Lumakoala

Lumakoala is an extinct genus of phascolarctid that inhabited the Northern Territory of Australia during the Oligocene epoch. It was a member of the Pwerte Marnte Marnte Local Fauna and is known from a single species, Lumakoala blackae.

Lumakoala Temporal range: Oligocene PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Infraclass:	Marsupialia
Order:	Diprotodontia
Family:	Phascolarctidae
Genus:	†Lumakoala Crichton et al.,2023
Species:	†L. blackae
Binomial name
†Lumakoala blackae Crichton et al.,2023

Palaeoecology

Fossilised teeth of Lumakoala blackae were characterised by their relatively undeveloped enamel crenulations and their diminutive crown height, suggesting that it fed primarily on a diet of soft plants. It is hypothesised that it occasionally opportunistically engaged in insectivory like extant members of Phalangeriformes do.^[1]

References

1. Crichton, Arthur I.; Beck, Robin M. D.; Couzens, Aidan M. C.; Worthy, Trevor H.; Camens, Aaron B.; Prideaux, Gavin J. (4 September 2023). "A probable koala from the Oligocene of central Australia provides insights into early diprotodontian evolution". Scientific Reports. 13 (1): 14521. Bibcode:2023NatSR..1314521C. doi:10.1038/s41598-023-41471-0. ISSN 2045-2322. PMC 10477348. PMID 37666885.