Tirari Paljara
Scientific name: Paljara tirarensae
Lived
23-16 million years ago, early Miocene.
Description
The Tirari Paljara possum ate leaves of the rainforest trees it lived in, also gobbling up insects found along the way. Mosses, ferns, lichens and fungi were probably also part of its diet.
Its closest living relatives are possums called 'woolly ringtails', which have thick fur that insulates them in the cool, wet crowns of the rainforest trees.
Fossils
About 15 fossils of the Tirari Paljara, ranging from individual teeth to nearly complete jaws, have been found at the Leaf Locality in South Australia and at Riversleigh in northwestern Queensland.
Did you know?
Of all ringtail possums, alive or extinct, the Tirari Paljara is one of the smallest.
