Australia's oldest marsupial fossils and their biogeographical implications.
<h4>Background</h4>We describe new cranial and post-cranial marsupial fossils from the early Eocene Tingamarra Local Fauna in Australia and refer them to Djarthia murgonensis, which was previously known only from fragmentary dental remains.<h4>Methodology/principal findings</h4&...
| Huvudupphovsmän: | , , , , |
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| Materialtyp: | Artikel |
| Språk: | English |
| Publicerad: |
Public Library of Science (PLoS)
2008-03-01
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| Serie: | PLoS ONE |
| Länkar: | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmid/18365013/?tool=EBI |
| _version_ | 1830199568668557312 |
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| author | Robin M D Beck Henk Godthelp Vera Weisbecker Michael Archer Suzanne J Hand |
| author_facet | Robin M D Beck Henk Godthelp Vera Weisbecker Michael Archer Suzanne J Hand |
| author_sort | Robin M D Beck |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | <h4>Background</h4>We describe new cranial and post-cranial marsupial fossils from the early Eocene Tingamarra Local Fauna in Australia and refer them to Djarthia murgonensis, which was previously known only from fragmentary dental remains.<h4>Methodology/principal findings</h4>The new material indicates that Djarthia is a member of Australidelphia, a pan-Gondwanan clade comprising all extant Australian marsupials together with the South American microbiotheres. Djarthia is therefore the oldest known crown-group marsupial anywhere in the world that is represented by dental, cranial and post-cranial remains, and the oldest known Australian marsupial by 30 million years. It is also the most plesiomorphic known australidelphian, and phylogenetic analyses place it outside all other Australian marsupials.<h4>Conclusions/significance</h4>As the most plesiomorphic and oldest unequivocal australidelphian, Djarthia may approximate the ancestral morphotype of the Australian marsupial radiation and suggests that the South American microbiotheres may be the result of back-dispersal from eastern Gondwana, which is the reverse of prevailing hypotheses. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-18T02:16:32Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-d509feee0f0f47dfa99a2a19b7b10e1c |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1932-6203 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-18T02:16:32Z |
| publishDate | 2008-03-01 |
| publisher | Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | PLoS ONE |
| spelling | doaj.art-d509feee0f0f47dfa99a2a19b7b10e1c2022-12-21T21:24:22ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032008-03-0133e185810.1371/journal.pone.0001858Australia's oldest marsupial fossils and their biogeographical implications.Robin M D BeckHenk GodthelpVera WeisbeckerMichael ArcherSuzanne J Hand<h4>Background</h4>We describe new cranial and post-cranial marsupial fossils from the early Eocene Tingamarra Local Fauna in Australia and refer them to Djarthia murgonensis, which was previously known only from fragmentary dental remains.<h4>Methodology/principal findings</h4>The new material indicates that Djarthia is a member of Australidelphia, a pan-Gondwanan clade comprising all extant Australian marsupials together with the South American microbiotheres. Djarthia is therefore the oldest known crown-group marsupial anywhere in the world that is represented by dental, cranial and post-cranial remains, and the oldest known Australian marsupial by 30 million years. It is also the most plesiomorphic known australidelphian, and phylogenetic analyses place it outside all other Australian marsupials.<h4>Conclusions/significance</h4>As the most plesiomorphic and oldest unequivocal australidelphian, Djarthia may approximate the ancestral morphotype of the Australian marsupial radiation and suggests that the South American microbiotheres may be the result of back-dispersal from eastern Gondwana, which is the reverse of prevailing hypotheses.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmid/18365013/?tool=EBI |
| spellingShingle | Robin M D Beck Henk Godthelp Vera Weisbecker Michael Archer Suzanne J Hand Australia's oldest marsupial fossils and their biogeographical implications. PLoS ONE |
| title | Australia's oldest marsupial fossils and their biogeographical implications. |
| title_full | Australia's oldest marsupial fossils and their biogeographical implications. |
| title_fullStr | Australia's oldest marsupial fossils and their biogeographical implications. |
| title_full_unstemmed | Australia's oldest marsupial fossils and their biogeographical implications. |
| title_short | Australia's oldest marsupial fossils and their biogeographical implications. |
| title_sort | australia s oldest marsupial fossils and their biogeographical implications |
| url | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmid/18365013/?tool=EBI |
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