Diprotodon, Owen, 1838

Price, Gilbert J., 2008, Taxonomy and palaeobiology of the largest-ever marsupial, Diprotodon Owen, 1838 (Diprotodontidae, Marsupialia), Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 153 (2), pp. 369-397 : 379-380

BACCHUS MARSH DIPROTODON

DENTAL MORPHOMETRIC AND MORPHOLOGICAL

COMPARISON

The Bacchus Marsh Diprotodon assemblage is dominated by dentary and maxillary fragments, with at least 18 individuals represented. Interestingly, the assemblage is represented solely by small-form individuals ( Fig. 8 ). Tooth eruption and wear patterns indicate that the assemblage is dominated by subadult to young adult individuals. Juvenile and mature individuals were not observed in the assemblage. The dentaries are morphologically similar to small-form individuals from the Darling Downs.

More than 230 teeth were examined from the Bacchus Marsh Diprotodon assemblage. All teeth are morphologically similar to the corresponding teeth of the Darling Downs Diprotodon assemblage discussed above and thus do not warrant additional description. The mean dimensions of most cheek teeth are smaller than corresponding teeth of all other undifferentiated size class localities examined in this study ( Tables 2, 3). However, most means overlap at one standard deviation, and all overlap at two standard deviations ( Tables 2, 3). Mean tooth dimensions of the Bacchus Marsh Diprotodon small-form assemblage are similar Mean (standard deviation, coefficient of variation). ‘All localities’ combines the Darling Downs, Bacchus Marsh, Lake Callabonna, Myall Creek, Lancefield Swamp and Reddestone Creek data sets, as well as morphometric data for specimens from other localities available for study.

to the corresponding means of teeth of the size class differentiated small-form sample from the Darling Downs ( Tables 1–3).

Figures

Figure 8. Dimensions of Diprotodon dentaries at position below M3 for the Darling Downs (N = 34), Lake Callabonna (N = 19) and Bacchus Marsh (N = 23) assemblages. Closed markers indicate large-form individuals, open markers indicate small-form individuals.