Ganguroo robustiter: a new Miocene Neogene Macropodid (kangaroo)

Ganguroo robustiter, sp. nov. (Macropodoidea, Marsupialia), a middle to early late Miocene basal macropodid from Riversleigh World Heritage Area, Australia

Authors:

Cooke et al

Abstract:

Cranial and dental remains of the middle to early late Miocene macropodid kangaroo, Ganguroo robustiter, sp. nov., are described. Postcranial remains of G. robustiter were previously described as referable to G. bilamina. Ganguroo robustiter is more robust (approximately 20% larger) and more derived than G. bilamina and G. bites, in having a larger m4, a well-developed posterolingual ridge and lingual cingulum on P3, a longer P3/p3, and no stylar cusp C on M3–M4. We used previously published data matrices to analyze the phylogenetic relationship of G. robustiter. Both phylogenetic analyses, using craniodental and postcranial characters, place G. robustiter within Macropodidae, as the sister taxon to sthenurines and macropodines. Species of Ganguroo are not found to be monophyletic despite their extreme similarity in character scores. This may be due to the large amount of missing data for G. bilamina and G. bites for which no postcranial remains have been identified. Phylogenetic results are ambiguous, recovering unresolved trees with low bootstrap values, but the generic assignment of these taxa is maintained because they are remarkably similar. Species of Ganguroo may represent a phyletic lineage, with species increasing in size and losing cusp/cuspids on their premolars through time, which appears to coincide with a broader record of changing vegetation and climates through the middle Miocene.