Marsupial lions ( lat. Thylacoleonidae ) - a family of extinct predatory marsupial mammals from the order of two-marsupial marsupials . The most famous representative - the marsupial lion , whose fossil remains are found in the deposits of the Late Pleistocene , was Australia's largest predator of its time. Its height at the withers was 70 cm, and its mass was more than 110 kg. Representatives of the genus Priscileo were the size of a domestic cat , and Microleo attenboroughi was even smaller - its weight is estimated at 600 grams [1] . The family is known from the Late Oligocene to Pleistocene [2] . Their third premolars were transformed into cutting blades, and strong forelimbs had retractable claws [3] .
| † Marsupial Lions | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Attack of the marsupial lion on diprotodon . Reconstruction | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Scientific classification | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Thylacoleonidae Owen , 1852 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Classification
The family includes the following extinct taxa [4] :
- Childbirth incertae sedis
- Genus Microleo
- Microleo attenboroughi (early miocene )
- Genus Lekaneleo ( Priscileo )
- Lekaneleo roskellyae (Late Oligocene - Middle Miocene)
- Lekaneleo deminutivus (Early Miocene)
- Genus Microleo
- Subfamily Wakaleoninae
- Genus Wakaleo
- Wakaleo alcootaensis (Late Miocene)
- Wakaleo hilmeri (Late Oligocene - Early Miocene)
- Wakaleo oldfieldi (Early - Middle Miocene)
- Wakaleo pitikantensis (Late Oligocene)
- Wakaleo vanderleueri (Miocene)
- Genus Wakaleo
- Subfamily Thylacoleoninae
- Genus Thylacoleo
- Thylacoleo carnifex ( Pleistocene )
- Thylacoleo crassidentatus ( Pliocene )
- Thylacoleo hilli (Pliocene)
- Genus Thylacoleo
Notes
- ↑ "An extinct 600-gram 'micro-lion' has been discovered in Australia"
- ↑ Menna Jones, Chris R. Dickman, Mike Archer, Michael Archer Predators with pouches: the biology of carnivorous marsupials - Csiro Publishing, 2003, p. 109
- ↑ Terry A. Vaughan, James M. Ryan, Nicholas J. Czaplewski. Mammalogy . - Jones & Bartlett Learning, 2011 .-- P. 88. - 750 p. - ISBN 0763762997 .
- ↑ Anna K. 2007. Gillespie Diversity and systematics of marsupial lions from the Riversleigh world heritage area and the evolution of the Thylacoleonidae