| Giant koala Temporal range: Pleistocene | |
|---|---|
| |
| An artist's illustration of Phascolarctos stirtoni along side the modern Phascolarctos cinereus (koala) | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Infraclass: | Marsupialia |
| Order: | Diprotodontia |
| Family: | Phascolarctidae |
| Genus: | Phascolarctos |
| Species: | P. stirtoni |
| Binomial name | |
| †Phascolarctos stirtoni Bartholomai, 1968 | |
The Giant Koala (Phascolarctos Stirtoni) is an extinct genus of arboreal marsupial from Pleistocene Australia. It was a close relative to the smaller extant Koala, only bigger. It was about a third larger than a koala and weighed more compared to the koala today. Just like its modern day descendent, it is believed that it solely ate eucalyptus leaves, making it a folivore (an animal who only eats leaves). It even coexisted with the modern koala for a short time before becoming extinct 50,000 years ago. It is the largest tree-dwelling marsupial that ever lived. It is estimated to have weighed 15 kg, and to some extent, probably 20 kg.