'Dem bones!

[mingle]

Hi All,

Following on from the Charleville thread and the relative attributes of crytids, I've scrounged together a few interesting images of skeletons of a few of the critters we've mentioned. They make for interesting viewing:

1: Thylacine (top) vs Dog





1: Thylacoleo (top) vs Koala(!) - I reckon this koala has too many vertebra!





1: Thylacoleo skull (top) vs Koala skull - This similarities between these intrigues me!





And finally, some superb artwork, depicting Thylacoleo (the first time I've seen this picture). See the koala resemblance? :-)



Cheers,

Mike.

P.S. And, of course, these images are copyright of their respective owners!

[Deleted]

Great work, I just wish thylacoleo artists would colour their animals black then see what witnesses say when they see a "panther".

[youcantry]

Dennis, that's a job for photoshop...

mingle - I'm excited about the comparisons you're putting together. Great work - and I think you've just found yourself a news article: Marsupial Lion just a cuddly bear with bite?

What else about thylacoleo (except the teeth) makes us think it's a carnivore/predator? From a documentary I saw the thinking was that it was a herbivore-turned-carnivore. Perhaps not; perhaps it was a herbivore with teeth that made short work of hard gum leaves? What's its distribution? What was the ground cover like at that time? Where were koalas at the time? Did thylacoleo have two thumbs (like koalas)?

[JeffJ]

That's one of my favorite paintings of thylacoleo that I have seen as of late. Shouten's latest painting I think is the best.(as well as the one I did for Cambridge, but that would make me biased!) ;D

The artist who painted that intentionally gave it a koala look, adding koala ears covered in long hair and the nose sheath as seen in koalas. The appearance of the two looking somewhat like each other in skeletal form is somewhat a concidence. Thylacoleo came from the phlangerers(koalas, wombats, possums)but that was so long ago. Diprotodontids all have that same trademark large incisor set.

However, that is where the simularities end. Thylacoleo had the post orbital closed, giving it a tremendous bite: no other carnivores have that, marsupial or not. The koala skeleton above has the correct amount of vertebrae. One difference you may notice is that the neural spines on the koala vertebrae are small and indistinct. If you look a the thylacine, canine, and thylacoleo neural spines, you will see they are raised quite a bit. That would indicate a more active animal, needing additional muscle for lots of activity or movement. The cuddly bear idea brings up another; does "drop bear" ring a bell?

The debate raged for over 100 years about the feeding habits of thylacoleo. But recent studies of the micro-wear on the carnassials of thylacoleo prove beyond any doubt that it was indeed a carnivore of the first order. Thylacoleo had one thumb(not like the koala) and it was a large hooked claw like the enlarged claw on a raptor dinosaur's foot. The rest of the manus had retractile claws, just like a cat. That feature is unique to thylacoleo, and no other marsupials have this. It walked on its toes just like felines.

Remains of thylacoleo have been found in every state in Australia. It filled a variety of enviornments, and seemed quite adept at taking advantage of most any terrain. No doubt it was an animal filled with many contradictions, but that's what makes it so interesting! Jeff

[youcantry]

jeffj said:

No doubt it was an animal filled with many contradictions, but that's what makes it so interesting! Jeff

Sounds like you're describing this country itself!

[molloch]

Also, don't read too much into the thylacaleo reconstruction from Naracoorte (pictured above) is was pieced together from different specimens and assembled before much articulated material had been found. I haven't yet seen any (noncomputerised) assemblies done on the Nullarbor fossil (the only complete and almost completely articulated specimen) but the tail was a prominent feature, which would have changed its posture dramatically. Also, structures in the tail of the nullarbor specimen suggest that the tail was used to balance the animal on its hind feet, with the tail supporting it like a kangaroo.

[Thylacopardus]

If the trap catches the pardus the bunnys will be worth there weight in gold?

Yours truely
The Only one actually on the case

mingle said:

Hi All,

Following on from the Charleville thread and the relative attributes of crytids, I've scrounged together a few interesting images of skeletons of a few of the critters we've mentioned. They make for interesting viewing:

1: Thylacine (top) vs Dog





1: Thylacoleo (top) vs Koala(!) - I reckon this koala has too many vertebra!





1: Thylacoleo skull (top) vs Koala skull - This similarities between these intrigues me!





And finally, some superb artwork, depicting Thylacoleo (the first time I've seen this picture). See the koala resemblance? :-)



Cheers,

Mike.

P.S. And, of course, these images are copyright of their respective owners!

[Thylacopardus]

Several aspect of the various theorised reasoning for the Thylacoleos extinction I find puzzling.
1st if the animal was Terrestrial & aerboreal (excuse the spelling), then one would assume it would have more likely survived. Likely to escape.

If burning off of the land by the Black fella lead to its extinction and Cyprus pine is virtually eliminated with fire then one would think that it would have persisted where Cyprus pine dominates particularly in regions where its bones have been found and Cyprius pine vegetation dominates.

my Notebook batteries are out
Till next time.....BYE

[Candy Cane]

HOOOOLLLEEEYYYY CCRRAAPP THATS AWESOME DUDE:O:O:O:O:O:O

[Deleted]

I believe that Tc persisted for a long time possibly until today but so called "fire stick farming" has destroyed all recent remains/fossils.