Diprotodon

: This article page is about diprotodons in Sanctuary. For real-world animal, see Wikipedia:Diprotodon.
A diprotodon is an creature that is housed at the Old City Sanctuary and is under Helen Magnus's care.
== History ==
=== Season 3 ===
	: Helen Magnus has at least one male and one female of the species that she had been known to breed more than once; she has been aided by Will Zimmerman and Henry Foss (either together or separately) during at least one previous labor and delivery scenario. Based on both characters' reactions, this is a presumably frequent occurrence and a not very enjoyable experience for the two of them. Will may have been the target of parental aggression during labor and Henry has been covered by the afterbirth (placenta) during the delivery at least once as well as Will.
== Notes ==
* A real diprotodon, also known a "Giant Wombat", was the largest known species of marsupial ever known to exist. It lived in Australia and has been extinct for around that past 44,000 years since the initial settlement of humans on the continent. It was a dimorphic species where males and females had distinct physical differences between sexes, such as the male being larger and would compete with other males during breeding season.
* In the Sanctuary universe, what makes the diprotodon that Helen Magnus houses abnormal is that it seems to be the male that gives birth, rather than the female. In the real world, the only known animal in which the male gives birth is the seahorse where the female deposits her eggs into his abdominal pouch where they are then subsequently fertilized and protected until being expelled when the offspring are fully developed. For the diprotodon, Magnus mentions checking his cervix, which would imply that the female isn't depositing her egg into his pouch, but rather into his uterus. In order for this to physically occur, the female would presumably anatomically need a phallus like organ (an ovipositor). Based on this, it can be assumed that in Sanctuary, these diprotodon practically switch the way normal heterosexual reproduction occurs where for normal copulation, the male deposits his sperm into the female reproductive tract which then travel to the egg, fertilizing it. In the case of the abnormal diprotodon, it sounds like the female deposits her egg into the male and then his sperm fertilize it (like the seahorse). The offspring then gestates and is assumedly delivered prematurely based on diprotodons being marsupials.
* Details about further pouch development, is unknown. All that the audience knows about the creature is that it's the male who gives birth. Specific details or variations about the dimorphism between the two sexes and their gender roles is unknown. In the real world, the males are larger and competitive, have a male reproductive system, and no pouch. The females are smaller, have a female reproductive system, and a pouch. With marsupials, the females gives birth and the underdeveloped young climb up into the mother's pouch to finish development. It is unknown if the abnormal diprotodon follow this, with the only difference being that the type of reproductive system is switched: males are still larger, fight for mates, and don't have a pouch, so after birth, the offspring have to be transferred over to the female (this may account for the Sanctuary's involvement and how team members get covered in fluids). Another potential scenario may be if it's a complete role reversal: males are smaller, not as aggressive, and have a pouch, while females are larger, compete for mates, and no pouch. In the second case, the only technical difference between an abnormal female and a normal male is the fact that the abnormal's gametes are eggs rather than sperm and also vice verse for the opposite sex being that the difference between an abnormal male and a normal female is that the abnormal's gametes are sperm rather than eggs; in layman's terms, the abnormal female is the father, and the abnormal male is the mother.
Category:Abnormals/One-Shot
Category:Abnormals/Season 3
Category:Abnormals/Surface
Category:Residents