New Australian study reveals unique bite of the extinct thylacine

A new Australian study has shed light on how the thylacine subdued its prey and what kinds of animals it likely ate, further undermining a key reason that led to its extinction.

The study from Flinders University and the University of Melbourne analysed thylacine skulls.

Researchers found the combination of an oversized skull, long and tall upper jaw and mace-like widened snout meant the thylacine — also known as the Tasmanian tiger — had a "bite unlike any other living meat-eating mammal".

They concluded the thylacine's biting behaviour enabled it to use "high-impact snapping" to catch small-to-medium prey, such as bandicoots, as opposed to larger animals, such as sheep.

Professor Vera Weisbecker, from the College of Science and Engineering at Flinders University, said their work shed new light on how the thylacine subdued its prey.

The thylacine survived in Tasmania through to the 1900s but was targeted by farmers after being blamed for killing sheep and other livestock.

This led to a government bounty for thylacines, which accelerated its decline.

A study in 2011 revealed that due to thylacines' weak jaws, it was unlikely they could kill and eat sheep.

Dr Weisbecker said their research also found the thylacine was unique.

"As the thylacine went extinct, largely because people thought it was a wolf-like predator of sheep, it was definitely a dangerous predator to some animals, but it hunted animals in a way that no other mammal that is alive today probably hunted," she said.

The thylacine's scientific name is Thylacinus cynocephalus. Cynocephalus means "dog head".

But Dr Weisbecker said thylacines were more closely related to kangaroos than to dogs.

"People often think of it as a dog-like animal, but it's actually a marsupial mammal — just like kangaroos and koalas — and also it's reasonably closely related to the Tasmanian devil," she said.