Diprotodontia

Order of marsupial mammals

Diprotodontia[1]

Temporal range: 28–0 Ma

PreꞒ

Late Oligocene – Recent

Clockwise from upper left: female koala (Phascolarctos cinereus), mahogany glider (Petaurus gracilis), young eastern grey kangaroo (Macropus giganteus) and Sulawesi bear cuscus (Ailurops ursinus)
Scientific classification
Domain:  | Eukaryota
Kingdom:  | Animalia
Phylum:  | Chordata
Class:  | Mammalia
Infraclass:  | Marsupialia
Clade:  | Eomarsupialia
Order:  | Diprotodontia
Owen, 1866
Suborders

Vombatiformes
Phalangeriformes
Macropodiformes

Diprotodontia (/daɪˌproʊtəˈdɒntiə/, from Greek "two forward teeth") is the largest extant order of marsupials, with about 155 species,[2] including the kangaroos, wallabies, possums, koala, wombats, and many others. Extinct diprotodonts include the hippopotamus-sized Diprotodon, and Thylacoleo, the so-called "marsupial lion".

## Characteristics

[edit]

The prominent mandibular central incisors characteristic of the diprotodonts are evident in this Kangaroo Island western grey kangaroo (Macropus fuliginosus fuliginosus)

Living diprotodonts are almost all herbivores, as were most of those that are now extinct. A few insectivorous and omnivorous diprotodonts are known, and the Potoroidae are almost unique among vertebrates in being largely fungivorous, but these seem to have arisen as relatively recent adaptations from the mainstream herbivorous lifestyle. The extinct thylacoleonids ("marsupial lions") are the only known group to have exhibited carnivory on a large scale.[citation needed]

Diprotodonts are restricted to Australasia. The earliest known fossils date to the late Oligocene, but their genesis certainly lies earlier than this, as large gaps occur in Australia's fossil record, with virtually no fossil record at all in geologically active New Guinea. The great diversity of known Oligocene diprotodonts suggests the order began to diverge well beforehand.[citation needed]

Many of the largest and least athletic diprotodonts (along with a wide range of other Australian megafauna) became extinct when humans first arrived in Australia about 50,000 years ago. Their extinction possibly occurred as a direct result of hunting, but was more probably a result of widespread habitat changes brought about by human activities—notably the use of fire.[citation needed]

Two key anatomical features, in combination, identify Diprotodontia. Members of the order are, first, "diprotodont" (meaning "two front teeth"): they have a pair of large, procumbent incisors on the lower jaw, a common feature of many early groups of mammals and mammaliforms. The diprotodont jaw is short, usually with three pairs of upper incisors (wombats, like rodents have only one pair), and no lower canines. The second trait distinguishing diprotodonts is "syndactyly", a fusing of the second and third digits of the foot up to the base of the claws, which leaves the claws themselves separate.[3] Digit five is usually absent, and digit four is often greatly enlarged.

Syndactyly is not particularly common (though the Australian omnivorous marsupials share it) and is generally posited as an adaptation to assist in climbing. Many modern diprotodonts, however, are strictly terrestrial, and have evolved further adaptations to their feet to better suit this lifestyle. This makes the history of the tree-kangaroos particularly convoluted: it appears that the animals were arboreal at some time in the far distant past, moving afterward to the ground—gaining long kangaroo-like feet in the process — before returning to the trees, where they further developed a shortening and broadening of the hind feet and a novel climbing method.[citation needed]

## Fossil record

[edit]

The earliest known fossil of Diprotodontia dates back to the Late Oligocene (23.03 - 28.4 million years ago), and the earliest identifiable species is Hypsiprymnodon bartholomaii from the Early Miocene.[4]

## Classification

[edit]

Main article: List of diprotodonts

Cladogram of Diprotodontia by Upham et al. 2019[5][6] and Álvarez-Carretero et al. 2022[7][8]

| Diprotodontia  |

| Vombatiformes |

| Phascolarctimorphia  |

Phascolarctidae

|

Vombatomorphia  |

Vombatidae

Phalangerida |

| Phalangeriformes s.s.  |

|  |

Burramyidae

|

Phalangeridae

Macropodiformes s.l.  |

| Petauroidea  |

|  |

Acrobatidae

|

|  |

Tarsipedidae

|

|  |

Petauridae

|

Pseudocheiridae

Macropodoidea  |

|  |

Hypsiprymnodontidae

|

|  |

Potoroidae

|

Macropodidae

Until recently, only two suborders in Diprotodontia were noted: Vombatiformes which encompassed the wombats and koala and Phalangerida which contained all other families. Kirsch et al. (1997) split the families into three suborders. In addition, the six Phalangeriformes families are split into two superfamilies. The Macropodiformes are probably nested within the Phalangeriformes, though whether they are sister to Phalangeroidea or Petauroidea is debated.[9]

Order Diprotodontia

* Suborder Vombatiformes
* Family Vombatidae: wombats (three species)
* Family Phascolarctidae: koala (one species)
* Family †Ilariidae
* Family †Maradidae
* Family †Diprotodontidae: (giant wombats)
* Family †Palorchestidae: (marsupial tapirs)
* Family †Thylacoleonidae: (marsupial lions)[10]
* Family †Wynyardiidae
* Suborder Phalangeriformes
* Superfamily Phalangeroidea
* Family Phalangeridae: (brushtail possums and cuscuses)
* Family Burramyidae: (pygmy possums)
* Family †Ektopodontidae: (sprite possums)
* Superfamily Petauroidea
* Family Tarsipedidae: (honey possum)
* Family Petauridae: (striped possum, Leadbeater's possum, yellow-bellied glider, sugar glider, mahogany glider, squirrel glider)
* Family Pseudocheiridae: (ring-tailed possums and allies)
* Family Acrobatidae: (feathertail glider and feather-tailed possum)
* Suborder Macropodiformes
* Family †Balbaridae: (basal quadrupedal kangaroos)
* Family Macropodidae: (kangaroos, wallabies and allies)
* Family Potoroidae: (bettongs, potoroos, and rat-kangaroos)
* Family Hypsiprymnodontidae: (musky rat-kangaroo)

† means extinct family, genus or species

## See also

[edit]

* List of mammal genera
* List of recently extinct mammals
* List of prehistoric mammals

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Groves, C. P. (2005). Wilson, D. E.; Reeder, D. M. (eds.). Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. pp. 43–70. ISBN 0-801-88221-4. OCLC 62265494.
2. ^ Meredith, Robert W.; Westerman, Michael; Springer, Mark S. (26 February 2009). "A phylogeny of Diprotodontia (Marsupialia) based on sequences for five nuclear genes" (PDF). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 51 (3): 554–571. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2009.02.009. PMID 19249373. Retrieved 5 May 2015.
3. ^ Tolweb
4. ^ The Paleobiology Database
5. ^ Upham, Nathan S.; Esselstyn, Jacob A.; Jetz, Walter (2019). "Inferring the mammal tree: Species-level sets of phylogenies for questions in ecology, evolution and conservation". PLOS Biol. 17 (12): e3000494. doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.3000494. PMC 6892540. PMID 31800571.
6. ^ Upham, Nathan S.; Esselstyn, Jacob A.; Jetz, Walter (2019). "DR_on4phylosCompared_linear_richCol_justScale_ownColors_withTips_80in" (PDF). PLOS Biology. 17 (12). doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.3000494.
7. ^ Álvarez-Carretero, Sandra; Tamuri, Asif U.; Battini, Matteo; Nascimento, Fabrícia F.; Carlisle, Emily; Asher, Robert J.; Yang, Ziheng; Donoghue, Philip C.J.; dos Reis, Mario (2022). "A species-level timeline of mammal evolution integrating phylogenomic data". Nature. 602 (7896): 263–267. doi:10.1038/s41586-021-04341-1. hdl:1983/de841853-d57b-40d9-876f-9bfcf7253f12.
8. ^ Álvarez-Carretero, Sandra; Tamuri, Asif U.; Battini, Matteo; Nascimento, Fabrícia F.; Carlisle, Emily; Asher, Robert J.; Yang, Ziheng; Donoghue, Philip C.J.; dos Reis, Mario (2022). "4705sp_colours_mammal-time.tree". Nature (602): 263–267. doi:10.1038/s41586-021-04341-1. hdl:1983/de841853-d57b-40d9-876f-9bfcf7253f12.
9. ^ Eldridge, Mark D B; Beck, Robin M D; Croft, Darin A; Travouillon, Kenny J; Fox, Barry J (2019-05-23). "An emerging consensus in the evolution, phylogeny, and systematics of marsupials and their fossil relatives (Metatheria)". Journal of Mammalogy. 100 (3): 802–837. doi:10.1093/jmammal/gyz018. ISSN 0022-2372.
10. ^ Naish, Darren (2004). "Of koalas and marsupial lions: the vombatiform radiation, part I". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 33 (1). Scientific American, Inc.: 240–250. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2004.05.004. PMID 15324852. Retrieved 24 October 2015.

* v
* t
* e

Extant mammal orders

* Kingdom Animalia
* Phylum Chordata
* Subphylum Vertebrata
* (unranked) Amniota

Yinotheria|

| Australosphenida|

* Monotremata (Platypus and echidnas)

|

Theria|

| Metatheria
(Marsupial inclusive)|

| Ameridelphia|

* Paucituberculata (Shrew opossums)
* Didelphimorphia (Opossums)

|

Australidelphia|

* Microbiotheria (Monito del monte)
* Notoryctemorphia (Marsupial moles)
* Dasyuromorphia (Quolls and dunnarts)
* Peramelemorphia (Bilbies and bandicoots)
* Diprotodontia (Kangaroos and relatives)

Eutheria
(Placental inclusive)|

| Xenarthra|

* Cingulata (Armadillos)
* Pilosa (Anteaters and sloths)

|

Afrotheria|

* Afrosoricida (Tenrecs and golden moles)
* Macroscelidea (Elephant shrews)
* Tubulidentata (Aardvarks)
* Hyracoidea (Hyraxes)
* Proboscidea (Elephants)
* Sirenia (Dugongs and manatees)

Boreoeutheria|

| Laurasiatheria|

* Eulipotyphla (Hedgehogs, shrews, moles and relatives)
* Chiroptera (Bats)
* Pholidota (Pangolins)
* Carnivora (Dogs, cats and relatives)
* Perissodactyla (Horses, zebras, donkeys, rhinoceroses and tapirs)
* Artiodactyla (Pigs, camels, hippos, deer, buffalo, gazelles, giraffes, whales, dolphins and relatives)

|

Euarchontoglires|

* Rodentia (Rats, guinea pigs, squirrels, beavers, chinchillas, porcupines, capybaras and relatives)
* Lagomorpha (Rabbits, hares and pikas)
* Scandentia (Treeshrews)
* Dermoptera (Colugos)
* Primates (Lorises, lemurs, tarsiers, monkeys, apes (including humans) and relatives)

* v
* t
* e

Extant Diprotodontia species

* Kingdom Animalia
* Phylum Chordata
* Class Mammalia
* Infraclass Marsupialia

Suborder Vombatiformes

| Phascolarctidae|

| Phascolarctos|

* Koala (P. cinereus)

|

Vombatidae
(wombats)|

| Vombatus|

* Common wombat (V. ursinus)

|

Lasiorhinus|

* Southern hairy-nosed wombat (L. latifrons)
* Northern hairy-nosed wombat (L. krefftii)

Suborder Phalangeriformes (possums)

| Phalangeridae
(including cuscuses)|

| Ailurops
(bear cuscuses)|

* Talaud bear cuscus (A. melanotis)
* Sulawesi bear cuscus (A. ursinus)

|

Phalanger|

* Gebe cuscus (P. alexandrae)
* Mountain cuscus (P. carmelitae)
* Ground cuscus (P. gymnotis)
* Eastern common cuscus (P. intercastellanus)
* Woodlark cuscus (P. lullulae)
* Blue-eyed cuscus (P. matabiru)
* Telefomin cuscus (P. matanim)
* Southern common cuscus (P. mimicus)
* Northern common cuscus (P. orientalis)
* Ornate cuscus (P. ornatus)
* Rothschild's cuscus (P. rothschildi)
* Silky cuscus (P. sericeus)
* Stein's cuscus (P. vestitus)

Spilocuscus|

* Admiralty Island cuscus (S. kraemeri)
* Common spotted cuscus (S. maculatus)
* Waigeou cuscus (S. papuensis)
* Black-spotted cuscus (S. rufoniger)
* Blue-eyed spotted cuscus (S. wilsoni)

Strigocuscus|

* Sulawesi dwarf cuscus (S. celebensis)
* Banggai cuscus (S. pelegensis)

Trichosurus
(brushtail possums)|

* Northern brushtail possum (T. arnhemensis)
* Short-eared possum (T. caninus)
* Mountain brushtail possum (T. cunninghami)
* Coppery brushtail possum (T. johnstonii)
* Common brushtail possum (T. vulpecula)

Wyulda|

* Scaly-tailed possum (W. squamicaudata)

Burramyidae
(pygmy possums)|

| Burramys|

* Mountain pygmy possum (B. parvus)

|

Cercartetus|

* Long-tailed pygmy possum (C. caudatus)
* Western pygmy possum (C. concinnus)
* Tasmanian pygmy possum (C. lepidus)
* Eastern pygmy possum (C. nanus)

Tarsipedidae|

| Tarsipes|

* Honey possum (T. rostratus)

|

Petauridae|

| Dactylopsila|

* Great-tailed triok (D. megalura)
* Long-fingered triok (D. palpator)
* Tate's triok (D. tatei)
* Striped possum (D. trivirgata)

|

Gymnobelideus|

* Leadbeater's possum (G. leadbeateri)

Petaurus|

* Northern glider (P. abidi)
* Yellow-bellied glider (P. australis)
* Biak glider (P. biacensis)
* Sugar glider (P. breviceps)
* Mahogany glider (P. gracilis)
* Squirrel glider (P. norfolcensis)

Pseudocheiridae|

| Hemibelideus|

* Lemur-like ringtail possum (H. lemuroides)

|

Petauroides
(greater gliders)|

* Central greater glider (P. armillatus)
* Northern greater glider (P. minor)
* Southern greater glider (P. volans)

Petropseudes|

* Rock-haunting ringtail possum (P. dahli)

Pseudocheirus|

* Common ringtail possum (P. peregrinus)

Pseudochirulus|

* Lowland ringtail possum (P. canescens)
* Weyland ringtail possum (P. caroli)
* Cinereus ringtail possum (P. cinereus)
* Painted ringtail possum (P. forbesi)
* Herbert River ringtail possum (P. herbertensis)
* Masked ringtail possum (P. larvatus)
* Pygmy ringtail possum (P. mayeri)
* Vogelkop ringtail possum (P. schlegeli)

Pseudochirops|

* D'Albertis's ringtail possum (P. albertisii)
* Green ringtail possum (P. archeri)
* Plush-coated ringtail possum (P. corinnae)
* Reclusive ringtail possum (P. coronatus)
* Coppery ringtail possum (P. cupreus)

Acrobatidae|

| Acrobates|

* Feathertail glider (A. pygmaeus)

|

Distoechurus|

* Feather-tailed possum (D. pennatus)

Suborder Macropodiformes

| Macropodidae
(includes wallabies)|

| Lagostrophus|

* Banded hare-wallaby (L. fasciatus)

|

Dendrolagus
(tree-kangaroos)|

* Bennett's tree-kangaroo (D. bennettianus)
* Doria's tree-kangaroo (D. dorianus)
* Goodfellow's tree-kangaroo (D. goodfellowi)
* Grizzled tree-kangaroo (D. inustus)
* Lumholtz's tree-kangaroo (D. lumholtzi)
* Matschie's tree-kangaroo (D. matschiei)
* Dingiso (D. mbaiso)
* Ifola (D. notatus)
* Golden-mantled tree-kangaroo (D. pulcherrimus)
* Lowlands tree-kangaroo (D. spadix)
* Tenkile (D. scottae)
* Seri's tree-kangaroo (D. stellarum)
* Ursine tree-kangaroo (D. ursinus)

Dorcopsis|

* Black dorcopsis (D. atrata)
* White-striped dorcopsis (D. hageni)
* Gray dorcopsis (D. luctuosa)
* Brown dorcopsis (D. muelleri)

Dorcopsulus|

* Macleay's dorcopsis (D. macleayi)
* Small dorcopsis (D. vanheurni)

Lagorchestes
(hare-wallabies)|

* Spectacled hare-wallaby (L. conspicillatus)
* Rufous hare-wallaby (L. hirsutus)

Macropus|

* Western grey kangaroo (M. fuliginosus)
* Eastern grey kangaroo (M. giganteus)

Notamacropus|

* Agile wallaby (N. agilis)
* Black-striped wallaby (N. dorsalis)
* Tammar wallaby (N. eugenii)
* Western brush wallaby (N. irma)
* Parma wallaby (N. parma)
* Whiptail wallaby (N. parryi)
* Red-necked wallaby (N. rufogriseus)

Onychogalea
(nail-tail wallabies)|

* Bridled nail-tail wallaby (O. fraenata)
* Northern nail-tail wallaby (O. unguifera)

Osphranter|

* Antilopine kangaroo (O. antilopinus)
* Black wallaroo (O. bernardus)
* Common wallaroo (O. robustus)
* Red kangaroo (O. rufus)

Petrogale
(rock-wallabies)|

* P. brachyotis species group: Short-eared rock-wallaby (P. brachyotis)
* Monjon (P. burbidgei)
* Nabarlek (P. concinna)
* Eastern short-eared rock-wallaby (P. wilkinsi)

* P. xanthopus species group: Proserpine rock-wallaby (P. persephone)
* Rothschild's rock-wallaby (P. rothschildi)
* Yellow-footed rock-wallaby (P. xanthopus)

* P. lateralis/penicillata species group: Allied rock-wallaby (P. assimilis)
* Cape York rock-wallaby (P. coenensis)
* Godman's rock-wallaby (P. godmani)
* Herbert's rock-wallaby (P. herberti)
* Unadorned rock-wallaby (P. inornata)
* Black-flanked rock-wallaby (P. lateralis)
* Mareeba rock-wallaby (P. mareeba)
* Brush-tailed rock-wallaby (P. penicillata)
* Purple-necked rock-wallaby (P. purpureicollis)
* Mount Claro rock-wallaby (P. sharmani)

Setonix|

* Quokka (S. brachyurus)

Thylogale
(pademelons)|

* Tasmanian pademelon (T. billardierii)
* Brown's pademelon (T. browni)
* Dusky pademelon (T. brunii)
* Calaby's pademelon (T. calabyi)
* Mountain pademelon (T. lanatus)
* Red-legged pademelon (T. stigmatica)
* Red-necked pademelon (T. thetis)

Wallabia|

* Swamp wallaby (W. bicolor)

Potoroidae|

| Aepyprymnus|

* Rufous rat-kangaroo (A. rufescens)

|

Bettongia
(bettongs)|

* Eastern bettong (B. gaimardi)
* Boodie (B. lesueur)
* Woylie (B. penicillata)
* Northern bettong (B. tropica)

Potorous
(potoroos)|

* Long-footed potoroo (P. longipes)
* Long-nosed potoroo (P. tridactylus)
* Gilbert's potoroo (P. gilbertii)

Hypsiprymnodontidae|

| Hypsiprymnodon|

* Musky rat-kangaroo (H. moschatus)

|

Taxon identifiers

Diprotodontia|

* Wikidata: Q26332
* Wikispecies: Diprotodontia
* ADW: Diprotodontia
* AFD: Diprotodontia
* BioLib: 20486
* BOLD: 347
* CoL: 35B
* EoL: 1694
* EPPO: 1DIPRO
* Fauna Europaea: 12615
* Fauna Europaea (new): 66ad7577-a578-4f66-b057-fb417b9526e1
* GBIF: 1452
* iNaturalist: 42711
* IRMNG: 10062
* ITIS: 552297
* MSW: 11000001
* NBN: NHMSYS0000066025
* NCBI: 38609
* Open Tree of Life: 277679
* Paleobiology Database: 66275

Authority control databases: National |

* Czech Republic
* Israel

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