Editing Diprotodontia

{{Short description|Order of marsupial mammals}}
{{Automatic taxobox
| name = Diprotodontia<ref name=msw3>{{MSW3 Groves|pages=43–70}}</ref>
| fossil_range = {{Fossil range|28|0}}[[Late Oligocene]] – Recent
| image = Marsupialia collage.png
| image_caption = Clockwise from upper left: female [[koala]] (''Phascolarctos cinereus''), [[mahogany glider]] (''Petaurus gracilis''), young [[eastern grey kangaroo]] (''Macropus giganteus'') and [[Sulawesi bear cuscus]] (''Ailurops ursinus'')
| taxon = Diprotodontia
| authority = [[Richard Owen|Owen]], 1866
| subdivision_ranks = Suborders
| subdivision =
[[Vombatiformes]]<br />[[Phalangeriformes]]<br />[[Macropodiformes]]
}}

'''Diprotodontia''' ({{IPAc-en|d|aɪ|,|p|r|oʊ|t|ə|'|d|ɒ|n|t|i|ə}}, from [[Greek language|Greek]] "two forward teeth") is the largest extant [[order (biology)|order]] of [[marsupials]], with about 155 species,<ref>{{cite journal|last=Meredith|first=Robert W. |author2=Westerman, Michael |author3=Springer, Mark S.|date=26 February 2009|title=A phylogeny of Diprotodontia (Marsupialia) based on sequences for five nuclear genes|journal=[[Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution]]|volume=51|issue=3 |pages=554–571 |url=http://www.montclair.edu/profilepages/media/5008/user/Meredith_et_al._2009_A_phylogeny_of_Diprotodontia_%28Marsupialia%29_based_on_sequences_for_five_nuclear_genes.pdf|access-date=5 May 2015|doi=10.1016/j.ympev.2009.02.009|pmid=19249373}}</ref> including the [[kangaroo]]s, [[Wallaby|wallabies]], [[Phalangeriformes|possums]], [[koala]], [[wombat]]s, and many others. Extinct diprotodonts include the [[hippopotamus]]-sized ''[[Diprotodon]]'', and ''[[Thylacoleo]]'', the so-called "marsupial lion".

==Characteristics==
[[File:Macropus fuliginosus fuliginosus-3.JPG|thumb|The prominent [[mandibular central incisor]]s characteristic of the diprotodonts are evident in this [[Western grey kangaroo|Kangaroo Island western grey kangaroo]] (''Macropus fuliginosus fuliginosus'')]]

Living diprotodonts are almost all [[herbivore]]s, as were most of those that are now [[extinct]]. A few [[insectivore|insectivorous]] and [[omnivore|omnivorous]] diprotodonts are known, and the [[Potoroidae]] are almost unique among vertebrates in being largely [[Fungivore|fungivorous]], but these seem to have arisen as relatively recent adaptations from the mainstream herbivorous lifestyle. The extinct [[Thylacoleonidae|thylacoleonid]]s ("marsupial lions") are the only known group to have exhibited [[Carnivore|carnivory]] on a large scale.{{citation needed|date=December 2022}}

Diprotodonts are restricted to [[Australasia]]. The earliest known fossils date to the late [[Oligocene]], but their genesis certainly lies earlier than this, as large gaps occur in Australia's fossil record, with virtually no fossil record at all in geologically active [[New Guinea]]. The great diversity of known Oligocene diprotodonts suggests the order began to diverge well beforehand.{{citation needed|date=December 2022}}

Many of the largest and least athletic diprotodonts (along with a wide range of other [[Australian megafauna]]) became extinct when humans first arrived in Australia about 50,000 years ago. Their extinction possibly occurred as a direct result of hunting, but was more probably a result of widespread habitat changes brought about by human activities—notably the use of fire.{{citation needed|date=December 2022}}

Two key anatomical features, in combination, identify Diprotodontia. Members of the order are, first, "diprotodont" (meaning "two front teeth"): they have a pair of large, procumbent incisors on the lower jaw, a common feature of many early groups of mammals and mammaliforms.  The diprotodont jaw is short, usually with three pairs of upper incisors ([[wombat]]s, like [[rodent]]s have only one pair), and no lower canines. The second trait distinguishing diprotodonts is "[[syndactyly]]", a fusing of the second and third digits of the foot up to the base of the claws, which leaves the claws themselves separate.<ref>[http://tolweb.org/treehouses/?treehouse_id=4712 Tolweb]</ref>  Digit five is usually absent, and digit four is often greatly enlarged.

Syndactyly is not particularly common (though the [[Peramelemorphia|Australian omnivorous marsupials]] share it) and is generally posited as an adaptation to assist in climbing. Many modern diprotodonts, however, are strictly terrestrial, and have evolved further adaptations to their feet to better suit this lifestyle. This makes the history of the [[tree-kangaroo]]s particularly convoluted: it appears that the animals were arboreal at some time in the far distant past, moving afterward to the ground—gaining long kangaroo-like feet in the process — before returning to the trees, where they further developed a shortening and broadening of the hind feet and a novel climbing method.{{citation needed|date=December 2022}}

==Fossil record==
The earliest known [[fossil]] of Diprotodontia dates back to the [[Late Oligocene]] (23.03 - 28.4 million years ago), and the earliest identifiable species is ''[[Hypsiprymnodon bartholomaii]]'' from the [[Early Miocene]].<ref name=paleo>[https://paleobiodb.org/classic/checkTaxonInfo?taxon_no=66275 The Paleobiology Database<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>

==Classification==
{{Main|List of diprotodonts}}
{{cladogram
|title=Cladogram of Diprotodontia by Upham et al. 2019<ref name="Upham 2019">{{Cite journal |last1=Upham |first1=Nathan S. |last2=Esselstyn |first2=Jacob A. |last3=Jetz |first3=Walter |date=2019 |title=Inferring the mammal tree: Species-level sets of phylogenies for questions in ecology, evolution and conservation |journal=[[PLOS Biology]] |volume=17 |issue=12 |pages=e3000494 |doi=10.1371/journal.pbio.3000494 |pmid=31800571 |pmc=6892540 |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Upham |first1=Nathan S. |last2=Esselstyn |first2=Jacob A. |last3=Jetz |first3=Walter |year=2019 |title=DR_on4phylosCompared_linear_richCol_justScale_ownColors_withTips_80in |url=https://github.com/n8upham/MamPhy_v1/blob/master/Fig6_compare_tipDRs/DR_on4phylosCompared_linear_richCol_justScale_ownColors_withTips_80in.pdf |journal=PLOS Biology |volume=17 |issue=12 |pages= |doi=10.1371/journal.pbio.3000494 |doi-access=free }}</ref> and Álvarez-Carretero et al. 2022<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Álvarez-Carretero |first1=Sandra |last2=Tamuri |first2=Asif U. |last3=Battini |first3=Matteo |last4=Nascimento |first4=Fabrícia F. |last5=Carlisle |first5=Emily |last6=Asher |first6=Robert J. |last7=Yang |first7=Ziheng |author7-link=Ziheng Yang|last8=Donoghue |first8=Philip C.J.|author8-link=Philip Donoghue |last9=dos Reis |first9=Mario |year=2022 |title=A species-level timeline of mammal evolution integrating phylogenomic data |journal=[[Nature (journal)|Nature]] |volume= 602|issue=7896 |pages=263–267 |doi=10.1038/s41586-021-04341-1 |url=|hdl=1983/de841853-d57b-40d9-876f-9bfcf7253f12 |hdl-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Álvarez-Carretero |first1=Sandra |last2=Tamuri |first2=Asif U. |last3=Battini |first3=Matteo |last4=Nascimento |first4=Fabrícia F. |last5=Carlisle |first5=Emily |last6=Asher |first6=Robert J. |last7=Yang |first7=Ziheng |last8=Donoghue |first8=Philip C.J. |last9=dos Reis |first9=Mario |year=2022 |title=4705sp_colours_mammal-time.tree |journal=Nature |volume= |issue=602 |pages=263–267 |doi=10.1038/s41586-021-04341-1 |url=https://figshare.com/articles/dataset/Data_for_A_Species-Level_Timeline_of_Mammal_Evolution_Integrating_Phylogenomic_Data_/14885691|hdl=1983/de841853-d57b-40d9-876f-9bfcf7253f12 |hdl-access=free }}</ref>|
{{clade|style=font-size:90%;line-height:80%;width:400px;
|label1=Diprotodontia
|1={{clade
  |label1=[[Vombatiformes]]
  |1={{clade
    |label1=Phascolarctimorphia
    |1=[[Phascolarctidae]]
    |label2=Vombatomorphia
    |2=[[Vombatidae]]
     }}
  |label2=[[Phalangerida]]
  |2={{clade
    |label1=[[Phalangeriformes]] s.s.
    |1={{clade
      |1=Burramyidae
      |2=Phalangeridae
       }}
    |label2=[[Macropodiformes]] s.l.
    |2={{clade
      |label1=Petauroidea
      |1={{clade
        |1=[[Acrobatidae]]
        |2={{clade
          |1=[[Tarsipedidae]]
          |2={{clade
            |1=[[Petauridae]]
            |2=[[Pseudocheiridae]]
             }}
           }}
         }}
      |label2=Macropodoidea
      |2={{clade
        |1=[[Hypsiprymnodontidae]]
        |2={{clade
          |1=[[Potoroidae]]
          |2=[[Macropodidae]]
           }}
         }}
       }}
     }}
   }}
}}
|}}

Until recently, only two [[suborder]]s in Diprotodontia were noted: [[Vombatiformes]] which encompassed the [[wombat]]s and [[koala]] and [[Phalangerida]] which contained all other families. Kirsch et al. (1997) split the families  into three [[suborder]]s. In addition, the six [[Phalangeriformes]] families are split into two superfamilies. The Macropodiformes are probably nested within the Phalangeriformes, though whether they are sister to Phalangeroidea or Petauroidea is debated.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Eldridge|first1=Mark D B|last2=Beck|first2=Robin M D|last3=Croft|first3=Darin A|last4=Travouillon|first4=Kenny J|last5=Fox|first5=Barry J|date=2019-05-23|title=An emerging consensus in the evolution, phylogeny, and systematics of marsupials and their fossil relatives (Metatheria)|url=https://doi.org/10.1093/jmammal/gyz018|journal=[[Journal of Mammalogy]]|volume=100|issue=3|pages=802–837|doi=10.1093/jmammal/gyz018|issn=0022-2372}}</ref>

'''Order Diprotodontia'''
* '''Suborder [[Vombatiformes]]'''
** Family [[Vombatidae]]: [[wombat]]s (three species)
** Family [[Phascolarctidae]]: [[koala]] (one species)
** Family †[[Ilariidae]]
** Family †[[Maradidae]]
** Family †[[Diprotodontidae]]: ([[Diprotodontidae|giant wombat]]s)
** Family †[[Palorchestidae]]: ([[Palorchestidae|marsupial tapir]]s)
** Family †[[Thylacoleonidae]]: ([[Thylacoleonidae|marsupial lion]]s)<ref name="Scientific American">{{cite journal|last1=Naish|first1=Darren |author1-link=Darren Naish|title=Of koalas and marsupial lions: the vombatiform radiation, part I|url=http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/tetrapod-zoology/2011/10/26/vombatiform-radiation-part-i/|journal=Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution|year=2004|volume=33|issue=1|pages=240–250|publisher=Scientific American, Inc.|doi=10.1016/j.ympev.2004.05.004|pmid=15324852|access-date=24 October 2015}}</ref>
** Family †[[Wynyardiidae]]
* '''Suborder [[Phalangeriformes]]'''
** Superfamily [[Phalangeroidea]]
*** Family [[Phalangeridae]]: ([[brushtail possum]]s and [[cuscus]]es)
*** Family [[Burramyidae]]: ([[pygmy possum]]s)
*** Family †[[Ektopodon]]tidae: ([[sprite possum]]s)
** Superfamily [[Petauroidea]]
*** Family [[Tarsipedidae]]: ([[honey possum]])
*** Family [[Petauridae]]: ([[striped possum]], [[Leadbeater's possum]], [[yellow-bellied glider]], [[sugar glider]], [[mahogany glider]], [[squirrel glider]])
*** Family [[Pseudocheiridae]]: ([[ring-tailed possum]]s and allies)
*** Family [[Acrobatidae]]: ([[feathertail glider]] and [[feather-tailed possum]])
* '''Suborder [[Macropodiformes]]'''
** Family †[[Balbaridae]]: (basal quadrupedal kangaroos)
** Family [[Macropodidae]]: ([[kangaroo]]s, [[Wallaby|wallabies]] and allies)
** Family [[Potoroidae]]: ([[bettong]]s, [[potoroo]]s, and [[rat-kangaroo]]s)
** Family [[Hypsiprymnodontidae]]: ([[musky rat-kangaroo]])

† means extinct family, genus or species

==See also==
* [[List of mammal genera]]
* [[List of recently extinct mammals]]
* [[List of prehistoric mammals]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

{{Clear}}
{{Mammals}}
{{Diprotodontia}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q26332}}
{{Authority control}}
[[Category:Diprotodonts| ]]
[[Category:Mammal orders]]
[[Category:Extant Chattian first appearances]]
[[Category:Taxa named by Richard Owen]]