period of repeated glaciations. The name pleistocene is derived from the Greek and ....
) - †Thylacoleo crassidentatus (PliocenePlioceneThe Pliocene Epoch is the period in the geologic timescale that extends from 5.332 million to 2.588 million years before present. It is the second and youngest epoch of the Neogene Period in the Cenozoic Era. The Pliocene follows the Miocene Epoch and is followed by the Pleistocene Epoch...
) - †Thylacoleo hilli (PliocenePlioceneThe Pliocene Epoch is the period in the geologic timescale that extends from 5.332 million to 2.588 million years before present. It is the second and youngest epoch of the Neogene Period in the Cenozoic Era. The Pliocene follows the Miocene Epoch and is followed by the Pleistocene Epoch...
)
- †Thylacoleo carnifex (Pleistocene
- Genus †Thylacoleo