Bluff Downs Euryzygoma
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© A Musser
Fast Facts
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Classification
- Genus
- Euryzygoma
- Species
- dunense
-
- Size Range
- Length (head and body): 2.5m
Lived
4 million years ago, early Pliocene.
Description
The Bluff Downs Euryzygoma is a large, cow-like diprotodontoid marsupial that browsed leaves and shrubs in a variety of habitats, from wetlands to dry forest and woodlands. Its large flaring cheekbones have mystified people ever since it was discovered. Perhaps it used its cheeks for storing food, as a resonating chamber to make its voice louder, or as a display to impress other Euryzygomas.
Like other diprotodontoids, Bluff Downs Euryzygoma's closest living relatives are wombats and the Koala.
Fossils
The Bluff Downs Euryzygoma was discovered in 1976 at Bluff Downs in south-eastern Queensland. Several fossil skulls have been found, as well as many other bones.
Did you know?
The Bluff Downs Euryzygoma might be an ancestor of Diprotodon, the largest marsupial of all time.
