Riversleigh Sprite Possum

  • Updated
    30/06/26
  • Read time
    2 minutes
Riversleigh Sprite Possum Click to enlarge image
Riversleigh Sprite Possum is an ancient relative of brushtailed possums and cuscus. Image: A Musser
© A Musser

Fast Facts

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

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

Identification

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.

Fossil site

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