{"id":151,"date":"2021-11-15T11:58:40","date_gmt":"2021-11-15T01:28:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.flinders.edu.au\/vamp\/?page_id=151"},"modified":"2023-05-24T13:51:34","modified_gmt":"2023-05-24T04:21:34","slug":"diprotodon-optatum","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/sites.flinders.edu.au\/vamp\/fossils\/vertebrate-fossils\/marsupials\/diprotodontidae-family-diprotodons-relatives\/diprotodon-optatum\/","title":{"rendered":"Diprotodon optatum<\/i>"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column width=”1\/2″][vc_empty_space][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

Diprotodon optatum<\/em><\/h1>\n

Diprotodon<\/h2>\n

At around 2800 kg in weight, the iconic Diprotodon optatum<\/em> was the largest marsupial to ever have lived. This large quadrupedal herbivore first appears in the fossil record during the late Pliocene, but was widespread across much of Australia during the Pleistocene. It was one of the last surviving of the cohort of large-bodies animals that become extinct in the late Pleistocene.<\/p>\n

Click the links below to view more bones from this species, including a complete hand and foot.<\/p>\n

Skeletal element: <\/strong>Skull half in cast (young adult)
\nSpecimen number:<\/strong> SAMA P33102
\nGeological age:<\/strong>\u00a0Pleistocene
\nLocality\/site:\u00a0<\/strong>Redbanks Conservation Park
\nState\/territory:\u00a0<\/strong>South Australia[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/2″][vc_empty_space][vc_single_image image=”480″ img_size=”large” add_caption=”yes”][vc_empty_space][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_raw_html]JTNDaWZyYW1lJTIwc3JjJTNEJTIyaHR0cHMlM0ElMkYlMkZ3d3cubW9ycGhvc291cmNlLm9yZyUyRnV2Lmh0bWwlMjMlM0ZtYW5pZmVzdCUzRCUyRm1hbmlmZXN0cyUyRjkxOGYzNDI4LTI2YTQtNDAyNi1hMDI3LTBiZTg4Mzg4ZDdhMSUyMiUyMHdpZHRoJTNEJTIyNTYwJTIyJTIwaGVpZ2h0JTNEJTIyNDIwJTIyJTIwYWxsb3dmdWxsc2NyZWVuJTIwZnJhbWVib3JkZXIlM0QlMjIwJTIyJTNFJTNDJTJGaWZyYW1lJTNF[\/vc_raw_html][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

Click to view more scans of the bones of Diprotodon optatum<\/em>.<\/h3>\n

Complete right pes (some bones may belong to other specimens).<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Tarsals (right): <\/strong>cuboid<\/a> | talus<\/a> | calcaneus<\/a> | navicular<\/a> | entocuneiform<\/a> | ectocuneiform<\/a><\/p>\n

Metatarsals (right): <\/strong>1<\/a> | 2<\/a> | 3<\/a> | 4<\/a> | 5<\/a><\/p>\n

Pedal phalanges (right):<\/strong>\u00a0 proximal 1 | proximal 2<\/a> | proximal 3<\/a> | proximal 4<\/a> | proximal 5<\/a> |middle 2<\/a> | middle 3<\/a> | middle 4<\/a> | middle 5<\/a> | ungual 1<\/a> | ungual 2<\/a> | ungual 3<\/a> | ungual 4<\/a> | ungual 5<\/a><\/p>\n

Complete right manus (some bones may belong to other specimens)<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Carpals (right):<\/strong> scaphoid<\/a> |\u00a0 triquetrum<\/a> | trapezium<\/a> | trapezoid<\/a> | capitatum<\/a> | hamatum<\/a> | pisiform<\/p>\n

Metacarpals (right):<\/strong> 1<\/a> | 2<\/a> | 3<\/a> | 4<\/a> | 5<\/a><\/p>\n

Manual phalanges (right):<\/strong> proximal 1<\/a> | proximal 2<\/a> | proximal 3<\/a> | proximal 4<\/a> | proximal 5<\/a> | middle 2<\/a> | middle 3<\/a> | middle 4<\/a> | middle 5<\/a> | ungual 1<\/a> | ungual 2<\/a> | ungual 3<\/a> | ungual 4<\/a> | ungual 5<\/a>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Owen, R. (1870). XXIII. On the fossil mammals of Australia\u2500 Part III. Diprotodon australis<\/em>, Owen.\u00a0Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London<\/i>, (160), 519-578.<\/p>\n

Price, G. J., & Sobbe, I. H. (2011). Morphological variation within an individual Pleistocene Diprotodon optatum<\/em> Owen, 1838 (Diprotodontinae; Marsupialia): implications for taxonomy within diprotodontoids. Alcheringa<\/i>,\u00a035<\/i>(1), 21-29.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column width=”1\/2″][vc_empty_space][vc_column_text] Diprotodon optatum Diprotodon At around 2800 kg in weight, the iconic Diprotodon optatum was the largest marsupial to ever have lived. This large quadrupedal herbivore first appears in the fossil record during the late Pliocene, but was widespread across much of Australia during the Pleistocene. It was one of the last surviving of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":43,"featured_media":0,"parent":149,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-151","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.flinders.edu.au\/vamp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/151","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.flinders.edu.au\/vamp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.flinders.edu.au\/vamp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.flinders.edu.au\/vamp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/43"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.flinders.edu.au\/vamp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=151"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sites.flinders.edu.au\/vamp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/151\/revisions"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.flinders.edu.au\/vamp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/149"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.flinders.edu.au\/vamp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=151"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}