The geologically oldest dasyurid, from the Miocene of Riversleigh, north‐west Queensland

Abstract

ABSTRACT. A new subfamily, genus and species of Dasyuridae is described on the basis of exceptionally well preserved material from the Miocene of Riversleigh, north-west Queensland. Specimens include the only pre-Pleistocene crania known for the family. Barinya wangala gen. et sp. nov. (Barinyainae subfam. nov.) is the geologically oldest taxon that can be placed within Dasyuridae on the basis of synapomorphies that are unequivocal within Dasyuromorphia. Four derived cranial features present in Barinya wangala are shared only with modern Dasyuridae among dasyuromorphians. These are: development of a tympanic process of the pars petrosa to form a distinct periotic hypotympanic sinus; presence of a paroccipital hypotympanic sinus; presence of a deeply invasive sulcus with the posteroventral lip formed by a mesially directed process in the pars petrosa for passage of the internal jugular; and presence of a distinct tubal foramen for passage of the Eustachian tube. Additionally, the following four apomorphies are identified that are found in all modern Dasyuridae, but no other Dasyuromorphia, including Barinya wangala: presence of a fully enclosed stylomastoid foramen that includes a periotic component; contact between the pars petrosa and a paroccipital tympanic process that fully encloses the paroccipital hypotympanic sinus ventrally; extensive dorsal enclosure of the internal jugular canal; and contact between the mastoid tympanic process and the pars petrosa. Barinya wangala represents the sister clade to a monophyletic taxon that includes all extant Dasyuridae. The perception that even basal Dasyuridae may represent morphological approximations of the ancestral australidelphian or dasyuromorphian is strongly refuted.

Systematic Relationships within the Dasyurid Marsupial Tribe Sminthopsini—A Multigene Approach

“…The tribe might be much older than these Sminthopsis fossils suggest, but definite dasyurid remains from deposits older than the Pliocene are extremely rare (Wroe, 1999). The mid-Miocene taxon Wakamatha taselli was considered to be a putative sister to members of Sminthopsini (Archer and Rich, 1979;Archer, 1982;Woodburne et al, 1985) (see Fig.…”

Middle Miocene origins for tough-browse dietary specialisations in the koala (Marsupialia, Phascolarctidae) evolutionary tree: description of a new genus and species from the Riversleigh World Heritage Area

“…2. The omnivorous pygmy possum Burramys brutyi Brammall and Archer, 1997, is also present as are the carnivorous dasyurid Barinya wangala Wroe, 1999 and thylacoleonid Wakaleo oldfieldi (Gillespie et al, 2014;Travouillon et al, 2015;Arena et al, 2016).…”

Earliest known record of a hypercarnivorous dasyurid (Marsupialia), from newly discovered carbonates beyond the Riversleigh World Heritage Area, north Queensland

“…While definitive familial identification is uncertain given the lack of basicranial information (Wroe, 1999), the highly derived molar morphology including the plethora of vertical blades with carnassial notches (e.g., metacristid and preentocristid), hypotrophied metaconid and hypertrophied protoconid, strongly suggests that it represents this group. This overall conclusion is also supported by the argument of Voss and Jansa (2009) that while loss of the posterior cingulid (which is conspicuously present in W. tomnpatrichorum) is a synapomorphy of Marsupialia, secondary presence of this structure is a synapomorphy of dasyuromorphians.…”

“…Although several fossil Oligo-Miocene putative dasyurids or dasyurid-like taxa have already been described from the Riversleigh region (i.e., species of Ganbulanyi, Barinya, Mayigriphus, Malleodectes and Joculusium; Wroe, 1997aWroe, , 1998Wroe, , 1999Wroe, , 2001Arena et al, 2011), these are significantly different from Whollydooleya tomnpatrichorum gen. et sp. nov. in terms of key structural features (see below in Comparisons).…”