Thylacine lives up to its tiger moniker

Andrew Darby, Hobart
May 5, 2011

CLOSE study of thylacine leg bones has pointed to the lost marsupial's hunting technique, showing it probably behaved more like a tiger than a wolf.

Work on the thylacine's tell-tale elbow joint by US scientists found it was flexible enough to subdue prey after a surprise attack, indicating it was a sudden ambush predator.

The shape of the joint contrasts with those of dingoes and wolves, which have less foreleg movement, which is why they may rely on lengthy pack hunts, said biologists at Brown University, Rhode Island.

Scientists have been forced to forensically reconstruct the life of the unique striped marsupial, which was driven to extinction by hunters in Tasmania last century.

With a head like a large dog and a body striped like a cat, known as both the marsupial wolf and Tasmanian tiger, the animal's hunting habits were poorly documented.

In a study published in Biology Letters yesterday, Brown University researcher Borja Figueirido compared the bones of the thylacine with 31 other mammals.

Previous research pointed to the elbow joint as a clue to predatory habits because it showed whether the animal was built for flexibility and dexterity in handling prey, or for a chase.

''It's a very subtle thing,'' said Christine Janis, professor of biology in the department of ecology and evolutionary biology at Brown. ''You never would think that the shape of just one bone would mean so much.''

Examining the bones, the researchers found the thylacine's humerus, or upper ''arm'' bone, was oval and elongated at the end closest to the elbow, implying the foreleg bones, the radius and ulna, were separated. That meant the thylacine would have been able to rotate the lower leg so that the foot pad faced up like a cat's.

Professor Janis said the thylacine's hunting tactics appeared to be a unique mix. "I don't think there's anything like it around today," she said. "It's sort of like a cat-like fox."

David Owen, author of the 2003 natural history Thylacine, told The Age conflicting accounts of the animal's speed and agility meant its hunting behaviour was still subject to conjecture. ''This work lends weight to it being an ambush predator, but I'm not convinced that it's not a pursuit predator by any means.''

http://www.theage.com.au/national/thylacine-lives-up-to-its-tiger-moniker-20110504-1e8fh.html