Despite the recognition that bone histology provides much information about the life history and ... more Despite the recognition that bone histology provides much information about the life history and biology of extinct animals, osteohistology of extinct marsupials is sorely lacking. We studied the bone histology of the ca. 15-million-year-old Nimbadon lavarackorum from Australia to obtain insight into its biology. The histology of thin sections of five femora and five tibiae of juveniles, subadult, and adult Nimbadon lavarackorum was studied. Growth marks in the bones suggest that N. lavarackorum took at least 7–8 years (and likely longer) to reach skeletal maturity. The predominant bone tissue during early ontogeny is parallel-fibered bone, whereas an even slower rate of bone formation is indicated by the presence of lamellar bone tissue in the periosteal parts of the compacta in older individuals. Deposition of bone was interrupted periodically by lines of arrested growth or annuli. This cyclical growth strategy indicates that growth in N. lavarackorum was affected by the prevailin...
Alcheringa: An Australasian Journal of Palaeontology, 2016
Binfield, P., Archer, M., Hand, S.J., Black, K.H., Myers, T.J., Gillespie, A.K. & Arena, D.A.... more Binfield, P., Archer, M., Hand, S.J., Black, K.H., Myers, T.J., Gillespie, A.K. & Arena, D.A., June 2016. A new Miocene carnivorous marsupial, Barinya kutjamarpensis (Dasyuromorphia), from central Australia. Alcheringa 41, xx–xx. ISSN 0311-5518. A new dasyuromorphian, Barinya kutjamarpensis sp. nov., is described on the basis of a partial dentary recovered from the Miocene Wipajiri Formation of northern South Australia. Although about the same size as the only other species of this genus, B. wangala from the Miocene faunal assemblages of the Riversleigh World Heritage Area, northwestern Queensland, it has significant differences in morphology including a very reduced talonid on M4 and proportionately wider molars. Based on the structural differences and the more extensive wear on its teeth, the central Australian species might have consumed harder or more abrasive prey in a more silt-rich environment than its congener, which hunted in the wet early to middle Miocene forests of Riversleigh. Pippa Binfield [pippa.binfield@outlook.com], Michael Archer [m.archer@unsw.edu.au], Suzanne J. Hand [s.hand@unsw.edu.au], Karen H. Black [k.black@unsw.edu.au], Troy J. Myers [t.myers@unsw.edu.au] Anna K. Gillespie [a.gillespie@unsw.edu.au] and Derrick A. Arena [rick@sitc.net.au], PANGEA Research Centre, School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales 2052, Sydney, Australia.
Two new neoavian landbirds are reported from the early Miocene St Bathans Fauna from New Zealand.... more Two new neoavian landbirds are reported from the early Miocene St Bathans Fauna from New Zealand. Aegotheles zealandivetus sp. nov. is described from several bones, among which, notably, the tarsometatarsus shows more similarity to New Guinean taxa than to Australian—New Zealand species. Zealandornis relictus gen. et sp. nov. is described from a distal end of a humerus and placed in the new family Zealandornithidae, tentatively among the ‘higher landbirds’ Telluraves, with most similarity to coliiforms. The humerus is of similar size to that of species of Colius and its gracile shaft and very shallow sulcus scapulotricipitalis suggests reduced flying ability. The new species of Aegotheles reinforces the Australasian nature of the Zealandian fauna, while in contrast, Zealandornis relictus gen. et sp. nov. appears to have no close relatives. It is as distinct as Acanthisittidae and Strigopidae among birds, or Leiopelmatidae and Sphenodontidae among the herpetofauna, and like them, rep...
We describe the partial cranium and skeleton of a new diprotodontian marsupial from the late Olig... more We describe the partial cranium and skeleton of a new diprotodontian marsupial from the late Oligocene (~26–25 Ma) Namba Formation of South Australia. This is one of the oldest Australian marsupial fossils known from an associated skeleton and it reveals previously unsuspected morphological diversity within Vombatiformes, the clade that includes wombats (Vombatidae), koalas (Phascolarctidae) and several extinct families. Several aspects of the skull and teeth of the new taxon, which we refer to a new family, are intermediate between members of the fossil family Wynyardiidae and wombats. Its postcranial skeleton exhibits features associated with scratch-digging, but it is unlikely to have been a true burrower. Body mass estimates based on postcranial dimensions range between 143 and 171 kg, suggesting that it was ~5 times larger than living wombats. Phylogenetic analysis based on 79 craniodental and 20 postcranial characters places the new taxon as sister to vombatids, with which it ...
Chamberlain, P.M., Travouillon, K.J., Archer, M. & Hand, S.J., November 2015. <i>Kutjamarco... more Chamberlain, P.M., Travouillon, K.J., Archer, M. & Hand, S.J., November 2015. <i>Kutjamarcoot brevirostrum</i> gen. et sp. nov., a new short-snouted, early Miocene bandicoot (Marsupialia: Peramelemorphia) from the Kutjamarpu Local Fauna (Wipajiri Formation) in South Australia. <i>Alcheringa 40</i>, XX–XX. ISSN 0311-5518. A new bandicoot species, <i>Kutjamarcoot brevirostrum</i> gen. et sp. nov. (Peramelemorphia), is described here from the Leaf Locality, Kutjamarpu Local Fauna (LF), Wipajiri Formation (South Australia). The age of the fossil deposit is interpreted as early Miocene on the basis of biocorrelation between multiple species in the Kutjamarpu LF and local faunas from the Riversleigh World Heritage Area (WHA). <i>Kutjamarcoot brevirostrum</i> is represented by isolated teeth and three partial dentaries and appears to have been short-snouted with an estimated mass of 920 g. Phylogenetic analyses place <i>K. brevirostrum&...
<div><p>Travouillon, K.J., Archer, M. & Hand, S.J., 21.01.2015. Revision of <i... more <div><p>Travouillon, K.J., Archer, M. & Hand, S.J., 21.01.2015. Revision of <i>Wabularoo</i>, an early macropodid kangaroo from mid-Cenozoic deposits of the Riversleigh World Heritage Area, Queensland, Australia. <i>Alcheringa 39</i>, xxx–xxx. ISSN 0311-5518</p><p>Since its original description, the phylogenetic relationships of the macropodoid <i>Wabularoo naughtoni</i> Archer, <a href="#CIT0001" target="_blank">1979</a>, from the Riversleigh World Heritage Area have remained a mystery. We have recovered new material representing the upper dentition previously unknown for this late Oligocene taxon, and new early Miocene specimens representing the upper and lower dentition of a second species, <i>W</i>. <i>prideauxi</i> sp. nov. We assessed their phylogenetic relationships using matrices from two previous studies, and recovered both species of <i>Wabularoo</i> as basal macropodids. <i>Wabularoo</i> is characterized by having bilophodont molars, large sectorial P3/p3 with coarse ridges, presence of a forelink, neometaconule and postlink on M1–3, well-developed anterior cingulum, precingulum, postparacrista and premetacrista on all upper molars, and retention of StC on M1–2. Although the subfamilial affinities of <i>Wabularoo</i> are unresolved, we propose that several morphological features of the dentary and the upper and lower third premolar suggest affinity with Sthenurinae. These features include short diastema, posteriorly positioned digastric eminence, presence of posterior mental foramen, and similar molar and premolar morphology. If our interpretations are correct, sthenurines arose from basal macropodids between the early and middle Miocene.</p><p><i>Kenny J</i>. <i>Travouillon [<a href="mailto:kennytravouillon@hotmail.com" target="_blank">kennytravouillon@hotmail.com</a>] School of Earth Sciences, University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland 4072, Australia; Michael Archer [<a href="mailto:m.archer@unsw.edu.au" target="_blank">m.archer@unsw.edu.au</a>] and Suzanne J</i>. <i>Hand [<a href="mailto:s.hand@unsw.edu.au" target="_blank">s.hand@unsw.edu.au</a>] School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales, New South Wales 2052, Australia</i>.</p></div
Alcheringa: An Australasian Journal of Palaeontology, 2014
ABSTRACT Computed tomography (CT) and traditional techniques were used to study the internal morp... more ABSTRACT Computed tomography (CT) and traditional techniques were used to study the internal morphology of modern fruits of Pleiogynium timoriense (DC.) Leenh., and phosphatized and silicified fruits that were considered to belong to the genus. The results demonstrate that phosphatized fruits from the Oligocene–Miocene Dunsinane site at Riversleigh and silicified fruits from the Oligocene Glencoe Site, which are both in Queensland, are referable to Pleiogynium. The Riversleigh material (Pleiogynium wannanii Rozefelds, Dettmann &amp; Clifford sp. nov.) is very similar to extant P. timoriense (DC.) Leenh. Both possess locules that, in the vertical axial plane, are asymmetrically reniform and enclosed by a two-layered endocarp, the inner layer woody and resistant to decay, the outer of fibres and parenchyma, surrounded by a mesocarp of fibres and sclereids and a parenchymatous exocarp. The outer mesocarp is sculpted by meridionally arranged, elongate depressions (germination apertures) situated at the dorsal surface of each locule; erosion of the mesocarp and outer endocarp provides passage for emergence of the embryo’s radicle on germination. The silicified material from Glencoe (P. parvum Rozefelds, Dettmann &amp; Clifford sp. nov.) is smaller in all its parts and has locules that are ovate in the vertical axial plane. Discrete, cap-like, opercula are not evident in the fruit wall of the fossil and extant fruits studied. The presence of Pleiogynium, and associated taxa, indicates the existence of rainforest communities at Glencoe, and mixed open forest/rainforest at Riversleigh during Oligocene–Miocene times. The multilocular, fossil fruit described as Pleiogynium mitchellii Collinson, Manchester and Wilde from the Eocene deposits at Messel Quarry, Germany, is not considered to belong in the genus, as evidence of elongate depressions on the dorsal surface of the fruit stones has not been demonstrated conclusively, and its internal morphology/anatomy differs significantly from that of Pleiogynium.
Despite the recognition that bone histology provides much information about the life history and ... more Despite the recognition that bone histology provides much information about the life history and biology of extinct animals, osteohistology of extinct marsupials is sorely lacking. We studied the bone histology of the ca. 15-million-year-old Nimbadon lavarackorum from Australia to obtain insight into its biology. The histology of thin sections of five femora and five tibiae of juveniles, subadult, and adult Nimbadon lavarackorum was studied. Growth marks in the bones suggest that N. lavarackorum took at least 7–8 years (and likely longer) to reach skeletal maturity. The predominant bone tissue during early ontogeny is parallel-fibered bone, whereas an even slower rate of bone formation is indicated by the presence of lamellar bone tissue in the periosteal parts of the compacta in older individuals. Deposition of bone was interrupted periodically by lines of arrested growth or annuli. This cyclical growth strategy indicates that growth in N. lavarackorum was affected by the prevailin...
Alcheringa: An Australasian Journal of Palaeontology, 2016
Binfield, P., Archer, M., Hand, S.J., Black, K.H., Myers, T.J., Gillespie, A.K. & Arena, D.A.... more Binfield, P., Archer, M., Hand, S.J., Black, K.H., Myers, T.J., Gillespie, A.K. & Arena, D.A., June 2016. A new Miocene carnivorous marsupial, Barinya kutjamarpensis (Dasyuromorphia), from central Australia. Alcheringa 41, xx–xx. ISSN 0311-5518. A new dasyuromorphian, Barinya kutjamarpensis sp. nov., is described on the basis of a partial dentary recovered from the Miocene Wipajiri Formation of northern South Australia. Although about the same size as the only other species of this genus, B. wangala from the Miocene faunal assemblages of the Riversleigh World Heritage Area, northwestern Queensland, it has significant differences in morphology including a very reduced talonid on M4 and proportionately wider molars. Based on the structural differences and the more extensive wear on its teeth, the central Australian species might have consumed harder or more abrasive prey in a more silt-rich environment than its congener, which hunted in the wet early to middle Miocene forests of Riversleigh. Pippa Binfield [pippa.binfield@outlook.com], Michael Archer [m.archer@unsw.edu.au], Suzanne J. Hand [s.hand@unsw.edu.au], Karen H. Black [k.black@unsw.edu.au], Troy J. Myers [t.myers@unsw.edu.au] Anna K. Gillespie [a.gillespie@unsw.edu.au] and Derrick A. Arena [rick@sitc.net.au], PANGEA Research Centre, School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales 2052, Sydney, Australia.
Two new neoavian landbirds are reported from the early Miocene St Bathans Fauna from New Zealand.... more Two new neoavian landbirds are reported from the early Miocene St Bathans Fauna from New Zealand. Aegotheles zealandivetus sp. nov. is described from several bones, among which, notably, the tarsometatarsus shows more similarity to New Guinean taxa than to Australian—New Zealand species. Zealandornis relictus gen. et sp. nov. is described from a distal end of a humerus and placed in the new family Zealandornithidae, tentatively among the ‘higher landbirds’ Telluraves, with most similarity to coliiforms. The humerus is of similar size to that of species of Colius and its gracile shaft and very shallow sulcus scapulotricipitalis suggests reduced flying ability. The new species of Aegotheles reinforces the Australasian nature of the Zealandian fauna, while in contrast, Zealandornis relictus gen. et sp. nov. appears to have no close relatives. It is as distinct as Acanthisittidae and Strigopidae among birds, or Leiopelmatidae and Sphenodontidae among the herpetofauna, and like them, rep...
We describe the partial cranium and skeleton of a new diprotodontian marsupial from the late Olig... more We describe the partial cranium and skeleton of a new diprotodontian marsupial from the late Oligocene (~26–25 Ma) Namba Formation of South Australia. This is one of the oldest Australian marsupial fossils known from an associated skeleton and it reveals previously unsuspected morphological diversity within Vombatiformes, the clade that includes wombats (Vombatidae), koalas (Phascolarctidae) and several extinct families. Several aspects of the skull and teeth of the new taxon, which we refer to a new family, are intermediate between members of the fossil family Wynyardiidae and wombats. Its postcranial skeleton exhibits features associated with scratch-digging, but it is unlikely to have been a true burrower. Body mass estimates based on postcranial dimensions range between 143 and 171 kg, suggesting that it was ~5 times larger than living wombats. Phylogenetic analysis based on 79 craniodental and 20 postcranial characters places the new taxon as sister to vombatids, with which it ...
Chamberlain, P.M., Travouillon, K.J., Archer, M. & Hand, S.J., November 2015. <i>Kutjamarco... more Chamberlain, P.M., Travouillon, K.J., Archer, M. & Hand, S.J., November 2015. <i>Kutjamarcoot brevirostrum</i> gen. et sp. nov., a new short-snouted, early Miocene bandicoot (Marsupialia: Peramelemorphia) from the Kutjamarpu Local Fauna (Wipajiri Formation) in South Australia. <i>Alcheringa 40</i>, XX–XX. ISSN 0311-5518. A new bandicoot species, <i>Kutjamarcoot brevirostrum</i> gen. et sp. nov. (Peramelemorphia), is described here from the Leaf Locality, Kutjamarpu Local Fauna (LF), Wipajiri Formation (South Australia). The age of the fossil deposit is interpreted as early Miocene on the basis of biocorrelation between multiple species in the Kutjamarpu LF and local faunas from the Riversleigh World Heritage Area (WHA). <i>Kutjamarcoot brevirostrum</i> is represented by isolated teeth and three partial dentaries and appears to have been short-snouted with an estimated mass of 920 g. Phylogenetic analyses place <i>K. brevirostrum&...
<div><p>Travouillon, K.J., Archer, M. & Hand, S.J., 21.01.2015. Revision of <i... more <div><p>Travouillon, K.J., Archer, M. & Hand, S.J., 21.01.2015. Revision of <i>Wabularoo</i>, an early macropodid kangaroo from mid-Cenozoic deposits of the Riversleigh World Heritage Area, Queensland, Australia. <i>Alcheringa 39</i>, xxx–xxx. ISSN 0311-5518</p><p>Since its original description, the phylogenetic relationships of the macropodoid <i>Wabularoo naughtoni</i> Archer, <a href="#CIT0001" target="_blank">1979</a>, from the Riversleigh World Heritage Area have remained a mystery. We have recovered new material representing the upper dentition previously unknown for this late Oligocene taxon, and new early Miocene specimens representing the upper and lower dentition of a second species, <i>W</i>. <i>prideauxi</i> sp. nov. We assessed their phylogenetic relationships using matrices from two previous studies, and recovered both species of <i>Wabularoo</i> as basal macropodids. <i>Wabularoo</i> is characterized by having bilophodont molars, large sectorial P3/p3 with coarse ridges, presence of a forelink, neometaconule and postlink on M1–3, well-developed anterior cingulum, precingulum, postparacrista and premetacrista on all upper molars, and retention of StC on M1–2. Although the subfamilial affinities of <i>Wabularoo</i> are unresolved, we propose that several morphological features of the dentary and the upper and lower third premolar suggest affinity with Sthenurinae. These features include short diastema, posteriorly positioned digastric eminence, presence of posterior mental foramen, and similar molar and premolar morphology. If our interpretations are correct, sthenurines arose from basal macropodids between the early and middle Miocene.</p><p><i>Kenny J</i>. <i>Travouillon [<a href="mailto:kennytravouillon@hotmail.com" target="_blank">kennytravouillon@hotmail.com</a>] School of Earth Sciences, University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland 4072, Australia; Michael Archer [<a href="mailto:m.archer@unsw.edu.au" target="_blank">m.archer@unsw.edu.au</a>] and Suzanne J</i>. <i>Hand [<a href="mailto:s.hand@unsw.edu.au" target="_blank">s.hand@unsw.edu.au</a>] School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales, New South Wales 2052, Australia</i>.</p></div
Alcheringa: An Australasian Journal of Palaeontology, 2014
ABSTRACT Computed tomography (CT) and traditional techniques were used to study the internal morp... more ABSTRACT Computed tomography (CT) and traditional techniques were used to study the internal morphology of modern fruits of Pleiogynium timoriense (DC.) Leenh., and phosphatized and silicified fruits that were considered to belong to the genus. The results demonstrate that phosphatized fruits from the Oligocene–Miocene Dunsinane site at Riversleigh and silicified fruits from the Oligocene Glencoe Site, which are both in Queensland, are referable to Pleiogynium. The Riversleigh material (Pleiogynium wannanii Rozefelds, Dettmann &amp; Clifford sp. nov.) is very similar to extant P. timoriense (DC.) Leenh. Both possess locules that, in the vertical axial plane, are asymmetrically reniform and enclosed by a two-layered endocarp, the inner layer woody and resistant to decay, the outer of fibres and parenchyma, surrounded by a mesocarp of fibres and sclereids and a parenchymatous exocarp. The outer mesocarp is sculpted by meridionally arranged, elongate depressions (germination apertures) situated at the dorsal surface of each locule; erosion of the mesocarp and outer endocarp provides passage for emergence of the embryo’s radicle on germination. The silicified material from Glencoe (P. parvum Rozefelds, Dettmann &amp; Clifford sp. nov.) is smaller in all its parts and has locules that are ovate in the vertical axial plane. Discrete, cap-like, opercula are not evident in the fruit wall of the fossil and extant fruits studied. The presence of Pleiogynium, and associated taxa, indicates the existence of rainforest communities at Glencoe, and mixed open forest/rainforest at Riversleigh during Oligocene–Miocene times. The multilocular, fossil fruit described as Pleiogynium mitchellii Collinson, Manchester and Wilde from the Eocene deposits at Messel Quarry, Germany, is not considered to belong in the genus, as evidence of elongate depressions on the dorsal surface of the fruit stones has not been demonstrated conclusively, and its internal morphology/anatomy differs significantly from that of Pleiogynium.
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