| ARTICLE | GALLERY |
| Ekaltadeta Temporal range: Oligocene – Pleistocene | |
|---|---|
| |
| An artist's illustration of Ekaltadeta | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Infraclass: | Marsupiala |
| Order: | Diprotodontia |
| Family: | Hypsiprymnodontidae |
| Subfamily: | Propleopinae |
| Genus: | †Ekaltadeta Archer & Flannery, 1985 |
| Referred species | |
| |
Ekaltadeta was a giant marsupial related to modern rat-kangaroos.
They are hypothesized to have been either predatory, or omnivorous with a fondness for meat, based on their chewing teeth. This conclusion is based mainly on the size and shape of a large buzz-saw-shaped cheek-tooth, the adult third premolar, which is common to all Ekaltadeta. A few species actually did also have long predatory "fangs".
Fossils of the animals include two near complete skulls, and numerous upper and lower jaws.
