Vanellus sp.

Louys, Julien & Price, Gilbert J., 2015, The Chinchilla Local Fauna: An exceptionally rich and well-preserved Pliocene vertebrate assemblage from fluviatile deposits of south-eastern Queensland, Australia, Acta Palaeontologica Polonica 60 (3), pp. 551-572 : 560

Vanellus sp.

Material.—None (destroyed).

Remarks.— De Vis (1892) described a species of lapwing ( Lobivanellus sp. , now Vanellus sp. ), but stated in his description that the specimen was destroyed before a full taxonomic assignment could be made.As this specimen was published in de Vis’s 1892 treatise, it is possible that it was derived from the Chinchilla Sand (see remarks in Gallinula morterii ).

Class Mammalia Linneaus, 1758

Infraclass Marsupialia Illiger, 1811

Order indeterminate

Genus Archizonurus de Vis, 1889

Type species: Archizonurus securus de Vis, 1889 , Chinchilla, Pliocene.

Archizonurus securus de Vis, 1889 Fig. 6C .

Material.— QM F682 (holotype, proximal left scapula fragment) from Chinchilla , Australia, Pliocene .

Remarks.— Meston (1895) suggested Archizonurus securus could be a possum, whereas Mahoney and Ride (1975) regard this species as Marsupialia incertae sedis. The specimen is clearly from a taxon much larger than a possum e.g., large-bodied macropodid or wombat-sized individual). We follow the latest taxonomic authority on the species, but nevertheless consider Archizonurus securus as a species inquirenda.

Stratigraphic and geographic range.—Pliocene; eastern Australia.

Figures

Fig. 6. Mammal species of uncertain taxonomic identity from unspecified localities near Chinchilla, Australia, Pliocene. A. Koalemus ingens de Vis, 1889, QM F683, partial right fibula. B. Synaptodon aevorum de Vis, 1888, QM F811, right dentary fragment. C. Archizonurus securus de Vis, 1889, QM F682, proximal left scapula. D. Phalanger procuscus (de Vis, 1889), QM F687, right scapula. E. Chronozoon australe de Vis, 1883, QM F610, calvarium. F. Brachalletes palmeri de Vis, 1883, QM F3308, right femur. Scale bars 10 mm.