Summary
Woodburnodon is an extinct genus of microbiotherian marsupial whose fossils have been found on Seymour Island, Antarctica. It lived during the Eocene epoch.
| Woodburnodon Temporal range: Eocene
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|---|---|
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Infraclass: | Marsupialia |
| Order: | Microbiotheria |
| Family: | †Woodburnodontidae Goin et al., 2007 |
| Genus: | †Woodburnodon Goin et al., 2007 |
| Species: | †W. casei
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| Binomial name | |
| †Woodburnodon casei Goin et al., 2007[1]
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Taxonomy edit
The genus is represented by single species, Woodburnodon casei, which was described in 2007 from fossils found on the Antarctic peninsula.[2] Woodburnodon is currently the only formally described species in the family Woodburnodontidae, although fossils of a unidentified Early Eocene woodburnodontids have also been found in Patagonia.[3]
Description edit
Woodburnodon was the largest known member of the order Microbiotheria. It was at least three or four times larger than the microbiotherid Pachybiotherium, which has been estimated at 215–312 g (7.6–11.0 oz).[2] This would put the size of Woodburnodon at around 1 kg (2.2 lb).
References edit
- ^ "Woodburnodon". Fossilworks.
- ^ a b Goin, F. J.; Zimicz, N.; Reguero, M. A.; Santillana, S. N.; Marenssi, S. A.; Moly, J. J. (2007). "New marsupial (Mammalia) from the Eocene of Antarctica, and the origins and affinities of the Microbiotheria". Revista de la Asociación Geológica Argentina. 62 (4): 597–603. Retrieved 2016-07-17.
- ^ Goin, F. J.; Woodburne, M. O.; Zimicz, A. N.; Martin, G. M.; Chornogubsky, L. (16 October 2015). A Brief History of South American Metatherians: Evolutionary Contexts and Intercontinental Dispersals. Springer. p. 216. ISBN 978-94-017-7420-8.