Sarcophilus laniarius
| Sarcophilus laniarus Temporal range: Late Pleistocene
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| Species: | S. laniarius
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| Sacrophilus laniarius (Owen, 1838)
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Sarcophilus laniarius is an extinct species of large Tasmanian devil. Richard Owen originally called the specimen on which the genus was based Dasyurus laniarus.[1]
Fossil deposits in limestone caves at Naracoorte, South Australia dating to the Miocene include specimens of S. laniarius, which were around 15% larger and 50% heavier than modern devils.[2] Older specimens believed to be 50–70,000 years old were found in Darling Downs in Queensland and in Western Australia.[3] It is not clear whether the modern devil evolved from S. laniarius, or whether they coexisted at the time.[3] Richard Owen argued for the latter hypothesis in the 19th century based on fossils found in 1877 in New South Wales.[3] It has been conjectured that S. laniarius and S. moornaensis, another now-extinct larger species, may have hunted and scavenged.[3] It is known that there were several genera and species of thylacine millions of years ago, and that they ranged in size, the smaller being more reliant on foraging.[4] As the devil and thylacine are similar, the extinction of the co-existing thylacine species has been cited as evidence for an analogous history for the devils.[5] It has been speculated that the smaller size of S. laniarius and S. moornaensis allowed them to adapt to the changing conditions more effectively and survive longer than the corresponding thylacines.[5]
As the extinction of these two species came at a similar time to human habitation of Australia, hunting by humans, as well as land clearing have been mooted as possible causes.[6] Critics of this theory point out that as indigenous Australians only developed boomerangs and spears for hunting around 10,000 years ago, a critical fall in numbers due to systemic hunting is unlikely. They also point out that caves inhabited by Aborigines have a low proportion of bones and rock paintings of devils, and that this is an indication that it was not a large part of indigenous lifestyle. A scientific report in 1910 claimed that Aborigines preferred the meat of herbivores rather than carnivores.[7] The other main theory for the extinction was due to the climate change brought on by the most recent ice age.[6]
References
- Owen, David; Pemberton, David (2005). Tasmanian Devil: A unique and threatened animal. Crows Nest, New South Wales: Allen & Unwin. ISBN 978-1-74114-368-3. Retrieved 22 August 2010.
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