Upper Oligocene-lower-Middle Miocene peramelemorphians from the Etadunna, Namba and Wipajiri formations of South Australia

The oldest fossils referable to the marsupial order Peramelemorphia (which includes modern bandicoots and bilbies) stratigraphically date from the upper Oligocene of Australia. Here we describe new ancient peramelemorphian remains from the Etadunna, Namba and Wipajiri formations, which fill gaps in the documented evolutionary history of the Glade spanning some 10 million years. The identified taxa include three new species of Bulungu that incorporate the oldest stem peramelemorphian known to date from Faunal Zone A of the Etadunna Formation. We also report a new genus and species of potential thylacomyid, which pushes back the divergence of bilbies by similar to 10 million years. Finally, we present a phylogenetic analysis that clarifies the evolutionary relationships of these new taxa with a reassignment of the genus Bulungu to Yaraloidea.