Diprotodon was named by Owen (1838).
It was assigned to the Diprotodontidae by McKenna and Bell (1997).
The historical classification of Diprotodon consisted of eight species (D. optatum Owen, 1838; D. australis Owen, 1844; D. annextans McCoy, 1861; D. minor Huxley, 1862; D. longiceps McCoy 1865; D. loderi Krefft, 1873a; D. bennettii Krefft, 1873b (nec D. bennettii Owen, 1877); and D. bennettii Owen, 1877 (nec D. bennettii Krefft, 1873b); based on size or slight morphological differences of single specimens collected from isolated geographic regions.
Bimodal dental sizes, rather than a continuum of tooth sizes, and identical male and female dental morphology, indicate sexual dimorphism instead of separate species, thus providing strong evidence that the eight species are synonyms for D. optatum.
Diprotodon is ultimately thought to have evolved from Euryzygoma dunensis, a smaller diprotodontid known from the Pliocene of eastern Australia, and a smaller form of Diprotodon, labelled D. ?
optatum, intermediate in size between the two taxa, is known from the Early Pleistocene (1.77–0.78 Ma) in Nelson Bay near Portland, Victoria
Diprotodon was named by Owen (1838). It was assigned to the Diprotodontidae by McKenna and Bell (1997). The historical classification of Diprotodon consisted of eight species (D. optatum Owen, 1838; D. australis Owen, 1844; D. annextans McCoy, 1861; D. minor Huxley, 1862; D. longiceps McCoy 1865; D. loderi Krefft, 1873a; D. bennettii Krefft, 1873b (nec D. bennettii Owen, 1877); and D. bennettii Owen, 1877 (nec D. bennettii Krefft, 1873b); based on size or slight morphological differences of single specimens collected from isolated geographic regions. Bimodal dental sizes, rather than a continuum of tooth sizes, and identical male and female dental morphology, indicate sexual dimorphism instead of separate species, thus providing strong evidence that the eight species are synonyms for D. optatum. Diprotodon is ultimately thought to have evolved from Euryzygoma dunensis, a smaller diprotodontid known from the Pliocene of eastern Australia, and a smaller form of Diprotodon, labelled D. ?optatum, intermediate in size between the two taxa, is known from the Early Pleistocene (1.77–0.78 Ma) in Nelson Bay near Portland, Victoria
Diprotodon