Macropus mundjabus, a new kangaroo (Marsupialia: Macropodidae) of uncertain age from Victoria, Australia.

Abstract

Macropus mundjabus n. sp., represented by remarkably complete skeletal material, was discovered in a filled firehole in the Morwell IA coal seam at the Morwell open cast coal mine in Gippsland, Victoria. While dental characters indcate that it is a member of the genus Macropus (sensu stricto) a study of postcranial anatomy reveals a marked parallel with Osphranter robustus (the largest living rock-dwelling macropodid). A possible rock-dwelling habit is inferred for M. mundjabus, an ecological niche no other Macropus (sensu stricto) is known to have exploited.