The functional morphology of extinct palorchestid marsupials

Palorchestids were some of Australia’s most enigmatic fossil megafauna, separated from their closest wombat relatives by more than 25 million years. This thesis describes and analyses their postcranial skeleton to reveal they grew to gigantic sizes over 1000 kg. They had highly unusual forelimbs that they used to walk in a way unlike mammals alive today, and that allowed them to target a range of foods inaccessible to their competitors. This work reveals the past diversity of Australia’s lost marsupial giants.