Quinkana

Automatic taxobox | fossil_range = Late Oligocene - Late Pleistocene, | image = Quinkana timara skull.jpg | image_caption = Restoration of the skull of Q. timara at the Central Australian Museum | taxon = Quinkana | authority = Molnar, 1981 | subdivision_ranks = Species | subdivision = * Quinkana fortirostrum Molnar, 1981 (type) Quinkana timara Megirian, 1994 Quinkana babarra Willis & Mackness, 1996 Quinkana meboldi Willis, 1997 Quinkana is an extinct genus of mekosuchine crocodylians that lived in Australia from about 28 million to about 10,000 years ago. Most attributed specimens have been found in Queensland. It is speculated to have been one of the top predators of Pleistocene Australia. The genus and type species, Q. fortirostrum was named by paleontologist Ralph E. Molnar in 1981. Other species in the genus are Q. timara (1994), Q. babarra (1996), and Q. meboldi (1997). The name Quinkana comes from the "Quinkans", a legendary folk spirit from Gugu-Yalanji mythology. Quinkana is thought to possess long legs and had ziphodont teeth (lateromedially compressed, recurved, and serrated). The genus is distinguishable by the combination of these ziphodont teeth and a broad snout. It also has a unique alveolar (tooth socket) structure and a short anterior palatine process (upper mouth bone). Quinkana was estimated to be around in length and to weigh around , with unnamed Pliocene remains possibly reaching in length. However, these estimates are based on fragmentary specimens and dimensions of related genera as there have been no complete Quinkana specimens found. Quinkana was originally attributed to family Crocodylidae in 1981 without a further classification because of its unique physical characteristics. Some of its particular morphological traits shared by other Australian crocodile genera were entirely unique (primarily dentary and snout formations) which led to the creation of the subfamily Mekosuchinae in 1993 to accommodate it. The genus has been argued amongst paleontologists to be entirely terrestrial or semi-aquatic with no definitive consensus.