| Lumakoala Temporal range: Oligocene PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Infraclass: | Marsupialia |
| Order: | Diprotodontia |
| Family: | Phascolarctidae |
| Genus: | †Lumakoala Crichton et al.,2023 |
| Species: | †L. blackae |
| Binomial name | |
| †Lumakoala blackae Crichton et al.,2023 | |
Lumakoala is an extinct genus of phascolarctid that inhabited the Northern Territory of Australia during the Oligocene epoch. It was a member of the Pwerte Marnte Marnte Local Fauna and is known from a single species, Lumakoala blackae.
Palaeoecology
Fossilised teeth of Lumakoala blackae were characterised by their relatively undeveloped enamel crenulations and their diminutive crown height, suggesting that it fed primarily on a diet of soft plants. It is hypothesised that it occasionally opportunistically engaged in insectivory like extant members of Phalangeriformes do.
References
- Crichton, Arthur I.; Beck, Robin M. D.; Couzens, Aidan M. C.; Worthy, Trevor H.; Camens, Aaron B.; Prideaux, Gavin J. (4 September 2023). "A probable koala from the Oligocene of central Australia provides insights into early diprotodontian evolution". Scientific Reports. 13 (1): 14521. Bibcode:2023NatSR..1314521C. doi:10.1038/s41598-023-41471-0. ISSN 2045-2322. PMC 10477348. PMID 37666885.
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