Explore this animal in Size of Extinct Animals ↗
341 / Cenozoic
Ekaltadeta
Ekaltadeta ima
Deep jaws and slicing teeth suggest an ancient kangaroo relative that ate meat.
View original image · 1536 × 1024- Time range
- About 26–23 million years ago
- Final stage
- Latest Oligocene–earliest Miocene
- Geographic range
- Rainforest and edge · Queensland, Australia
01 / DEFINITION & ECOLOGY
What was Ekaltadeta?
Ekaltadeta (Ekaltadeta ima) was an extinct organism known from About 26–23 million years ago, with a range in Rainforest and edge · Queensland, Australia.
Life and ecology
This small musky-rat-kangaroo relative was probably omnivorous and caught small animals.
02 / DISAPPEARANCE
Why did Ekaltadeta disappear?
Rainforest contraction and marsupial turnover are possible context; their precise role in its disappearance is not established.
03 / EVIDENCE
How do scientists know about Ekaltadeta?
Riversleigh skulls, jaws and tooth wear reveal a mixed diet.
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?
- Rewrote an extinction cause that presented environmental or faunal turnover as established; it is now given as context the record does not prove.
- Verified authoritative entity sources and added three responsive reconstruction sizes.
- Initial bilingual species record published.
06 / CORRECTIONS & ADDITIONS