Wellington Caves (Pliocene to of Australia)

Where: New South Wales, Australia (32.6° S, 149.0° E: paleocoordinates 34.6° S, 148.6° E)

• coordinate estimated from map

• small collection-level geographic resolution

When: Early/Lower Pliocene to Early/Lower Pliocene (5.3 - 0.0 Ma)

• Osborne (1997) concluded that the oldest bone-bearing bed of the Wellington Caves system is the upper graded-bedded unit of the Phosphate Mine beds. The Phosphate Mine beds yielded specimens of a peramelid marsupial that Muirhead et al. (1997) referred to the early Pliocene species Perameles bowensis. The next oldest deposits are those of Big Sink, which Hand et al. (1988) concluded were early to mid-Pliocene in age. These are overlain unconformably by the Quaternary Mitchell Cave beds (Osborne, 1983, 1997). Thus, A. frangens could be Pleistocene or as old as early Pliocene.

Environment/lithology: terrestrial; lithology not reported

Size class: macrofossils

Collected by December in 1995

Collection methods: salvage, surface (float)

• South Australian Museum collection

Primary reference: G. J. Prideaux. 2004. Systematics and evolution of the sthenurine kangaroos. In S. W. Awramik, A. Barnosky, J. A. Doyle, M. L. Droser, P. M. Sadler (eds.), UC Publications in Geological Sciences, University of California Press 146:1-623 [G. Prideaux/G. Gully/T. Liebrecht]more details

Purpose of describing collection: taxonomic analysis

PaleoDB collection 136725: authorized by John Alroy, entered by Albert Garcia Selles on 03.12.2012

Creative Commons license: CC BY (attribution)

Taxonomic list

Mammalia
 Theriamorpha - Diprotodontidae
"Diprotodon optatum n. gen. n. sp." = Diprotodon optatum, "Diprotodon australis n. sp." = Diprotodon optatum
"Diprotodon optatum n. gen. n. sp." = Diprotodon optatum Owen 1838 diprotodont marsupial
"Diprotodon australis n. sp." = Diprotodon optatum Owen 1838 diprotodont marsupial
 Theriamorpha -
Procoptodon rapha Owen 1874 short-faced kangaroo
Procoptodon oreas De Vis 1895 short-faced kangaroo