''Nimbadon'' is an

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 ...

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

of marsupial, that lived from the

Oligocene The Oligocene ( ) is a geologic epoch (geology), epoch of the Paleogene Geologic time scale, Period that extends from about 33.9 million to 23 million years before the present ( to ). As with other older geologic periods, the rock beds that defin ...

to the

Miocene The Miocene ( ) is the first epoch (geology), geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and mea ...

. Many

fossils A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved ...

have been found in the Riversleigh World Heritage property in north-western

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

. It is thought to have an

arboreal Arboreal locomotion is the locomotion of animals in trees. In habitats in which trees are present, animals have evolved to move in them. Some animals may scale trees only occasionally (scansorial), but others are exclusively arboreal. The hab ...

lifestyle. In 1990, skulls were unearthed in a previously unknown cave in the region. Researchers estimate that the first species of ''Nimbadon'' first appeared around 25 million years ago and went extinct around 12 million years ago, perhaps from climate change-induced habitat loss.

Description

''Nimbadon lavarackorum'' is described as being koala-like. It is known from as many as 24 well-articulated specimens. The species was a tree-dweller, mainly feeding on stems and leaves. The feet and claws were large, being superficially similar to those of the koala. They retracted their claws when walking.

Phylogeny

While originally classified as a member of the family

Diprotodontidae 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 lar ...

, a primarily terrestrial group, some later studies suggested a more basal position within the Diprotodontoidea.

Palaeoecology

''N. lavarackorum'' was an arboreal

frugivore A frugivore ( ) is an animal that thrives mostly on raw fruits or succulent fruit-like produce of plants such as roots, shoots, nuts and seeds. Approximately 20% of mammalian herbivores eat fruit. Frugivores are highly dependent on the abundance ...

that primarily fed on C₃ fruits.

References

External links

Australias lost kingdoms, Nimbodon.Black K. H. and Hand. S 2010., Nimbadon crania and species boundaries, American Museum novitates, no. 3678KAREN H. BLACK,* MICHAEL ARCHER, SUZANNE J. HAND, and HENK GODTHELP FIRST COMPREHENSIVE ANALYSIS OF CRANIAL ONTOGENY IN A FOSSIL MARSUPIAL—FROM A 15-MILLION-YEAR-OLD CAVE DEPOSIT IN NORTHERN AUSTRALIA"Cave yields marsupial fossil haul"
BBC News. 2010-07-19.
"Giant tree wombat discovery wins science prize"
ABC News 2012-05-03 Prehistoric mammals of Australia Prehistoric vombatiforms Oligocene marsupials Miocene marsupials Riversleigh fauna Fossil taxa described in 1993 Prehistoric marsupial genera {{paleo-marsupial-stub