| Thylacoleonidae Temporal range: Late Oligocene–Pleistocene |
|
|---|---|
| Thylacoleo | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Infraclass: | Marsupialia |
| Order: | Diprotodontia |
| Family: |
†Thylacoleonidae Gill, 1872 |
| Genera | |
Thylacoleonidae is a family of extinct meat-eating marsupials from Australia, referred to as marsupial lions. The best known is Thylacoleo carnifex, also called the marsupial lion. The clade ranged from the Late Oligocene to the , with some species the size of a possum and others as large as a leopard. The discovery of a new small sized species indicates a higher ecological diversity than previously thought.
Four genera are currently accepted as belonging to this family: