Biology:Thylacoleonidae
| Thylacoleonidae | |
|---|---|
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| Thylacoleo | |
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Infraclass: | Marsupialia |
| Order: | Diprotodontia |
| Suborder: | Vombatiformes |
| Family: | †Thylacoleonidae Gill, 1872[1] |
| Genera | |
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Thylacoleonidae is a family of extinct carnivorous diprotodontian marsupials from Australia , referred to as marsupial lions.[2] The best known is Thylacoleo carnifex, also called the marsupial lion.[3] The clade ranged from the Late Oligocene to the Late Pleistocene, with some species the size of a possum, while members of Thylacoleo reached sizes comparable to living big cats.
Description
A notable distinctive feature of thylacoleonids is their unusual blade-like third premolars,[4] which functioned as the carnassial teeth.[5] Thylacoleonids varied widely in body size. One of the smallest thylacoleonids, the Early Miocene Microleo attenboroughi, is estimated to have had a body mass of 590 grams (1.30 lb), while the last species of the family, the Pleistocene Thylacoleo carnifex is suggested to have had a body mass of around 160 kilograms (350 lb), comparable to a big cat.[6] Later members of the group saw progressive reduction in the number of teeth in the jaws.[7]
Ecology
Early members of Thylacinidae like Microleo, Lekaneleo and early species of Wakaleo were likely arboreal tree climbing mammals, though later members of Wakaleo and Thylacoleo were likely primarily terrestrial with some climbing capabilities.[8][9] Earlier species of Thylacoleonidae like Lekaneleo roskellyae are suggested to have been omnivorous, while at least later species of Wakaleo and Thylacoleo are thought to have been hypercarnivores.[10]
Taxonomy
Thylacoleontidae is considered a member of Diprotodontia, though its precise position within that group is uncertain. They have often been considered a basal group (often the most basal group) within Vombatiformes, making their closest living relatives wombats and koalas,[11] though other authors have placed them at the base of Diprotodontia, outside of either Vombatiformes, Phalangeriformes or Macropodiformes.[12] Thylacoleonids are thought to have evolved from herbivorous ancestors.[5]
The family was described by Theodore Gill in a systematic revision of mammalian taxa published by the Smithsonian Institution in 1872.[1] The name is derived from the genus named by Richard Owen, Thylacoleo, which he recognised as a potent carnivore and described as marsupial version of the modern lions (Leo).
A revision of the family was published in 2017, enabled by the discovery of a skull of an early species, named as Wakaleo schouteni, which allowed closer comparison with previously described species and the more complete fossil record of the lineages. The study by Anna Gillespie, Mike Archer and Suzanne Hand, revised the description of Wakaleo to include a new species and circumscribe taxa previously assigned to Priscileo.[7]
Classification
Five genera are currently accepted as belonging to this family:[13]
- Genus Enigmaleo
- Enigmaleo archeri (Early Miocene)[10]
- Genus Lekaneleo
- Lekaneleo myersi (Middle Miocene)[10]
- Lekaneleo roskellyae (Early Miocene)
- Genus Microleo
- Microleo attenboroughi (Early Miocene)[14]
- Subfamily Thylacoleoninae
- Genus Thylacoleo
- Thylacoleo crassidentatus (Pliocene)
- Thylacoleo hilli (Pliocene)
- Thylacoleo carnifex (Pleistocene)
- Genus Thylacoleo
- Subfamily Wakaleoninae
- Genus Wakaleo
- Wakaleo pitikantensis (Late Oligocene)
- Wakaleo schouteni (Late Oligocene—Early Miocene)
- Wakaleo oldfieldi (Early Miocene—Late Miocene)
- Wakaleo vanderleuri (Middle Miocene—Late Miocene)
- Wakaleo alcootaensis (Late Miocene)
- Genus Wakaleo
Cladogram after Gillespie (2023):[10]
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References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Gill, Theodore (1872). "Arrangement of the families of mammals. With analytical tables. Prepared for the Smithsonian institution.". Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections (Smithsonian Institution) 11: 1–98. https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/bibliography/14607.
- ↑ Werdelin, L (1988). "Circumventing a Constraint - the Case of Thylacoleo (Marsupialia, Thylacoleonidae)". Australian Journal of Zoology 36 (5): 565. doi:10.1071/ZO9880565.
- ↑ Wroe, Stephen. "Move Over Sabre-Tooth Tiger". Australian Museum. http://www.austmus.gov.au/mammals/fossil/move_over_sabre.htm. Retrieved 2008-06-03.
- ↑ Gillespie, Anna K.; Archer, Michael; Hand, Suzanne J. (2016). "A tiny new marsupial lion (Marsupialia, Thylacoleonidae) from the early Miocene of Australia". Palaeontologia Electronica (Palaeontological Association) 19 (2.26A): 1–26. doi:10.26879/632. http://palaeo-electronica.org/content/pdfs/632.pdf. Retrieved 29 August 2016.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Werdelin, L (1988). "Circumventing a Constraint - the Case of Thylacoleo (Marsupialia, Thylacoleonidae)" (in en). Australian Journal of Zoology 36 (5): 565. doi:10.1071/ZO9880565. ISSN 0004-959X. http://www.publish.csiro.au/?paper=ZO9880565.
- ↑ Gillespie, Anna K.; Archer, Michael; Hand, Suzanne J. (2019-09-03). "Lekaneleo , a new genus of marsupial lion (Marsupialia, Thylacoleonidae) from the Oligocene–Miocene of Australia, and the craniodental morphology of L. roskellyae , comb. nov." (in en). Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 39 (5): e1703722. doi:10.1080/02724634.2019.1703722. ISSN 0272-4634. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02724634.2019.1703722.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Gillespie, A.K.; Archer, M.; Hand, S.J. (6 December 2017). "A new Oligo–Miocene marsupial lion from Australia and revision of the family Thylacoleonidae". Journal of Systematic Palaeontology 17 (1): 59–89. doi:10.1080/14772019.2017.1391885.
- ↑ Figueirido, Borja; Martín-Serra, Alberto; Janis, Christine M. (August 2016). "Ecomorphological determinations in the absence of living analogues: the predatory behavior of the marsupial lion ( Thylacoleo carnifex ) as revealed by elbow joint morphology" (in en). Paleobiology 42 (3): 508–531. doi:10.1017/pab.2015.55. ISSN 0094-8373. Bibcode: 2016Pbio...42..508F. https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S009483731500055X/type/journal_article.
- ↑ Warburton, Natalie M.; Yates, Adam. M. (2020-12-10). "Functional morphology of Wakaleo postcrania from the middle to late Miocene of central Australia reveals new insights in the evolution of marsupial hypercarnivores" (in en). Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 40 (6): e1878203. doi:10.1080/02724634.2021.1878203. ISSN 0272-4634. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02724634.2021.1878203.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 Gillespie, A. K. (2023). "Two new marsupial lion taxa (Marsupialia, Thylacoleonidae) from the early and Middle Miocene of Australia". Alcheringa: An Australasian Journal of Palaeontology: 1–16. doi:10.1080/03115518.2022.2152096.
- ↑ Beck, Robin M. D. (2023), Cáceres, Nilton C.; Dickman, Christopher R., eds., "Diversity and Phylogeny of Marsupials and Their Stem Relatives (Metatheria)" (in en), American and Australasian Marsupials (Cham: Springer International Publishing): pp. 1–66, doi:10.1007/978-3-030-88800-8_35-1, ISBN 978-3-030-88800-8, https://link.springer.com/10.1007/978-3-030-88800-8_35-1, retrieved 2023-09-06
- ↑ Beck, Robin M.D.; Voss, Robert S.; Jansa, Sharon A. (2022-06-28). "Craniodental Morphology and Phylogeny of Marsupials". Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 457 (1). doi:10.1206/0003-0090.457.1.1. ISSN 0003-0090. https://bioone.org/journals/bulletin-of-the-american-museum-of-natural-history/volume-457/issue-1/0003-0090.457.1.1/Craniodental-Morphology-and-Phylogeny-of-Marsupials/10.1206/0003-0090.457.1.1.full.
- ↑ Haaramo, Mikko. "Diprotodontia - diprotodonts". Mikko's Phylogeny Archive. http://www.helsinki.fi/~mhaaramo/metazoa/deuterostoma/chordata/synapsida/metatheria/notometatheria/diprotodontia/diprotodontia.html. Retrieved 2007-12-29.[needs update?]
- ↑ Gough, Myles (25 August 2016). "Kitten-sized extinct 'lion' named after David Attenborough". BBC News. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-australia-37182388. Retrieved 29 August 2016.
Wikidata ☰ Q693481 entry
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