Barinya

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Barinya Fossil range: Early - middle Miocene
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Infraclass: Marsupialia Order: Dasyuromorphia Family: Dasyuridae Subfamily: Barinyainae Wroe, 1999 Genus: Barinya Wroe, 1999 Species: B. wangala
Binomial name
Barinya wangala Wroe, 1999

Barinya is a fossil genus from the marsupial family Dasyuridae, which contains the oldest known undoubted dasyurid.^[1]

The principle difference between Barinya and more recent dasyurids are in the dentition and skull morphology; with Barinya displaying more primitive features. There is one described fossil and at least one that remains to be described. This genus has only been found at Riversleigh in Queensland where it is quite common in deposits from the Oligo-Miocene.^[2]

[edit] References

1. ^ Long, J., Archer, M., Flannery, T. and Hand, S. 2002. Prehistoric Mammals of Australia and New Guinea: One Hundred Million Years of Evolution. John Hopkins University Press. pp 51. ISBN 0801872235.
2. ^ Wroe, S. 1999. The geologically oldest dasyurid, from the Miocene of Riversleigh, north-west Queensland. Paleontology. 42:501-527