Quinkana
Encyclopedia
Quinkana is an extinct genus
of mekosuchine crocodile
that lived in Australia
from ~24 million years ago to ~40,000 years ago. By the Pleistocene
Quinkana had become one of the top terrestrial predators
of Australia, possessing long legs and ziphodont teeth (lateromedially compressed, recurved and serrated).Ziphodont teeth tend to arise in terrestrial crocodilians because, unlike their aquatic cousins, they are unable to dispatch their prey by simply holding them underwater and drowning them; they thus need cutting teeth with which to slice open their victims. Quinkana comes from the "Quinkans", a legendary folk from Aboriginal myths.
Q. fortirostrum from Queensland
of the Pliocene
and Pleistocene, Q. babarra from Queensland of the Early Pliocene, Q. timara from the Northern Territory
of the Middle Miocene
, and Q. meboldi from Queensland of the Late Oligocene
.
, Megalania
(Varanus priscus).
. Other genera included in this family are: Australosuchus
, Baru
, Kambara
, Mekosuchus
, Pallimnarchus
and Trilophosuchus
.
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
of mekosuchine crocodile
Mekosuchinae
Mekosuchinae was a subfamily of crocodiles from Australia and the South Pacific that have now become extinct. They first appear in the fossil record in the Eocene in Australia, and survived until the Pleistocene in Australia and until the arrival of humans in the Pacific islands of Fiji, New...
that lived in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
from ~24 million years ago to ~40,000 years ago. By the Pleistocene
Pleistocene
The Pleistocene is the epoch from 2,588,000 to 11,700 years BP that spans the world's recent period of repeated glaciations. The name pleistocene is derived from the Greek and ....
Quinkana had become one of the top terrestrial predators
Apex predator
Apex predators are predators that have no predators of their own, residing at the top of their food chain. Zoologists define predation as the killing and consumption of another organism...
of Australia, possessing long legs and ziphodont teeth (lateromedially compressed, recurved and serrated).Ziphodont teeth tend to arise in terrestrial crocodilians because, unlike their aquatic cousins, they are unable to dispatch their prey by simply holding them underwater and drowning them; they thus need cutting teeth with which to slice open their victims. Quinkana comes from the "Quinkans", a legendary folk from Aboriginal myths.
Species
The species within Quinkana include: the type speciesType species
In biological nomenclature, a type species is both a concept and a practical system which is used in the classification and nomenclature of animals and plants. The value of a "type species" lies in the fact that it makes clear what is meant by a particular genus name. A type species is the species...
Q. fortirostrum from Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
of the Pliocene
Pliocene
The Pliocene Epoch is the period in the geologic timescale that extends from 5.332 million to 2.588 million years before present. It is the second and youngest epoch of the Neogene Period in the Cenozoic Era. The Pliocene follows the Miocene Epoch and is followed by the Pleistocene Epoch...
and Pleistocene, Q. babarra from Queensland of the Early Pliocene, Q. timara from the Northern Territory
Northern Territory
The Northern Territory is a federal territory of Australia, occupying much of the centre of the mainland continent, as well as the central northern regions...
of the Middle Miocene
Miocene
The Miocene is a geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about . The Miocene was named by Sir Charles Lyell. Its name comes from the Greek words and and means "less recent" because it has 18% fewer modern sea invertebrates than the Pliocene. The Miocene follows the Oligocene...
, and Q. meboldi from Queensland of the Late Oligocene
Oligocene
The Oligocene is a geologic epoch of the Paleogene Period and extends from about 34 million to 23 million years before the present . As with other older geologic periods, the rock beds that define the period are well identified but the exact dates of the start and end of the period are slightly...
.
Appearance
The older species (Q. meboldi and Q. timara) were small in size, about 2 metres (7 ft), compared to the large Plio-Pleistocene species which evolved. Quinkana fortirostrum has been estimated to have exceeded 5 metres (16.4 ft) in length, making it at the time one of Australia's largest predators, surpassed in size by the giant monitor lizardMonitor lizard
Monitor lizards are usually large reptiles, although some can be as small as in length. They have long necks, powerful tails and claws, and well-developed limbs. Most species are terrestrial, but arboreal and semiaquatic monitors are also known...
, Megalania
Megalania
Megalania is a giant extinct goanna or monitor lizard. It was part of a megafaunal assemblage that inhabited southern Australia during the Pleistocene, and appears to have disappeared around 40,000 years ago...
(Varanus priscus).
Closely related species
Quinkana is a genus within the subfamily MekosuchinaeMekosuchinae
Mekosuchinae was a subfamily of crocodiles from Australia and the South Pacific that have now become extinct. They first appear in the fossil record in the Eocene in Australia, and survived until the Pleistocene in Australia and until the arrival of humans in the Pacific islands of Fiji, New...
. Other genera included in this family are: Australosuchus
Australosuchus
Australosuchus is an extinct genus of crocodilian belonging to the subfamily Mekosuchinae.The type and only known species Australosuchus clarkae lived during the Late Oligocene and the Early Miocene of southern Australia. The generic name Australosuchus means "Southern crocodile"...
, Baru
Baru
Baru was an extinct genus of Australian mekosuchine crocodilian. It was semi-aquatic, around 4 m in length. Being semi-aquatic its habitat was around fresh pools of water in wet forests, ambushing their prey, much like modern species...
, Kambara
Kambara
Kambara is an extinct genus of mekosuchine crocodylian that lived during the Eocene and Oligocene epochs in Australia.At around 55 million years old, remains of Kambara are among the oldest Tertiary fossils found in Australia . Kambara is the oldest known mekosuchine...
, Mekosuchus
Mekosuchus
Mekosuchus is a genus of extinct Australasian crocodiles within the subfamily Mekosuchinae. They are believed to have been made extinct by the arrival of man on the South Pacific islands where they lived...
, Pallimnarchus
Pallimnarchus
Pallimnarchus is a genus extinct mekosuchine crocodylian from the Pliocene and Pleistocene of Australia. Remains of this animal have been found in the Riversleigh lagerstätte of northwestern Queensland. It was medium-sized, up to 5 meters long...
and Trilophosuchus
Trilophosuchus
Trilophosuchus is an extinct genus of the crocodilian subfamily Mekosuchinae. Unlike living crocodilians, it is hypothesized to have been terrestrial. Trilophosuchus was approximately in length. It had a short skull with three ridges on top and large eyes. Fossils have been found at Riversleigh...
.