Biology:Nimbacinus dicksoni
| Nimbacinus dicksoni | |
|---|---|
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Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Infraclass: | Marsupialia |
| Order: | Dasyuromorphia |
| Family: | †Thylacinidae |
| Genus: | †Nimbacinus |
| Species: | †N. dicksoni
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| Binomial name | |
| †Nimbacinus dicksoni Muirhead & Archer, 1990[1]
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Nimbacinus dicksoni is an extinct thylacinid marsupial, a close relative of the recent but extinct thylacinid known as the Tasmanian tiger. It lived approximately 23-16 million years ago in the Miocene period. Nimbacinus dicksoni was about 1.6 ft (50 cm) long. Being a predator, it likely ate birds, small mammals, and reptiles. Like the recently-extinct thylacine, it may have been an awkward runner and used stamina to catch prey rather than speed. Fossils have been found in Australia at Riversleigh in north-western Queensland and Bullock Creek in the Northern Territory.
Like all thylacinids, Nimbacinus dicksoni was a dog-like marsupial, though its smaller size makes its appearance more comparable to that of a fox. Unlike its relatives, its jaws were likely strong enough for it to take down prey larger than itself.[2]
The known material consists of a nearly complete skeleton, missing only the feet and tail, though the holotype consists only of upper and lower jaws found in a different part of the same fossil site. In terms of completeness, it is the best-known thylacinid, excluding the thylacine.
References
- ↑ Muirhead, J.; Archer, M. (1990). "Nimbacinus dicksoni, a plesiomorphic thylacine (Marsupialia: Thylacinidae) from Tertiary deposits of Queensland and the Northern Territory". Memoirs of the Queensland Museum 28: 203–221. https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/part/74470.
- ↑ Attard, Marie R. G.; Parr, William C. H.; Wilson, Laura A. B.; Archer, Michael; Hand, Suzanne J.; Rogers, Tracey L.; Wroe, Stephen (2014). "Virtual Reconstruction and Prey Size Preference in the Mid Cenozoic Thylacinid, Nimbacinus dicksoni (Thylacinidae, Marsupialia)". PLOS ONE 9 (4): e93088. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0093088. PMID 24718109. Bibcode: 2014PLoSO...993088A.
External links
- Australian Museum Nimbacinus dicksoni
- Australia's lost kingdom
- Australian Beast's
- Australian Museum
- Nimbacinus dicksoni information at The Thylacine Museum
- Mikko's Phylogeny Archive
- NIMBA CINUS DICKSONl, A PLESIOMORPHIC THYLACINE (MARSUPIALIA: THYLACINIDAE) FROM TERTIARY DEPOSITS OF QUEENSLAND AND THE NORTHERN TERRITORY J. MUIRHEAD AND M. ARCHER
- Lorraeme Shume, “Drawing and modelling an extinct species”, The Science Show, 5 January 2013
Wikidata ☰ Q2095555 entry
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