Hypsiprymnodon karenblackae

Hypsiprymnodon karenblackae
Temporal range: Miocene
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Infraclass: Marsupialia
Order: Diprotodontia
Family: Hypsiprymnodontidae
Genus: Hypsiprymnodon
Species:
H. karenblackae
Binomial name
Hypsiprymnodon karenblackae
Bates, et al. 2014.[1]

Hypsiprymnodon karenblackae is a fossil species describing a small marsupial extant in Australia during the Early to Middle Miocene Epoch. The material was collected at the Australian Fossil Mammal Sites (Riversleigh). The taxon was published in 2014, along with several other new species of the genus Hypsiprymnodon, known as musky rat-kangaroos. The morphology of the teeth suggest it existed in a wet rainforest environment, similar to the ecological conditions of the extant species, the musky rat-kangaroo (Hypsiprymnodon moschatus). The type specimen was collected at the Camel Sputum site, classified as a Faunal Zone B (Miocene) deposit at Riversleigh in northwestern Queensland, The epithet is for Dr. Karen Black's contribution to palaeontology in Australia, especially the Riversleigh fossils.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b Bates, H.; Travouillon, K.J.; Cooke, B.; Beck, R.M.D.; Hand, S.J.; Archer, M. (4 March 2014). "Three new Miocene species of musky rat-kangaroos (Hypsiprymnodontidae, Macropodoidea): description, phylogenetics and paleoecology". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 34 (2): 383–396. doi:10.1080/02724634.2013.812098. S2CID 86139768.