The Tingamarra Fauna is an early Eocene fossil site containing the earliest known metatherian, non-volant eutherian, passerine

Passerine

A passerine is a bird of the order Passeriformes, which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds or, less accurately, as songbirds, the passerines form one of the most diverse terrestrial vertebrate orders: with over 5,000 identified species, it has roughly...

, trionychidae

Trionychidae

Trionychidae is a taxonomic family which comprises a number of turtle genera commonly known as softshells. They are also sometimes called pancake turtles. Softshells consist of some of the world's largest fresh water turtles, though many can adapt to living in highly brackish areas. Members of this...

 turtle

Turtle

Turtles are reptiles of the order Testudines , characterised by a special bony or cartilaginous shell developed from their ribs that acts as a shield...

s, mekosuchine crocodiles along with frog

Frog

Frogs are amphibians in the order Anura , formerly referred to as Salientia . Most frogs are characterized by a short body, webbed digits , protruding eyes and the absence of a tail...

s, lungfish

Lungfish

Lungfish are freshwater fish belonging to the Subclass Dipnoi. Lungfish are best known for retaining characteristics primitive within the Osteichthyes, including the ability to breathe air, and structures primitive within Sarcopterygii, including the presence of lobed fins with a well-developed...

 and teleost fish in Australia . .

Geology

Material that represents the fossil component is the MP1 horizon in a sequence of lacustrine

Lake

A lake is a body of relatively still fresh or salt water of considerable size, localized in a basin, that is surrounded by land. Lakes are inland and not part of the ocean and therefore are distinct from lagoons, and are larger and deeper than ponds. Lakes can be contrasted with rivers or streams,...

 clays from Boat Mountain. The geological formation of the site is not known for certain, but may be associated with the Oakdale Sandstone formation. The area was a swamp or shallow lake at the time of deposition, though the habitat has not been determined. Potassium-argon dating of illite

Illite

Illite is a non-expanding, clay-sized, micaceous mineral. Illite is a phyllosilicate or layered alumino-silicate. Its structure is constituted by the repetition of tetrahedron – octahedron – tetrahedron layers. The interlayer space is mainly occupied by poorly hydrated potassium cations...

s has given a date of about 54.6 million years, which is before Australia's separation from Antarctica and South America

Fish Fish Fish are a paraphyletic group of organisms that consist of all gill-bearing aquatic vertebrate animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish, as well as various extinct related groups...  of Tingamarra
Genus	Species	Abundance	Notes	Images

Amphibian Amphibian Amphibians , are a class of vertebrate animals including animals such as toads, frogs, caecilians, and salamanders. They are characterized as non-amniote ectothermic tetrapods... s of Tingamarra
Genus	Species	Abundance	Notes	Images

Reptile Reptile Reptiles are members of a class of air-breathing, ectothermic vertebrates which are characterized by laying shelled eggs , and having skin covered in scales and/or scutes. They are tetrapods, either having four limbs or being descended from four-limbed ancestors... s of Tingamarra
Genus	Species	Abundance	Notes	Images
Patagoniophis	P. australiensis (Scanlon, 2004)	Many disarticulated vertebrae and fragmented ribs
Alamitophis Alamitophis Alamitophis is a genus of fossil snake in the extinct family of Madtsoiidae. Its length is 80 cm and it fed on frogs, lizards, and small mammals. It is found in Australia and Argentina.-References:*...	A. tingamarra	Fragmented dentary and rib along with disarticulated vertebrae.
Kambara Kambara Kambara is an extinct genus of mekosuchine crocodylian that lived during the Eocene and Oligocene epochs in Australia.At around 55 million years old, remains of Kambara are among the oldest Tertiary fossils found in Australia . Kambara is the oldest known mekosuchine...	K. implexidens and K. murgonensis
?Madtsoia Madtsoia Madtsoia is an extinct genus of madtsoiid snake. It is known from the Eocene of Argentina , the Paleocene of Brazil , the Late Cretaceous of Spain , the Late Cretaceous of India , and the Late Cretaceous of Madagascar and possibly Niger Madtsoia is an extinct genus of madtsoiid snake. It is...	M.sp	Rib head and proximal shaft	Tuber costae is broken so not able to determine if it was robust as in madtsoiids or slender in proximal view as with the extent serpentia. Some other characteristics indicate a Patagoniophis affinity excluding the large size (3.9 by 2.6 mm), but is still smaller than Madtsoia Madtsoia Madtsoia is an extinct genus of madtsoiid snake. It is known from the Eocene of Argentina , the Paleocene of Brazil , the Late Cretaceous of Spain , the Late Cretaceous of India , and the Late Cretaceous of Madagascar and possibly Niger Madtsoia is an extinct genus of madtsoiid snake. It is...  for which it is most similar too .
Murgonemys	M. braithwaitei		Almost complete semi-articulated carapace with vertebrae

Mammalss of Tingamarra
Genus	Species	Abundance	Notes	Images
Australonycteris	A. clarkae	A single dentary bone, many disarticulated teeth, periotics and postcranial bones.	Postcranial material is known but not described.
Chulpasia Chulpasia Chulpasia is an extinct genus of Eocene marsupial related to today's shrew opossums. It was a small animal, about 20 cm long, with an omnivorous diet. Its diet probably included seeds, small fruits, and insects. It was found in Argentina as well as at the Murgon fossil site in Australia, and...
Djarthia Djarthia Djarthia is an extinct genus of marsupial. It is the oldest marsupial found in Australia, discovered at the Murgon fossil site in south-eastern Queensland. Skeletal materal described include molar, incomplete cochlear and tarsal bone either complete or in fragmented state of preservation....	D. murgonensis		Jaw fragments with teeth.
Tingamarra Tingamarra Tingamarra is an extinct genus of mammals, from the early Eocene of Australia, about 55 million years ago. It was a ground-dwelling mammal that ate insects and fruit. It was quite small: just 20 cm from head to tail...	T. porterorum	Rare	Two teeth one being 3mm, and an ankle and ear bone is all that is described of this species.
Thylacotinga	?		Isolated teeth.

Bird Bird Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from... s of Tingamarra
Genus	Species	Abundance	Notes	Images
			QM Queensland Museum The Queensland Museum is the state museum of Queensland. The museum currently operates four separate campuses; at South Brisbane, Ipswich, Toowoomba and Townsville.The museum is funded by the State Government of Queensland.-History:...  specimens F20688 (carpometacarpus Carpometacarpus The carpometacarpus is the fusion of the carpal and metacarpal bone, essentially a single fused bone between the wrist and the knuckles. It is a smallish bone in most birds, generally flattened and with a large hole in the middle. In flightless birds, however, its shape may be slightly different,... ) and F24685 (tibiotarsus Tibiotarsus The tibiotarsus is the large bone between the femur and the tarsometatarsus in the leg of a bird. It is the fusion of the proximal part of the tarsus with the tibia.A similar structure also occurred in the Mesozoic Heterodontosauridae... ) from Murgon, Queensland Murgon fossil site The Murgon fossil site is a paleontological site of early Eocene age in south-eastern Queensland, Australia. It lies near the town of Murgon, some 270 km north-west of Brisbane... , are fossil bone fragments clearly recognizable as passeriform; they represent two species of approximately some 10 and some 20 cm in overall length.