An annotated checklist of Australasian fossil mammals

This is the authors' abstract. We don't add key points for this paper.

Australasia has had a rich history of discovery of fossil mammals, with the first specimens collected within Wellington Caves, New South Wales and described by Richard Owen in 1838. Currently, a total of 482 fossil mammal taxa are recognized from the Australasian region including: 406 from Australia; 33 from Indonesia incorporating the islands of Alor, Aru, Flores, Morotai, Sulawesi, Sumba, West Timor, and western New Guinea; two from Timor-Leste; 14 from Papua New Guinea; and 27 from New Zealand. Of the fossil mammal taxa described, 23 are extant and eight are recently extinct. Although the relationships between many fossil mammal groups are becoming increasingly clear, there are still many gaps in the fossil record, and numerous uncertain phylogenetic relationships that need to be resolved. This review for the Australian Fossil National Species List syntheses current knowledge of Australasian fossil mammals, which will undoubtedly be revised substantially in the future as new discoveries are made.Stephen M. Jackson* [stephen.jackson@australian.museum] Australian Museum Research Institute, 1 William Street, Sydney, New South Wales 2010, Australia, and Earth and Sustainability Science Research Centre, School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales, New South Wales 2052, Australia, and National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC, 20013-7012, USA; Kenny J. Travouillon [kenny.travouillon@museum.wa.gov.au] Collections and Research, Western Australian Museum, Welshpool, Western Australia 6106, Australia; Robin M. D. Beck [r.m.d.beck@salford.ac.uk] Earth and Sustainability Science Research Centre, School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales, New South Wales 2052, Australia, and School of Science, Engineering and Environment, University of Salford, Manchester, England, United Kingdom, and Division of Vertebrate Zoology (Mammalogy), American Museum of Natural History, New York, New York, 10024, USA; Michael Archer [m.archer@unsw.edu.au] Earth and Sustainability Science Research Centre, School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales, New South Wales 2052, Australia; Suzanne J. Hand [s.hand@unsw.edu.au] Earth and Sustainability Science Research Centre, School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales, New South Wales 2052, Australia; Kristofer Helgen [kris.helgen@australian.museum] Australian Museum Research Institute, 1 William Street, Sydney, New South Wales 2010, Australia; Erich M. G. Fitzgerald [efitzgerald@museum.vic.gov.au] Museums Victoria Research Institute, Museums Victoria, GPO Box 666, Melbourne, Victoria, 3001, Australia; Gilbert Price [g.price1@uq.edu.au] School of the Environment, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia.