| Neohelos | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Skull ofNeohelos stirtoni at theMelbourne Museum | |
Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Infraclass: | Marsupialia |
| Order: | Diprotodontia |
| Family: | †Diprotodontidae |
| Subfamily: | †Zygomaturinae |
| Genus: | †Neohelos Stirton,1967 |
| Type species | |
| Neohelos tirarensis Stirton, 1967 | |
| Species | |
N. tirarensisStirton, 1967 | |
Neohelos is anextinctdiprotodontidmarsupial, that lived from the early to middle-Miocene. There are four species assigned to this genus,Neohelos tirarensis, thetype species,N. stirtoni,N. solus andN. davidridei.N. davidridei is the mostderived species of the genus, and itspremolar morphology shows that it is structurally and ancestor of the genusKolopsis. All four species are from theBullock Creek in theNorthern Territory andRiversleigh ofAustralia.
Neohelos is known from many specimens, assigned to all the species.N. tirarensis includes a partialskull,premaxillas,maxillas,teeth, anddentarys;N. solus is known from a maxilla and dentary;N. davidridei includesteeth and a maxilla fragment; andN. stirtoni is known from a mostly complete skull, a maxilla and a dentary.[2]
A revision ofNeohelos found a set of features in all the species that are absent in all otherdiprotodontoids. They are listed below:[2]
Neohelos includes many species. Among them,N. davidridei is the mostderived.N. davidridei shows many features that are also found inKolopsis, and is thought to be the ancestor of it and its species. Together,Neohelos andKolopsis make upZygomaturinae along withZygomaturus and other genera.[2]
Neohelos lived in theearly toMiddle Miocene ofQueensland,Australia. It is one of a few diprotodont genera that existed in all three ofBullock Creek in the Northern Territory,Riversleigh in Queensland, and theWipajiri Formation of South Australia.[2]
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