Gastrotheca helenae is a large marsupial frog. The holotype, an adult female, measured in snout–vent length. The dorsum is smooth and bright green in color; the sides and belly are reddish brown with white markings. The belly and throat are quite rugose.
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Phalangerida is one of the two former suborders of the large marsupial order Diprotodontia. This large and diverse suborder included kangaroos, wallabies, quokkas, possums, gliding possum-like marsupials and others. The much smaller suborder Vombatiformes encompasses only the koalas and wombats. This suborder is no longer considered to accurately describe the diversity in Diprotodontia.
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The Vombatiformes are one of the three suborders of the large marsupial order Diprotodontia. Seven of the nine known families within this suborder are extinct; only the families Phascolarctidae, with the koala, and Vombatidae, with three extant species of wombat, survive. Among the extinct families are the Diprotodontidae, which includes Diprotodon, believed by many to be the inspiration for the bunyip. "Vombatiformes" is neo-Latin for "wombat-shaped things", and took its name from its type family.
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In rural and regional areas of Australia, the continued prevalence of Ross River virus is thought to be supported by natural reservoirs such as large marsupial mammals. Antibodies to Ross River virus have been found in a wide variety of placental and marsupial mammals, and also in a few bird species. It is not presently known what reservoir hosts support Ross River virus in metropolitan areas such as Brisbane. The southern saltmarsh mosquito (Aedes camptorhynchus), which is known to carry the Ross River virus, was discovered in Napier, New Zealand, in 1998.
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Examples of migrant species in the Americas after the formation of the Isthmus of Panama. Olive green silhouettes denote North American species with South American ancestors; blue silhouettes denote South American species of North American origin. Continents continued to drift, moving from positions possibly as far as 250 km from their present locations to positions only 70 km from their current locations. South America became linked to North America through the Isthmus of Panama during the Pliocene, making possible the Great American Interchange and bringing a nearly complete end to South America's distinctive large marsupial predator and native ungulate faunas.
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The shoreline of Tasmania and Victoria about 14,000 years ago, as sea levels were rising, showing some of the human archaeological sites The changes to the fauna were even more dramatic: the megafauna, species significantly larger than humans, disappeared, and many of the smaller species disappeared too. All told, about 60 different vertebrates became extinct, including the genus Diprotodon (very large marsupial herbivores that looked rather like hippos), several large flightless birds, carnivorous kangaroos, Wonambi naracoortensis, a five-metre snake, a five-metre lizard and Meiolania, a tortoise the size of a small car.Roberts, R.G., Flannery, T et al (2001) "New Ages for the Last Australian Megafauna: continent wide extinction about 46,000 years ago" (Science, Vol. 292, 8 June 2001).
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