Megafauna mobility: Assessing the foraging range of an extinct macropodid from central eastern Queensland, Australia.

ABSTRACT: Understanding the factors that influence the geographic range of extinct megafaunal species is crucial for reconstructing their ecology and extinction dynamics. For extant herbivores, it has been demonstrated that large body mass provides the potential for greater geographic range. Allometric scaling relationships are observed in placental mammals but have not been well-established for marsupials, in particular, extinct marsupial megafauna. Here, we employ a phylogenetic generalised least squares regression model using extant macropodids to estimate home ranges for individuals from the extinct genus Protemnodon. The regression model predicts a mean home range of 11.6 ±  5.8 km2 This prediction, centred on Mt Etna caves, incorporates several distinct geological features with variable, known

SUBMITTER: Laurikainen Gaete C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12017834 | biostudies-literature | 2025

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature