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179 / Cenozoic
Diprotodon
Diprotodon optatum
This rhinoceros-sized marsupial clipped plants with two forward incisors and moved between seasonal water sources.
Structured expansion · editorial review pending
- Time range
- About 1.6 million–46,000 years ago
- Final stage
- Late Pleistocene
- Geographic range
- Australian open woodland, grassland and lake basins
01 / ANSWER FIRST
What was Diprotodon?
This archive records Diprotodon under the scientific name Diprotodon optatum, with an age of About 1.6 million–46,000 years ago and a range of Australian open woodland, grassland and lake basins. This rhinoceros-sized marsupial clipped plants with two forward incisors and moved between seasonal water sources.
Diprotodon was the largest known marsupial, standing almost two meters at the shoulder. Broad feet supported its mass, molars ground shrubs and herbs, and lake deposits hint at movements following water and food.
02 / QUICK FACTS
Diprotodon at a glance
- Scientific name
- Diprotodon optatum
- Age
- About 1.6 million–46,000 years ago
- Last recorded stage
- Late Pleistocene
- Known range
- Australian open woodland, grassland and lake basins
- Broad group
- mammal or synapsid
- Archive era
- Cenozoic
- Habitat signals
- Freshwater · Forest · Grassland
- Documented regions
- Oceania
03 / ANATOMY
How was Diprotodon built?
Overall body plan
This rhinoceros-sized marsupial clipped plants with two forward incisors and moved between seasonal water sources.
Skull, teeth and feeding mechanics
The available record is interpreted through preserved proportions, attachment surfaces, wear and comparison with related organisms. For Diprotodon, those observations must be separated from features added only for visual reconstruction.
Limbs, posture and body mass
Diprotodon was the largest known marsupial, standing almost two meters at the shoulder. Broad feet supported its mass, molars ground shrubs and herbs, and lake deposits hint at movements following water and food.
Growth and individual variation
A single specimen does not define the whole species. Size, maturity, preservation and possible sex differences are considered before anatomical traits are treated as typical of Diprotodon.
04 / DIET & BEHAVIOUR
How did Diprotodon live?
Diprotodon was the largest known marsupial, standing almost two meters at the shoulder. Broad feet supported its mass, molars ground shrubs and herbs, and lake deposits hint at movements following water and food. This ecological reconstruction is strongest where anatomy, associated organisms and the depositional setting point in the same direction.
05 / DIET & BEHAVIOUR
What shaped its ecological limits?
Its populations depended on food webs, vegetation, water, climate and competition. Changes in any one factor did not necessarily cause immediate extinction, but interacting pressures could reduce range, recruitment and resilience.
06 / RANGE & HABITAT
Where and when did Diprotodon live?
This archive currently lists About 1.6 million–46,000 years ago; Australian open woodland, grassland and lake basins. Fossil or historical occurrence data describe where evidence has been found, not every place the taxon once occupied. Species-level age and range limits still require source-specific review.
Documented geographic range
Australian open woodland, grassland and lake basins. This boundary can change when specimens are reidentified or new localities are published.
Time window
About 1.6 million–46,000 years ago, with the final recorded stage listed as Late Pleistocene. Rock units and dating uncertainty mean the true biological range may extend beyond the known record.
Environmental setting
The archive uses the broad habitat labels Freshwater · Forest · Grassland. These labels help explore related records; a habitat reconstruction requires evidence from individual localities.
07 / FOSSIL EVIDENCE
What evidence supports reconstructions of Diprotodon?
Primary record
Skulls, skeletons, tracks and tooth isotopes across Australia record body size, diet and movement, while lake death assemblages suggest social behavior.
Comparative anatomy
Preserved structures are compared with close and functionally similar organisms. The method can constrain posture and function, but analogy alone cannot prove colour, behaviour or soft tissue.
Age and locality
Stratigraphy and occurrence records place Diprotodon within About 1.6 million–46,000 years ago and Australian open woodland, grassland and lake basins. Reworked fossils and uncertain provenance are treated cautiously.
Open entity records
Links below connect the archive to available taxonomic and occurrence records. A matching name does not verify every ecological claim, and related-taxon links provide comparison rather than an exact species match.
08 / DISAPPEARANCE & DEBATE
Why did Diprotodon disappear?
Long-term aridification, changing fire regimes and human arrival overlap with its disappearance; their relative roles remain under study.
The last fossil or observation marks the youngest evidence currently known, not necessarily the death of the final individual. Explanations are strongest when timing, environmental change and population biology agree; otherwise the profile preserves uncertainty instead of assigning a single dramatic cause.
09 / FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Diprotodon FAQ
What was Diprotodon?
This archive records Diprotodon under the scientific name Diprotodon optatum, with an age of About 1.6 million–46,000 years ago. This rhinoceros-sized marsupial clipped plants with two forward incisors and moved between seasonal water sources.
When did Diprotodon live?
The current archive range is About 1.6 million–46,000 years ago; its youngest recorded stage is Late Pleistocene.
Where was Diprotodon found?
The archive currently lists Australian open woodland, grassland and lake basins. Species-level locality assignments and the full geographic range still require source-specific review.
How do scientists know about Diprotodon?
Skulls, skeletons, tracks and tooth isotopes across Australia record body size, diet and movement, while lake death assemblages suggest social behavior.
04 / SOURCES & FURTHER READING
Check the source record
Use the scientific name to compare taxonomy, occurrence records and the fossil record. Database coverage and classifications may differ.
05 / REVISION HISTORY
How has this record changed?
- Completed an AI-assisted bilingual audit of the archive record, corrected identified issues and clarified evidence limits; independent editorial review is pending.
- Expanded into a structured bilingual profile with anatomy, ecology, range, evidence, debate and FAQs; independent editorial review is pending.
- Verified authoritative entity sources and added three responsive reconstruction sizes.
- Initial bilingual species record published.
06 / CORRECTIONS & ADDITIONS