diprotodon

Definition

Any individual of the extinct marsupial genus Diprotodon, similar to a wombat in appearance but the size of a small elephant.

Etymology

From di- + proto- + -odon, due to its prominent two front teeth.

Example Sentences

• "It is rather hard to understand how animals so largo and heavy as the diprotodons and gigantic kangaroos could have existed there when the country was in the same state in which it is now,[…]."
• "No fewer than eighty diprotodons are represented by the bones already unearthed, […]"
• "Soon we had a good view of the diprotodons, relatives of the present-day wombat but vastly larger."