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Meniscolophus
''Meniscolophus'' is an extinct genus of marsupial of the family Diprotodontidae. Only one species has been described, ''Meniscolophus mawsoni'', from the Late Pliocene of the Tirari Desert, South Australia. History and naming The first remains of ''Meniscolophus'' were collected by a joint expedition between the South Australian Museum, Department of Geology of the University of Adelaide, and the University of California Museum of Paleontology in 1953. They were found in the Pliocene-aged Tirari Formation of Lake Palankarinna, South Australia. The fossils were subsequently described by Ruben A. Stirton in 1955, alongside other fossils collected during the expedition. The holotype is a mandible and left maxillary fragment belonging to the same individual. Isolated teeth from the same locality have also been referred to this taxon. The genus name means "crescent crest" in Ancient Greek. The species name was chosen to honour Sir. Douglas Mawson, a former professor at the Univers ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zygomaturinae
Diprotodontidae is an extinct family of large herbivorous marsupials, endemic to Australia and New Guinea during the Oligocene through Pleistocene periods from 28.4 million to 40,000 years ago. Description The family primarily consisted of large quadrupedal terrestrial browsers, notably including the largest marsupial that ever lived, the rhino-sized '' Diprotodon.'' '' Nimbadon,'' which is often considered a basal diprotodontid, was arboreal. Diprotodontids were plantigrade (foot and toes flat relative to the ground). In most diprotodontids, the forelimbs were not specialised and were capable of being used for functions other than movement. Some later diprotodontids from the Pliocene onwards like ''Ambulator'' and ''Diprotodon'' developed elephant-like forelimbs specialised for walking with modified wristbones which functioned as a heel, along with the development of footpads, which means that the digits probably did not contact the ground, as evidenced by the lack of toes on f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Diprotodontoidea
The Vombatiformes are one of the three suborders of the large marsupial order Diprotodontia. Seven of the nine known families within this suborder are extinct; only the families Phascolarctidae, with the koala, and Vombatidae, with three extant species of wombat, survive. Among the extinct families are the Diprotodontidae, which includes the rhinoceros sized ''Diprotodon'', believed to be the largest marsupials ever, as well as the "marsupial lions" Thylacoleonidae and "marsupial tapirs" Palorchestidae. Classification After Suborder Vombatiformes * Family †Thylacoleonidae: ( marsupial lions) ** Genus ''Microleo'' ** Genus '' Priscileo'' ** Genus ''Thylacoleo'' ** Genus ''Wakaleo'' *Infraorder Phascolarctomorphia ** Family Phascolarctidae: koala *** Genus ''Phascolarctos'' (one living species) *** Genus †''Koobor'' *** Genus †''Litokoala'' *** Genus †''Madakoala'' *** Genus †''Nimiokoala'' *** Genus †''Perikoala'' * Infraorder Vombatomorphia ** Family †Ilariidae * ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Extinct
Extinction is the termination of an organism by the death of its Endling, last member. A taxon may become Functional extinction, functionally extinct before the death of its last member if it loses the capacity to Reproduction, reproduce and recover. As a species' potential Range (biology), range may be very large, determining this moment is difficult, and is usually done retrospectively. This difficulty leads to phenomena such as Lazarus taxon, Lazarus taxa, where a species presumed extinct abruptly "reappears" (typically in the Fossil, fossil record) after a period of apparent absence. Over five billion species are estimated to have died out. It is estimated that there are currently around 8.7 million species of eukaryotes globally, possibly many times more if microorganisms are included. Notable extinct animal species include Dinosaur, non-avian dinosaurs, Machairodontinae, saber-toothed cats, and mammoths. Through evolution, species arise through the process of specia ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Incisor
Incisors (from Latin ''incidere'', "to cut") are the front teeth present in most mammals. They are located in the premaxilla above and on the mandible below. Humans have a total of eight (two on each side, top and bottom). Opossums have 18, whereas armadillos, anteaters and other animals in the order Edentata have none. Structure Adult humans normally have eight incisors, two of each type. The types of incisors are: * maxillary central incisor (upper jaw, closest to the center of the lips) * maxillary lateral incisor (upper jaw, beside the maxillary central incisor) * mandibular central incisor (lower jaw, closest to the center of the lips) * mandibular lateral incisor (lower jaw, beside the mandibular central incisor) Children with a full set of deciduous teeth (primary teeth) also have eight incisors, named the same way as in permanent teeth. Young children may have from zero to eight incisors depending on the stage of their tooth eruption and tooth development. Typic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bematherium
''Ngapakaldia'' is an extinct genus of diprotodontid marsupials, related to the modern koala and wombat. Around the size of a sheep, it was a ground-dwelling herbivore that lived around the vegetated shores of lakes in Central Australia during the Late Oligocene. The genus was established in 1967 by R. A. Stirton when describing a fossil species ''Ngapakaldia tedfordi''. The name refers to the source of the type material, Lake Ngapakaldi, located in Lake Ngapakaldi to Lake Palankarinna Fossil Area in the Tirari Desert The Tirari Desert is a desert in the eastern part of the Far North region of South Australia. It stretches 212 km from north to south and 153 km from east to west. Location and description The Tirari Desert features salt lakes and ... of central Australia. Two species are placed with the genus, ''N. bonythoni'' and ''N. tedfordi''. References Prehistoric mammals of Australia Diprotodontids Oligocene marsupials Prehistoric marsupial ge ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ngapakaldia
''Ngapakaldia'' is an extinct genus of diprotodontid marsupials, related to the modern koala and wombat. Around the size of a sheep, it was a ground-dwelling herbivore that lived around the vegetated shores of lakes in Central Australia during the Late Oligocene. The genus was established in 1967 by R. A. Stirton when describing a fossil species ''Ngapakaldia tedfordi''. The name refers to the source of the type material, Lake Ngapakaldi, located in Lake Ngapakaldi to Lake Palankarinna Fossil Area in the Tirari Desert The Tirari Desert is a desert in the eastern part of the Far North region of South Australia. It stretches 212 km from north to south and 153 km from east to west. Location and description The Tirari Desert features salt lakes and ... of central Australia. Two species are placed with the genus, ''N. bonythoni'' and ''N. tedfordi''. References Prehistoric mammals of Australia Diprotodontids Oligocene marsupials Prehistoric marsupial gen ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Palorchestidae
Palorchestidae is an extinct family of vombatiform marsupials whose members are sometimes referred to as marsupial tapirs due to the retracted nasal region of their skulls causing them to superficially resemble those of true tapirs. The idea that they had a tapir-like trunk has been contested, with other authors contending that it is more likely that they had a prehensile lip and protrusible tongue instead. While earlier representatives like '' Propalorchestes'' had relatively unspecialsed forelimbs, the last member of the family, '' Palorchestes'' developed unusual clawed forelimbs with a morphology unlike that of any living animal, which were likely used to tear vegetation. They are suggested to have been browsers. The group experienced an increase in body size over time, with ''Propalorchestes'' weighing around , while the last known species, ''Palorchestes azael'' may have exceeded a ton. They are considered to be members of Diprotodontoidea, most closely related to the also e ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Euowenia
''Euowenia'' is an extinct genus of Diprotodontia which existed from the Pliocene to the upper Pleistocene. Weighing around 500 kg, ''Euowenia'' is only known from three locations on mainland Australia, Chinchilla in Queensland, Menindee in New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ... and the Tirari formation on the Warburton River in the Lake Eyre basin. References * ''Prehistoric Mammals of Australia and New Guinea: One Hundred Million Years of Evolution'' by John A. Long, Michael Archer, Timothy Flannery, and Suzanne Hand (page 79) * ''Dinosaur Encyclopedia'' by Jayne Parsons (page 207) Diprotodontids Prehistoric marsupial genera Fossil taxa described in 1887 Pliocene marsupials Extinct mammals of Australia {{Diprotodont-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Biological Specificity
Biological specificity is the tendency of a characteristic such as a behavior or a biochemical variation to occur in a particular species. Biochemist Linus Pauling stated that "Biological specificity is the set of characteristics of living organisms or constituents of living organisms of being special or doing something special. Each animal or plant species is special. It differs in some way from all other species...biological specificity is the major problem about understanding life." Biological specificity within ''Homo sapiens'' ''Homo sapiens'' has many characteristics that show the biological specificity in the form of behavior and morphological traits. Morphologically, humans have an enlarged cranial capacity and more gracile features in comparison to other hominins. The reduction of dentition is a feature that allows for the advantage of adaptability in diet and survival. As a species, humans are culture dependent and much of human survival relies on the culture and soc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
