Sthenurus
Sign in to saveSthenurus ("strong tail") is an extinct genus of kangaroos. With a length around 3 m (10 ft), some species were twice as large as modern extant species. Sthenurus was related to the better-known Procoptodon. The subfamily Sthenurinae is believed to have separated from its sister taxon, the Macropodinae (kangaroos and wallabies), halfway through the Miocene, and then its population grew during the Pliocene.
Article
8 sectionsContents
- Fossil habitats
- Paleodiet
- Anatomy
- Skull
- Teeth
- Human interaction
- References
- External links
Sthenurus ("strong tail") is an extinct genus of kangaroos. With a length around 3 m (10 ft), some species were twice as large as modern extant species. Sthenurus was related to the better-known Procoptodon. The subfamily Sthenurinae is believed to have separated from its sister taxon, the Macropodinae (kangaroos and wallabies), halfway through the Miocene, and then its population grew during the Pliocene.
==Fossil habitats== A 1997 study analysed the diets of the fauna at various fossil site localities in South Australia, using stable carbon isotope analysis 13C/12C of collagen. It found that at older localities such as Cooper Creek, the species of Sthenurus were adapted to a diet of leaves and twigs (browsing) due to the wet climate of the time between 132 and 108 thousand years ago (kya - by thermoluminescence dating and uranium dating), which allowed for a more varied vegetation cover.