Alcoota Kolopsis (Kolopsis torus)
Alcoota Kolopsis.
Illustration: Copyright © A Musser.
Lived: 8 million years ago (late Miocene)
Size: Length (head and body): 1.5 m; 80cm tall (at the shoulder)
Description: The Alcoota Kolopsis is a diprotodontoid marsupial that browsed on leaves and stems in the subtropical open woodlands. Its closest living relatives are the wombats and Koalas.
The Alcoota Kolopsis lived at a time in Australia when big, lumbering diprotodontoids outnumbered kangaroos in number of kinds and number of individuals.
Fossils: Fossils of the Alcoota Kolopsis come from Alcoota Station in the Northern Territory. A complete skull has been found, as well as some individual teeth.
Did you know?: Alcoota Kolopsis probably travelled in large herds.
