Palorchestes

Palorchestes
Temporal range: Miocene–Late Pleistocene
Partial skull and mandibles of Palorchestes azael
Life restoration of an adult and juvenile
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Infraclass: Marsupialia
Order: Diprotodontia
Family: †Palorchestidae
Genus: †Palorchestes
Owen, 1873
Type species
Palorchestes azael Owen, 1873
Other species
  • P. anulus Black 1997[1]
  • P. painei Woodburne. 1967
  • P. parvus De Vis, 1895[2]
  • P. pickeringi
  • P. selestiae Mackness, 1995[3]

Palorchestes ("ancient leaper") is an extinct genus of large terrestrial, herbivorous Australian marsupial of the family Palorchestidae, living from the Miocene through to the Late Pleistocene. Like other palorchestids, it had highly retracted nasal region suggesting that it had a prehensile lip, as well as highly unusual clawed forelimbs that were used to grasp vegetation.

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference Black1997a was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference DeVis1895 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference Mackness1995 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).