Riversleigh Sprite Possum (not yet named)
Riversleigh Sprite Possum. Illustration: © A Musser.
Lived: 23-10 million years ago (early - middle Miocene)
Size: Length (head to tail): about 40cm
Description: The Riversleigh Sprite Possum belongs to an extinct group of possums called the ektopodontids. It had a short face, huge, forward-facing eyes, and unusual teeth that it probably used to eat seeds or hard fruits in the forest.
The closest living relatives of the Riversleigh Sprite Possum are the brushtailed possums and cuscuses.
Fossils: The only fossils known for the Riversleigh Sprite Possum are a lower jaw and some individual teeth, from Riversleigh in north-western Queensland.
Did you know?: Ektopodontid possums such as the Riversleigh Sprite Possum have the most unusual and complex teeth of any marsupial. Each tooth looks like a pair of tiny accordians side by side.
