Wakaleo

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iWakaleo
Fossil range: Miocene

Scientific classification

Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Infraclass:	Marsupialia
Order:	Diprotodontia
Family:	†Thylacoleonidae
Genus:	†Wakaleo Clemens & Plane, 1974

Species

†W. alcootaensis
†W. oldfieldi
†W. vanderleuri

Wakaleo was a genus of medium-sized thylacoleonids that lived in Australia in the early to late Miocene. It was approximately 2.5 ft (80 cm) long, or the size of a dog. Although much smaller than its close relative, the Marsupial Lion (Thylacoleo carnifex), Wakaleo would have been a successful hunter in its time. It had teeth specially designed for cutting and stabbing.

[edit] Species

Wakaleo alcootaensis was found in the Miocene Waite Formation in the Northern Territory in 1974. It was slightly larger than the other two species.
Wakaleo oldfieldi was found by a group of scientists working in the Miocene Wipijiri Formation in southern Australia in 1971. They found a nearly complete left dentry which included a few well-preserved teeth.
Wakaleo vanderleuri was first found by some field workers in 1967 in the Miocene Camfield Beds in the Northern Territory. Many more specimens have been found since then.