Kingdom Animalia Family †Thylacoleonidae Scientific name Wakaleo vanderleuri Rank Species | Infraclass Marsupialia Genus †Wakaleo Phylum Chordata Order Diprotodontia | |
Similar Wakaleo, Priscileo, Thylacoleonidae, Diprotodontia, Riversleigh rainforest | ||
Wakaleo vanderleuri is a species of "marsupial lion" that lived in Australia during the Miocene (about 16 to 10 million years ago). It is not closely related to true cats, as being a marsupial, its closest living relatives are wombats and the koala. This diprotodont is hypothesized to have been an omnivore, eating significant amounts of meat, perhaps more like a bear in diet and habit than like an actual lion. It lacked large canine-like fangs, producing some controversy regarding just how much it actually preyed on living animals. The meat-eating hypothesis is based largely upon the morphology of its molar teeth. The species is believed to have been able to hunt by leaping from trees onto its prey.
The type species fossils were originally found in the Bollock Creek area.