Reconstruction of the predatory behaviour of the extinct marsupial thylacine (Thylacinus cynocephalus)
Reconstruction of the predatory behaviour of the extinct marsupial thylacine (Thylacinus cynocephalus)
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DOI：
10.1017/s0952836998010127
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发表时间：
1998-10-01
影响因子：
2
通讯作者：
Stoddart, DM
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Jones, ME;Stoddart, DM
塔斯马尼亚的欧洲殖民者将袋狼（Thylacinus cynocephalus）命名为“有袋类狼”或“塔斯马尼亚虎”或“鬣狗”，因为它与大型犬科动物相似，而且臀部有醒目的条纹。它是历史上最大的有袋食肉动物，因涉嫌杀羊而受到迫害，在其生态系统被记录下来之前就灭绝了。通过与现存有袋类和胎盘类食肉动物的犬齿强度和肢骨长度比进行比较，我们重建了袋狼可能的猎物大小和捕猎方法。袋狼可能是一种捕食者，生活在相当开阔的栖息地，它们捕杀中等大小的猎物（1-5公斤），这些猎物相对于它们的体型（15-30公斤）来说较小。袋狼的营养生态位与较小的犬科动物（如土狼Canis latrans，而不是狼C. lupus）相似，但袋狼与犬科动物的生态形态趋同是肤浅的。系统发育的限制导致了Dasyuroidea中独特的牙齿出牙模式、臼齿和颌的几何形状、跟骨结构，以及可能的FMT/跑步速度关系。
The European colonists of Tasmania named the thylacine Thylacinus cynocephalus a 'marsupial wolf' or the 'Tasmanian tiger' or 'hyena', in reference to its resemblance to large canids and the bold stripes on its rump. The largest marsupial carnivore in historic times, it was persecuted for alleged sheep killing and became extinct before its ecology was documented. We have reconstructed the likely prey size and the hunting and killing methods of the thylacine by comparing canine tooth strength and limb bone length ratios with those of extant marsupial and placental carnivores. The thylacine was probably a pounce-pursuit predator of fairly open habitats, which killed medium-sized prey (1-5 kg) that were small relative to its body size (15-30 kg), with a crushing, penetrating bite. The trophic niche of the thylacine was similar to that of smaller canids such as the coyote Canis latrans (rather than the wolf C. lupus), but ecomorphological convergence of the thylacine with canids was superficial. Phylogenetic constraint has resulted in unique patterns of tooth eruption, molar tooth and jaw geometry, calcaneum architecture, and perhaps FMT/running speed relationships in the Dasyuroidea.