| Wakaleo oldfieldi Temporal range: Miocene |
|
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Infraclass: | Marsupialia |
| Order: | Diprotodontia |
| Family: | Thylacoleonidae |
| Genus: | Wakaleo |
| Species: | W. oldfieldi |
| Binomial name | |
| Wakaleo oldfieldi Clemens & Plane, 1974 |
|
Wakaleo oldfieldi is an extinct species of marsupial lion found in the tertiary deposits of South Australia. There are three unfused molar teeth instead of two fused molars as is the case with the Pleistocene Thylacoleo carnifex.
As with T. carnifex, this species is presumed to used its maxillary (upper) teeth to hold its food and sharpen the mandibular teeth, the later were also used in slicing and stabbing during eating. The premolars also had a crescent shaped circumference for slicing.[1]