Riversleigh is an isolated area about 140 miles (225 km) northwest of the city of Mount Isa.The fossils are found in limestone rock outcrops near the Gregory River. Thank you for reading. The coronoid and angulary processes of O. dicksoni have quite disappeared in the platypus, leaving the platypus's skull flat on the sides. The only known area of its distribution, the Riversleigh site, was closed forest at the freshwater bodies it inhabited, surrounded by more open woodlands over the region's limestone karst terrain. Obdurodon dicksoni is known only from a skull, lower jaw and teeth. The fossil history of the platypus shows the modern platypus is just the tip of the iceberg of a diverse radiation. The new platypus species, named Obdurodon tharalkooschild, is based on a single tooth from the famous Riversleigh World Heritage Area of northwest Queensland. The specimens were dated from the Oligocene, 24 to 26 million years … The lower jaw, unlike that of the living platypus, has well developed angular and coronoid processes. "Comparative cranial morphology in living and extinct platypuses: Feeding behavior, electroreception, and loss of teeth". Alternatively, they may be descended from an as-yet unknown group of early mammals or near-mammals. The well developed, rooted teeth of Obdurodon dicksoni suggest a more varied diet than that of the living platypus, perhaps including larger prey (for instance, a greater percentage of fish, tadpoles or froglets). Riversleigh fossils, any of numerous assemblages of fossils found at Riversleigh Station, in northwestern Queensland, Australia, which together constitute the richest and most diverse collection of fossils ever found on that continent. Obdurodon is represented by three species: Obdurodon insignis is an extinct species of ornithorhynchid monotreme discovered in the Tirari Desert in central Australia. [6], The tooth was placed into the newly erected genus Obduron when described in 1975 by American palaeontologists Michael O. Woodburne and Richard H. Tedford. (2013) Pian et al. The upper jaw bore two premolars and two molars on each side. Its skull is one of the most perfect fossils known from Riversleigh. [2], The genus was first described in 1975 by American palaeontologists Michael O. Woodburne and Richard H. Tedford based on two isolated teeth from the Lake Ngapakaldi to Lake Palankarinna Fossil Area in South Australia. Image credit: gadigal yilimung (shield) made by Uncle Charles Chicka Madden. The Budgerigar is now the best-known Australian bird, having spread all over the world thanks to its popularity as a caged bird. Obdurodon tharalkooschild is thought to have inhabited fresh water and hunted for a variety of animal prey in the forests that dominated the Riversleigh site at the time of deposition. [9], The septomaxilla (a part of the upper jawbone) of O. dicksoni is bigger than for the platypus, which supposes a hypertrophied beak. [12], The name given to the species was discussed in a 1990 paper by Mike Archer, an Australian mammalogist, detailing a creation story with an Ugly Duckling motif in the context of palaeontology. Other than the skull and teeth, no other fossilised material of O. dicksoni has been identified. Riversleigh fauna is the collective term for any species of animal identified in fossil sites located in the Riversleigh World Heritage Area Faunal zones. The animal is known from Riversleigh fossils and is thought to have existed in the early to mid Miocene era, inhabiting pools and streams of freshwater in a rainforest environment. The holotype specimen, SAM P18087, a tooth, was uncovered in 1971 from the Lake Ngapakaldi to Lake Palankarinna Fossil Area in South Australia. Check out the What's On calendar of events, workshops and school holiday programs. The oldest fossil platypus found in Australia was a small, toothed species, Obdurodon insignis, from 26 million-year old lake deposits in what is now the Simpson Desert. Fossil of giant platypus unearthed in Riversleigh November 4, 2013 2.26pm EST. It is known from a single tooth found at the Miocene-aged Two Tree Site fossil beds in Riversleigh in Queensland, Australia.[10][11]. The type specimen is an exceptionally well preserved skull, one of the most intact fossil skulls to be excavated from Riversleigh. though. fossil platypus, Obdurodon dicksoni, from Miocene deposits of Riversleigh, Australia, represents the oldest record of an unequivocal member of either monotreme clade and is therefore significant for monotreme systematics (Archer et al., 1992, 1993; Musser and Archer, 1998). Molars had only been found apart from skulls, implying that they were not well-anchored. The evolutionary relationships of monotremes are the subject of much debate, and no consensus has yet been reached. [citation needed] Obdurodon insignis had one more canine tooth (NC1) than its ancestor Steropodon galmani.[1]. Description of the skull and non-vestigial dentition of a Miocene platypus (, Lake Ngapakaldi to Lake Palankarinna Fossil Area, "Fossil of giant platypus unearthed in Riversleigh", "New information about the skull and dentary of the Miocene platypus Obdurodon dicksoni, and a discussion of ornithorhynchid relationships", "Giant Platypus Found, Shakes Up Evolutionary Tree", "Extinct 'Godzilla' platypus found in Australia - Yahoo News UK", "Giant extinct toothed platypus discovered", "Tharalkoo's child: an ugly duckling story. We acknowledge Elders past, present and emerging. -Aboriginal dreamtime legend, and palaeontology of the platypus", Fossil record of the Monotremata, with a photo of an, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Obdurodon&oldid=988813269#Obdurodon_dicksoni, Articles with unsourced statements from May 2019, Taxonbars using multiple manual Wikidata items, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, Woodburne and Tedford. [1] In total, 4 specimens are known, dating from the Oligocene to the Pliocene. The Riversleigh Forest Beast was about the size of a sheep. Based on the discovery of a single tooth, researchers say they have identified an ancient species of giant platypus. [13][7] A philosophical examination of historical sciences such as palaeontology, published in 2018, uses the tooth of this platypus as an example of the results obtainable by multiple methods of research into traces of evidence; the author refers to the species by the vernacular "platyzilla".[14]. While many of Riversleigh's fossil deposits are now being radiometrically dated, the precise age of the particular deposit that produced this giant platypus is in doubt but is likely to be between 15 and 5 million years old. [1] The genus is one of several to have been placed with the family Ornithorhynchidae, whose only living member is the platypus.[3]. [12] The ornithorhynchid species were unknown in the later fossil record at the time of discovery, and it defied the assumptions of a single lineage of a platypus-like animal that progressively lost its teeth and became smaller in size. The M1 had six roots, the M2 had five, and the M3 only one. Archer, M., Jenkins, F.A. The platypus (Ornithorhynchus anatinus) is one of five extant species of egg-laying mammals in the subclass Monotremata and the only living species within the family Ornithorhynchidae ().As one of the world’s most evolutionarily distinct mammals, the platypus has long been regarded to be of exceptional scientific importance as well as a globally unique component of Australia’s biodiversity. Since its skeleton is unknown, there is little further knowledge of its lifestyle. A new, toothed ornithorhynchid monotreme from Two Trees Site in the Riversleigh World Heritage Area, northwestern Queensland, Australia, is described. Archer, et al. Obdurodon dicksoni is an extinct species of ornithorhynchid monotreme discovered in Australia. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. ", This page was last edited on 15 November 2020, at 11:42. Riversleigh is a locality ... on the forest floor were marsupial moles while quiet stretches of water might be the home of the toothed platypus Obduradon. The Australian Museum respects and acknowledges the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation as the First Peoples and Traditional Custodians of the land and waterways on which the Museum stands. nov. (Monotremata, Ornithorhynchidae), from the Riversleigh World Heritage Area, Australia. The premolars had only one root and a very different shape from the molars. Jan 8, 2015 - Obdurodon dicksoni: Riversleigh Platypus: Extinct: Australia