Fun Ekaltadeta Facts For Kids

The Ekaltadeta is an extinct animal that roamed the Australian continent during the late Oligocene and Miocene periods. The closest representation of the size of these beasts is the modern-day kangaroo as the ekaltadeta came close to size as a medium-sized kangaroo.

The ekaltadeta was given a genus of its own and ekaltadeta ima, ekaltadeta jamiemulvaneyi, and the ekaltadeta wellingtonensis, were listed as species of this animal. This beast was a predator and had a diet that consisted mostly of meat.

Fossilized remains of the animal include two near-complete skulls and several lower and upper jaws on which most of the paleontological research on these creatures is based.

On its discovery, the ekaltadeta joined the very long list of extinct creatures that are of great importance to the study of how creatures evolved millions of years ago in a race against time to survive.

If you liked these true facts about Ekaltadeta, then you'll surely like these facts about dark kangaroo mouse and fresno kangaroo rat too!

Ekaltadeta Interesting Facts

What type of animal is an Ekaltadeta?

The definition of the animal from its paleontological sources states that the Ekaltadeta was a giant predatory genus of marsupials. The Ekaltadeta is known as the 'killer kangaroo' due to its fleshy diet that consisted of the flesh of smaller animals and kangaroos.

What class of animal does an Ekaltadeta belong to?

This extinct creature belonged to the mammal class of animals and much like the modern-day kangaroo had pouches on its stomach which provided protection and nourishment for the young ones. The extant musky rat-kangaroo is related to the Ekaltadeta.

How many Ekaltadetas are there in the world?

There is no apt record of the population of this animal as the ekaltadeta temporal range is estimated to be around between 25-50 million years ago (late Oligocene to Miocene) as recorded from the fossils belonging to these predecessors of the rat kangaroos.

The Ekaltadeta is recognized as a Pleistocene species as this creature belonging to the family hypsiprymnodontidae, shared the timeline with the now-extinct woolly mammoth, giant sloths, and mastodons species.

Where does an Ekaltadeta live?

As recorded from the archaeological data, this member of the family hypsiprymnodontidae was an inhabitant of the open forest and rainforests of the late Oligocene and Miocene Australia.

What is an Ekaltadeta's habitat?

The fossil remains of the Ekaltadeta ima have been found scattered throughout Australia, mainly Queensland and it is understood that this species of large predatory kangaroos resided in the dense vegetation and open lands of pre-historic Australia in the temporal range of the late Oligocene and Miocene period and were most commonly found in the Riversleigh formations in Northern Queensland, Australia.

It is very difficult to make any estimates about these animals as not much content is available to this deadly kangaroo species.

Who do Ekaltadetas live with?

At the moment, any information about the social behavior of these large kangaroo-like animals is not available and hence nothing can be stated about who these rat-kangaroo predecessors live with or avoided.

How long does an Ekaltadeta live?

The lifespan of the Ekaltadeta ima cannot be stated as there is no further evidence in recorded paleontological research that can pinpoint the exact lifespan of this species.

However, since this species is related to the modern-day Musky rat-kangaroo is might not be a stretch to say that the Ekaltadeta shared its lifespan with its successor which is usually around four to six years.

How do they reproduce?

Since the Ekaltadeta ima and other Ekaltadeta species were closely related to modern-day kangaroos, it can be stated that they followed the same reproduction pattern that kangaroos follow.

The information about the sexual maturity or the gestation period of the Ekaltadeta ima is not available unless otherwise noted. However, since these animals had pouches on their stomachs, it is a possibility that babies crawled into the mother's pouch.

Dependent Ekaltadeta babies received all their nutrition in the pouch and vacated the pouch when they were big enough to take care of themselves, or to simply make way for the new batch of siblings on the way.

What is their conservation status?

The Ekaltadeta ima wandered the Australian continent during the late Oligocene and Miocene period that was 25-50 million years ago and vanished from the face of the Earth 50,000 years ago.

As of now, the IUCN Red List specifies this animal as an Extinct species, and the closest living relatives that the Ekaltadeta ima has now is the musky rat-kangaroo that also belongs to the Hypsiprymnodontidae family.

Ekaltadeta Fun Facts

What does an Ekaltadeta look like?

Unlike the modern-day rendition of the members of the Hypsiprymnodontidae family, the Ekaltadeta was a large and fierce animal. They were hypothesized as predators based on the intact fossil remains that consist of two near-complete skulls and various upper and lower jaw specimens. A few species in the Ekaltadeta genus did have fangs that made them even more dangerous.

The physical description of the animal is another part that is tough to state due to lack of evidence. However, it is known that these animals were four-legged creatures with a brown coat of fur which was complemented by white dots all over.

These animals had a pouch bigger than the kangaroo and in some cases, they also had stripes on their bodies in place of the large white dots.

How cute are they?

These predatory animals were not cute at all! They were fierce predators that left no opportunity to attack and disable their prey and used their sharp teeth to tear through the flesh of prey.

Another fact that throws out the concept of this animal being cute is that, unlike the modern-day kangaroo, Ekaltadeta did not hop and instead were galloping animals!

How do they communicate?

The communication pattern of these creatures belonging to the Hypsiprymnodontidae family cannot be stated as there is no evidence that can be used as a base to further study inter-species communication. The only fact that can come down to estimation and guesswork is that they communicated with the ecosystem around them through vision, smell, and tactile methods of communication.

How big is an Ekaltadeta?

Based on the paleontological findings and estimations collected through the study of their fossils, the Ekaltadeta size is estimated to follow a medium-large pattern. Since these creatures were ruthless predators, the size estimation states that they were way larger than their modern-day rat-kangaroos that are the closest relative of the Ekaltadeta, and resembled a medium-sized kangaroo.

How fast can an Ekaltadeta run?

As aforementioned, the Ekaltadeta, unlike the modern-day kangaroo species, did not hop and instead were galloping animals. They covered large distances with their speedy gallops and were quite possibly fast creatures even though there is no evidence to factor in.

How much does an Ekaltadeta weigh?

It is estimated that the Ekaltadeta weighed in between the range of 11-22 lb (5-10 kg). This weight was based on the size of the animal through rigorous studies of the fossilized remains.

What are the male and female names of the species?

No specific name has been assigned to either sex of the species.

What would you call a baby Ekaltadeta?

No specific name has been assigned to the young Ekaltadeta. But, if we go by the naming logic of the rat-kangaroos, we can guess that if these creatures existed now, their babies would be called kittens or pups as is the case with baby rat-kangaroos.

What do they eat?

Based on the studies of the fossilized remains of the skulls of the animal, it is theorized that these animals were omnivorous in nature and were hunters of the highest skill-ceiling. Their dagger-like incisors allowed them to bite into the flesh of their prey and the molars of the remains resemble the molars of creatures that are omnivorous.

Are they poisonous?

No, these animals are not poisonous.

Would they make a good pet?

No, they would not make good pets.

Did you know...

The existence and description of this animal were first published in 1985 by Mike Archer and Tim Flannery.

Ekaltadeta had a sharp buzz-saw-shaped cheek-tooth.

Ekaltadeta belonged to the marsupial infraclass, meaning they can be predecessors of the sloth or the common wombat among other marsupials.

Ekaltadeta represents the earliest branch of kangaroos as they have no relation to the animals.

The only living macropod with the inability to hop is the Musky rat-kangaroos, the closest relative of the Ekaltadeta.

Why did Ekaltadeta go extinct?

The extinction of these creatures is based on their inability to adapt to the climatic changes in Australia during the Miocene period which saw the continent becoming wetter and greener. The Ekaltadeta could not adapt to this arid climate and soon after perished from the face of the continent.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly animal facts for everyone to discover! For more relatable content, check out these antilopine kangaroo facts and Wondiwoi tree kangaroo facts for kids.

You can even occupy yourself at home by coloring in one of our free printable rosy boa coloring pages.

 Main image and second image by Nobu Tamura.