Riversleigh Sprite Possum

  • Updated
    17/07/20
  • Read time
    2 minutes
Riversleigh Sprite Possum Click to enlarge image
Riversleigh Sprite Possum, Lost Kingdom project 2004 Image: A Musser
© A Musser

Fast Facts

  • Size Range
    Length (head to tail): about 40cm

Lived

23-10 million years ago, early - middle Miocene.

Description

The Riversleigh Sprite Possum belongs to an extinct group of possums called the ektopodontids. It had a short face, huge, forward-facing eyes, and unusual teeth that it probably used to eat seeds or hard fruits in the forest.

The closest living relatives of the Riversleigh Sprite Possum are the brushtailed possums and cuscuses.

Fossils

The only fossils known for the Riversleigh Sprite Possum are a lower jaw and some individual teeth, from Riversleigh in north-western Queensland.

Did you know?

Ektopodontid possums such as the Riversleigh Sprite Possum have the most unusual and complex teeth of any marsupial. Each tooth looks like a pair of tiny accordians side by side.