Explore this animal in Size of Extinct Animals ↗
389 / Mesozoic
Tarwinia
Tarwinia australis
It resembled a giant primitive flea but may not be a direct flea ancestor.
View original image · 1600 × 1067- Time range
- About 122–112 million years ago
- Final stage
- Early Cretaceous
- Geographic range
- Cool humid forest floor · Victoria, Australia
01 / DEFINITION & ECOLOGY
What was Tarwinia?
Tarwinia (Tarwinia australis) was an extinct organism known from About 122–112 million years ago, with a range in Cool humid forest floor · Victoria, Australia.
Life and ecology
A wingless compressed body and piercing mouthparts suggest feeding on feathered dinosaurs or other vertebrates.
02 / DISAPPEARANCE
Why did Tarwinia disappear?
Turnover among hosts and parasites is possible context, but it does not establish why this giant flea-like form disappeared.
03 / EVIDENCE
How do scientists know about Tarwinia?
Koonwarra impressions preserve the body, legs and mouthparts; host and affinity remain uncertain.
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