Procoptodon Goliah

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Animal Species: Procoptodon goliah The Pleistocene kangaroo Procoptodon goliah, the most extreme of the short-faced kangaroos, was the largest and most heavily built kangaroo known. It had an unusually short, flat face and forwardly-directed eyes, with a single large toe on each foot (reduced from the more normal count of four). Each hand had two long, clawed fingers that would have been used to bring leafy branches within reach. Identification The heavily built Procoptodon goliah was the most extreme of the sthenurines, or short-faced kangaroos. It had a very short, deep 'brachycephalic' skull and lower jaw, and eyes that were partly forward-facing (giving it a primate-like appearance). The lower jaws (dentaries) were massive and fused or ankylosed, and a 'chin' was developed. Both upper and lower incisors were small, and would have been used to nip vegetation. The last premolar in Procoptodon was complex and late-erupting. The ape-like molar teeth of Procoptodon were brachyodont (low-crowned) and tended to develop additional longitudinal enamel folds. Tim Flannery has compared them to the molars of the huge australopithecine…show more content…
As yet, there are no records of Procoptodon from the Northern Territory. In Queensland, P. goliah is known from the Darling Downs in the southeast (the type locality). In New South Wales, P. goliah has been found in three areas, all west of the Dividing Range in the Murray-Darling drainage: from Lake Menindee in the west (the most abundant large kangaroo at the site), Tocumwal near the Murray River, and Bingara in the northeast. In South Australia, Procoptodon goliah is reported from the western Eyre Peninsula and from Naracoorte Caves. The most complete material comes from the recently discovered Nullarbor Plain cave deposits in Western Australia. All sites are interpreted as arid or semi-arid

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