Thylacoleo

Thylacoleo is an extinct genus of large carnivorous marsupials from Australia. Its best-known species, Thylacoleo carnifex, lived during the Pleistocene and is commonly called the marsupial lion.

Thylacoleo carnifex: The Pleistocene species Thylacoleo carnifex was a large Australian marsupial predator known as the marsupial lion. This species supplies most evidence about the genus’s anatomy and likely hunting behavior.
Marsupial: A mammal whose young are born at an early stage and typically continue development attached to a teat. Thylacoleo belonged to this distinctive mammalian reproductive lineage.
Diprotodon: An extinct genus of enormous herbivorous marsupials that lived in Australia during the Pleistocene. It shared the continent and broad diprotodontian ancestry with Thylacoleo.
Naracoorte Caves: A South Australian cave system containing extensive fossil deposits from the Pleistocene. Its deposits preserve remains of Thylacoleo and other Australian megafauna.
Carnassial: A blade-like cheek tooth adapted for slicing flesh in many carnivorous mammals. Thylacoleo’s unusual premolars performed a carnassial-like cutting role.
Diprotodontia: A large order of marsupials characterized by paired forward-pointing lower incisors. Thylacoleo is classified within this order alongside kangaroos and wombats.
Wakaleo: An extinct genus of smaller, earlier marsupial lions from Australia. Its species document earlier branches in the evolutionary history of Thylacoleo.
Nullarbor Plain: A large limestone plateau spanning southern Australia, with caves that preserve Pleistocene fossils. Cave deposits on the plain have yielded evidence of Thylacoleo.
Thylacoleo claw: A strongly curved, retractile claw of Thylacoleo, especially prominent on the forelimbs. The hooked claws may have helped seize or restrain prey.
Pleistocene: The geological epoch from about 2.58 million to 11,700 years ago, marked by repeated glacial cycles. Thylacoleo carnifex lived in Australia during this epoch.

Linked from 3 pages