Naraboryctes

Naraboryctes Temporal range: Early Miocene
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Infraclass:	Marsupialia
Order:	?Notoryctemorphia
Family:	?Notoryctidae
Genus:	Naraboryctes Archer et al., 2011
Species
N. philcreaseri Archer et al., 2011 (type)

Naraboryctes is an extinct genus of marsupial from early Miocene deposits of Boodjamulla National Park of Riversleigh area, northwestern Queensland, Australia. It was first named by Michael Archer, Robin Beck, Miranda Gott, Suzanne Hand, Henk Godthelp and Karen Black in 2011 and the type species is Naraboryctes philcreaseri. The generic name means “to drink” (naraba in Garrawa and Waanyi languages of northwestern Queensland) in reference to its rainforest palaeohabitat + “digger” (oryctes in Greek) in reference to its fossorial specializations and close relationship to Notoryctes, and the specific name honors Phil Creaser.^[1]

However, a more recent study showscases that it lacked many of the synapomorphies associated with marsupial moles, and may belong to a previously unknown lineage of metatherians.^[2]

References

1. Michael Archer, Robin Beck, Miranda Gott, Suzanne Hand, Henk Godthelp and Karen Black (2011). "Australia's first fossil marsupial mole (Notoryctemorphia) resolves controversies about their evolution and palaeoenvironmental origins". Proceedings of the Royal Society B. 22 (278): 1498–1506. doi:10.1098/rspb.2010.1943.
2. On Dryolestid affinities