Wakaleo facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Wakaleo |
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Scientific classification  |
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| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Infraclass: | Marsupialia |
| Order: | Diprotodontia |
| Family: | †Thylacoleonidae |
| Genus: | †Wakaleo Clemens & Plane, 1974 |
| Species | |
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†W. alcootaensis |
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Wakaleo was a type of ancient animal that lived in Australia a long, long time ago. Its name comes from an Indigenous Australian word "waka" meaning "little" or "small," and the Latin word "leo" meaning "lion." So, it's like a "little lion"!
These animals were medium-sized marsupials. They lived during the Late Oligocene and Miocene Epochs. This was a period from about 33 million to 5 million years ago. Even though Wakaleo was smaller than its famous relative, the marsupial lion (Thylacoleo carnifex), it was still a very good hunter. It had special teeth for cutting and stabbing its prey. Wakaleo belonged to an extinct family of animals called Vombatiformes. This means it was a distant relative of the plant-eating wombats we know today.
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Discovering Wakaleo
Scientists W. A. Clemens and M. Plane first officially named Wakaleo in 1974. So far, five different species of Wakaleo have been found. Each species is a slightly different type of this ancient marsupial lion.
Wakaleo alcootaensis
This species was discovered in 1974. Its fossils were found in the Waite Formation in the Northern Territory of Australia. This area is known for its Miocene-era fossils. Wakaleo alcootaensis was a bit larger than some of the other Wakaleo species.
Wakaleo oldfieldi
Scientists found Wakaleo oldfieldi in 1971. They were working in the Wipijiri Formation in southern Australia. They found a nearly complete lower jawbone, which included some well-preserved teeth. This helped them learn a lot about this ancient hunter.
Wakaleo pitikantensis
This species was first described in 1987 by a scientist named Rauscher. It was originally thought to be a different genus called Priscileo. However, after more study in 2017, scientists decided it belonged with the Wakaleo genus.
Wakaleo schouteni
Wakaleo schouteni was named by Gillespie, Archer, and Hand in 2017. It was a mid-sized species within the Wakaleo group.
Wakaleo vanderleuri
The first fossils of Wakaleo vanderleuri were found in 1967. Field workers discovered them in the Camfield Beds in the Northern Territory. Since then, many more fossils of this species have been found. This has helped scientists learn more about Wakaleo.
What Wakaleo Looked Like
Wakaleo belonged to a family of animals called thylacoleonids. These are also known as "marsupial lions" because they were powerful predators. Over time, the different species of Wakaleo seemed to get bigger. The earliest species were smaller, but later ones grew larger. This change meant that the bigger Wakaleo could hunt and kill animals much larger than themselves.
