Litokoala is a genus of extinct marsupials from the family of koalas (Phascolarctidae). So far, only individual fragments of representatives of this genus have been found. These fragments belong to 6 different types of lithocoal, and the holotype of the type species L. kutjamarpensis consists only of the posterior part of the zygomatic process. Litokoala lived in the middle of the Miocene (16-10 million years ago) in Riversley in Queensland . In the Miocene, this area was a tropical habitat . Diet of this kind was more diverse than the diet of modern koalas, as indicated by not welded tooth symphyses . Litokoala were half the size of modern koalas . The morphology of the skull of Litokoala occupies an intermediate position between the extant brushtail and koala, with slight deviations from both: the characteristics of the posterior part of the skull are similar to Phascolarctos , while the anterior (facial) part is similar to the genus Kuzu . This genus and Nimiokoala are similar in most of the studied anatomical features. Finding out the exact phylogenetic relationship between the genera Litokoala , Nimiokoala and modern koalas requires additional materials.
| † Litokoala |
Reconstruction of lithocoys |
| Scientific classification |
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| No rank : | Bilateral symmetrical |
| Squad: | Two-tailed marsupials |
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| International scientific name |
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Litokoala Stirton et al. , 1967 [1] |
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The genus includes the following extinct species:
- Litokoala dicktedfordi Pledge, 2010 [2]
- Litokoala garyjohnstoni Louys et al. , 2007 [3]
- Litokoala kutjamarpensis Stirton et al. , 1967 typus
- Litokoala kanunkaensis Springer, 1987
- Litokoala thurmerae Pledge, 2010 [2]
- Litokoala dicksmithi Black, Louys & Price 2013 [4]
