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Home : Naracoorte Caves National Park : Wonambi Fossil Centre : The Animals : Extinct Animals : Phascolarctos stirtoni

Extinct Animals : Phascolarctos stirtoni

Phascolarctos stirtoni

Class: Mammalia
Supercohort:Marsupialia
Order: Diprotodontia
Family: Phascolarctidae
Genus & Species: Phascolarctos stirtoni

During the Pleistocene period the Giant Koala Phascolarctos stirtoni occupied the same arboreal niche as the modern Koala.

The teeth of the modern Koala (left) and a cast of teeth of the extinct Giant Koala (right) show great similarity

As the common name suggests, Phascolarctos stirtoni is about one third larger than its modern equivalent.
However, apart from the variation in size, there appear to be fewer other differences between the species and some scientists suggest that the modern Koala is really only a dwarfed form of the Pleistocene species.

Model of Phascolarctos stirtoni