Procoptodon
genus of mammals (fossil)
Procoptodon is an extinct genus of giant short-faced (sthenurine) kangaroos that lived in Australia during the Pleistocene Epoch. P. goliah, the largest known kangaroo species that ever existed, stood at about 2 m (6.6 ft). They weighed about 200–240 kg (440–530 lb). Other members of the genus were smaller, however; Procoptodon gilli was the smallest of all of the sthenurine kangaroos, standing approximately 1 m (3 ft 3 in) tall.
The genus is derived from Simosthenurus, making the latter genus paraphyletic.
Description
Procoptodon physiology was likely similar to that of the contemporary kangaroos; however, Procoptodon goliah was characterised by its large size. These sthenurines, or short-faced kangaroos, included species that were more than three times the size of the largest kangaroos living today. The largest, P. goliah, was 2.7 m (8 ft 10 in) tall and weighed up to 240 kg (530 lb). These animals lived alongside modern species of kangaroos, but specialised on a diet of leaves from trees and shrubs. Procoptodon were large and short-faced, distinguishable by their flat faces and forward-pointing eyes.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Procoptodon” as genus of mammals (fossil). Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the science & nature register because the source frames it as genus of mammals (fossil). Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Datasets, specimens, observations and peer-reviewed methods provide the appropriate test for the technical claims summarized here. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 2, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q131971. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference.
Current terminology should not be projected backward without checking the classification used when the underlying evidence was created. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
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This entry incorporates text from “Procoptodon” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.