| Nimbacinus dicksoni Temporal range: Upper Oligocene - Lower Miocene (23-16 MYA) |
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|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Infraclass: | Marsupialia |
| Order: | Dasyuromorphia |
| Family: | †Thylacinidae |
| Genus: | †Nimbacinus |
| Species: | †N. dicksoni |
| Binomial name | |
| Nimbacinus dicksoni Muirhead & Archer, 1990 |
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Nimbacinus dicksoni was an ancient relative of the modern but extinct Thylacine. It lived approximately 23-16 million years ago in the Miocene period. Nimbacinus dicksoni was about 1.6 ft (50 cm) long. Being a predator, it probably ate birds, small mammals, and reptiles. Like the modern thylacine, it may have been an awkward runner and used stamina to catch prey rather than speed. Fossils have been found in Australia at Riversleigh in north-western Queensland and Bullock Creek in the Northern Territory. The fossils are very well preserved.