Zygomaturus

Zygomaturus
Temporal range: Pleistocene
Z. tasmanicus on display
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Infraclass: Marsupialia
Order: Diprotodontia
Suborder: Vombatiformes
Family: †Diprotodontidae
Subfamily: †Zygomaturinae
Genus: †Zygomaturus
Macleay, 1857
Species

†Zygomaturus diahotensis
†Zygomaturus gilli
†Zygomaturus keanei
†Zygomaturus keani
†Zygomaturus tasmanicus
†Zygomaturus trilobus

Zygomaturus[1] is an extinct genus of giant marsupial from Australia during the Pleistocene.

Description

Restoration of Z. trilobus
Z. trilobus jaw

It was a large animal, weighing 500 kg (1100 lbs) or more and standing about 1.5 m (4.9 ft) tall and 2.5 m (8.2 ft) long.[2] Much like a hippopotamus, the animal had raised nostrils. Like the wombat, it also had a backwards-facing pouch, which protected its infants (referred to as "joeys") from drowning while the animal was foraging in swamps.

Palaeobiology

It had a heavy body and thick legs and is believed to be similar to the modern pygmy hippopotamus in both size and build.[3] The genus moved on all fours.[3] It lived in the wet coastal margins of Australia and became extinct about 45,000 years ago.[3] Zygomaturus also is believed to have expanded its range toward the interior of the continent along the waterways.[3] It is believed to have lived solitarily or possibly in small herds. Zygomaturus probably ate reeds and sedges by shovelling them up in clumps with its lower incisor teeth.[3]

 

References

  1. ↑ Literal translation "Big cheekbones"
  2. ↑ http://www.megafauna.com.au/view/megafauna/zygomaturus-trilobus/
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Ellis, Richard (2004). No Turning Back: The Life and Death of Animal Species. New York: Harper Perennial. p. 101. ISBN 0-06-055804-0.

Further reading

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