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The Thylacine 47 The Thylacine 47 THE THYLACINE. By GRAHAM RENSHAW, M.D., F.R.S.E. Lecturer in Zoology, Extramural Department, Manchester University. Recent Press notices of the almost extinct Thylacine or marsupial " Tiger " of Tasmania suggest that the following notes on the species may be of interest. The Thylacine (Thylacinus cynocephalus) stands about 18^ inches high at the shoulder ; the general body colour is greyish brown tinged with olive d younan , g animale ar s darker than their parents, judging froe familmth y group mounted in the Liverpool Museum. The loins are marked with about sixteen black bands arising fro mlina e running alon spine gth e thi; mos a s si t remarkable pattern, very rare among mammals, being shared only by the Banded Wallaby, the Hardwicke Hemigale (an aberrant Civet), and the Zebra Antelope of West Africa. So curious is it that Lydekker has remarked of the Zebra Antelope : " This coloratio quits ni e unique among Ruminant rivald an s s that marsupiae oth f l Thylacin " (Royale Natural History, vol, ii . thesf o e . 310)ep bandOn . frequentls i s y double. The head of the Thylacine is squarish, relatively large, and strangely dog-like ; the muzzle seen from the front is attenu- ated between the widened cheeks. Like the Hunting Dog of Africa Thylacine th hallu, o grean " s tair e x o toee" ha tl Th . is ver l specimeny al curiou n i d san writese seeth y nrb slanted rigidly behinanimae th s da l walke Thylacino n g d; wa n eca tails it . This appendag nakes i e lateralld dan y compressed, recallin e water-lovin th e tai f gth o l g extinct Anoplotherium restores a Cuviey db r; indee Geoffre. dM y lon suggesteo gag d that from the form of the tail the Thylacine might be aquatic ! The pouch opens backward and the young scramble into it upside down. On 21st April, 1807 r JosepSi , h Banks communicateo dt the Linnean Society Mr. G. P. Harris's " Description of two new specie f Didelphiso s froDiemen'n mVa o s LanTw . d" Thylacines—the first know science—hao nt d been taken near 48 Preservatione Societyth r FaunaEmpiree e fo th th f f o o Hobart, and with the newly-discovered Tasmanian Devil had been provisionally classed as Opossums; the type Thylacine only hours w livefe da , having been injurea n i d trap. It would be interesting to know if it was this individual that was exhibited by William Bullock in London in 1812 Thylacin" e ath s r Zebro e a Opossum e onlth ,y known specime Museuy Bulloce an Th n i n m. k" collection being sol n 181 i de anima 9th s probabl wa l y purchasee th y b d Linnean Society, who certainly bought the rare Black Emu from the same series ; at any rate Temminck of Leyden noted that in 1824 the Linnean Society possessed a smallish specimen and it was he who by comparing Harris's type wit aduln ha tLeyde e skulth n i l n collection showed thae tth forme immatures wa r . Thu e Harrith s s Thylacine th d ean Linnean Thylacine were possibl e samth y e individual; cas y type ean th en i specimet bu bees nha n lost thao ,s t further speculatio uselesss ni . The early stockowners found the Thylacine a serious pest, Zealand w Parroa foNe rKe f lik e t o tacquirei , eth tastda e for fresh mutton. Poison was useless for it never returned carcasee th o t thao s , deaa t d sheep doctored with strychnine was worse than wasted ; pursued with hounds, old males proved tough customers, snapping right and left and more tha na matc r severahfo l dogs. Harris's old-fashioned trap baited with Kangaroo meat seemed as good as anything, for the Thylacine was easily snared. In 1871 a zoological sensation became current, for it seemed possible that the Thylacine, a Tasmanian animal, also inhabited Australia. That it formerly did so there is no possible doubt, for remains of an allied species (Thylacinus spelceus) have been found in the Pleistocene deposits of Wellington Valley werd an , e presente Couny db t Strzelecki College th o Surgeont f eo s Museum t appeareI . d that when out with his dog near Rockinghani Bay a lad named Sheridan attentios hi d ha n drawe furiouth o nt s barkin e dogth ,f go which took up scent from a piece of scrub and, following the trail for half a mile, came up with a beast as big as a dog lying in the grass. It had a round face like a cat's and a long The Thylacine 49 tail; the body was striped from the ribs under the belly with throws pluckilg yellow wa do black. d t e n; an ybu Th t flei t wa Sheridan approache d firedan d , woundine headth n i . t i g The barkingmysterioudog the ,treea s but up ,beas ran t it became savage and rushed first at the dog and then at Sheridan ; from the description it can hardly have been anythin a Thylacine t e onlbu gth yr fo othe, r candidate is the Banded Wallaby, a small species of timid disposition and very unlikel able b thro o et o y t wterriera confirman I . - tion Mr. Hull's party, surveying the Murray and Mackay River 1873n si , foun imprinn a d four-toeda f o t animal with non-retractile claws sketca : h time madth et ea show s spoor which might well be that of a Thylacine. Skin hunters included the Thylacine amongst their quarry lats a s 188 ea d 0an hawkers use purchaso dt pelte er th sfo resal Hobartn ei 188n thoughI s . 3 wa scare thera t i s r t ewa fo , that the species had been exterminated. Happily Mr. Crowther of Launcesto s abl o showa nt e w t thae animano th ts wa l extinct; a nearly adult pair purchased from him arrived at e London 14to th ho NovembernZo e write, th 1884 d r an , well remembers them, flourishing in excellent condition on a die f rabbitso t . A Thylacine studiewritee activth s y wa rdb e durine gth earl exerciss it ydaye n i par th o f ,e o fr trunnin yardd an , o gt heae th d hellikw hound'ea dlo scent n bease so Th .t often paused abruptly, as if to reconnoitre, standing motionless • with head raise t i too d; k little e attendannoticth f o e t enterin e yardf half-blindei gth s a , e sunth . y db Whe e nth light became powerful it often retreated to the inner den, wher t woul i t curleei t bu d d; als itselg olikp do reclinu fe a e e sun o basth t a strang , n i k e a semi-nocturnahabi r fo t l side eanimalon fulln o ysleey n I extende.la t pi uppere th d; - most ear remaining erect confirmed the original description of Harris t neveI . r uttere soundy dan , thoug e keepehth r said tha t wouli t d his r grunso f disturbedi t ..
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