Balbaroo

Balbaroo
Temporal range:
Holotype skull of Balbaroo nalima
Scientific classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Infraclass: Marsupialia
Order: Diprotodontia
Family: Balbaridae
Genus: Balbaroo
Flannery, Archer & Plane, 1982
Type species
Balbaroo camfieldensis
Flannery, Archer & Plane, 1982
Other species
  • B. fangaroo Cooke, 2000
  • B. gregoriensis Flannery, Archer & Plane, 1982
  • B. nalima Black et al, 2014
Synonyms
  • Nambaroo bullockensis Schwartz & Megirian, 2004

Balbaroo is an extinct genus of basal quadrupedal macropodiform marsupials that once lived in Australia during the Late Oligocene to the Middle Miocene. Known primarily from the Riversleigh World Heritage Area in Queensland, and the Camfield Beds of the Northern Territory, Balbaroo species are considered part of the family Balbaridae, which represents an early branch of kangaroo evolution. Unlike modern kangaroos, members of the Balbaroo genus were quadrupedal browsers, adapted to dense forest environments. Four species are currently recognised, B. camfieldensis, B. fangaroo, B. gregoriensis, and B. nalima.