video: Brief information video about the main findings of the study. Credit: Vera Weisbecker, CC-BY-SA
view more
A new study led by Flinders University has flipped the historic narrative about Australia’s thylacine, finding the native apex predator known as the ‘Tasmanian tiger’ was significantly different from the wolves and wild dogs it was likened to before being hunted to extinction.
In-depth investigations on historic thylacine (Thylacinus cynocephalus) skull specimens indicate their jaws were probably unsuited to holding down large animals like sheep – instead their long, deep jaw would have been able to subdue relatively small prey with powerful snapping bites.
“Our latest findings on their feeding adaptations counter the myths that drove the thylacine to extinction,” says study lead Professor Vera Weisbecker, from the College of Science and Engineering at Flinders University.
