Virtual reconstruction and prey size preference in the mid Cenozoic thylacinid, Nimbacinus dicksoni (Thylacinidae, Marsupialia).
Thylacinidae is an extinct family of Australian and New Guinean marsupial carnivores, comprizing 12 known species, the oldest of which are late Oligocene (∼24 Ma) in age. Except for the recently extinct thylacine (Thylacinus cynocephalus), most are known from fragmentary craniodental material only,...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Public Library of Science (PLoS)
2014-01-01
|
| Series: | PLoS ONE |
| Online Access: | https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0093088&type=printable |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1850026436895703040 |
|---|---|
| author | Marie R G Attard William C H Parr Laura A B Wilson Michael Archer Suzanne J Hand Tracey L Rogers Stephen Wroe |
| author_facet | Marie R G Attard William C H Parr Laura A B Wilson Michael Archer Suzanne J Hand Tracey L Rogers Stephen Wroe |
| author_sort | Marie R G Attard |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Thylacinidae is an extinct family of Australian and New Guinean marsupial carnivores, comprizing 12 known species, the oldest of which are late Oligocene (∼24 Ma) in age. Except for the recently extinct thylacine (Thylacinus cynocephalus), most are known from fragmentary craniodental material only, limiting the scope of biomechanical and ecological studies. However, a particularly well-preserved skull of the fossil species Nimbacinus dicksoni, has been recovered from middle Miocene (∼16-11.6 Ma) deposits in the Riversleigh World Heritage Area, northwestern Queensland. Here, we ask whether N. dicksoni was more similar to its recently extinct relative or to several large living marsupials in a key aspect of feeding ecology, i.e., was N. dicksoni a relatively small or large prey specialist. To address this question we have digitally reconstructed its skull and applied three-dimensional Finite Element Analysis to compare its mechanical performance with that of three extant marsupial carnivores and T. cynocephalus. Under loadings adjusted for differences in size that simulated forces generated by both jaw closing musculature and struggling prey, we found that stress distributions and magnitudes in the skull of N. dicksoni were more similar to those of the living spotted-tailed quoll (Dasyurus maculatus) than to its recently extinct relative. Considering the Finite Element Analysis results and dental morphology, we predict that N. dicksoni likely occupied a broadly similar ecological niche to that of D. maculatus, and was likely capable of hunting vertebrate prey that may have exceeded its own body mass. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-ceb669ff2f7a4a5d9afd8c26110087ba |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 1932-6203 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2014-01-01 |
| publisher | Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | PLoS ONE |
| spelling | doaj-art-ceb669ff2f7a4a5d9afd8c26110087ba2025-08-20T03:00:32ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032014-01-0194e9308810.1371/journal.pone.0093088Virtual reconstruction and prey size preference in the mid Cenozoic thylacinid, Nimbacinus dicksoni (Thylacinidae, Marsupialia).Marie R G AttardWilliam C H ParrLaura A B WilsonMichael ArcherSuzanne J HandTracey L RogersStephen WroeThylacinidae is an extinct family of Australian and New Guinean marsupial carnivores, comprizing 12 known species, the oldest of which are late Oligocene (∼24 Ma) in age. Except for the recently extinct thylacine (Thylacinus cynocephalus), most are known from fragmentary craniodental material only, limiting the scope of biomechanical and ecological studies. However, a particularly well-preserved skull of the fossil species Nimbacinus dicksoni, has been recovered from middle Miocene (∼16-11.6 Ma) deposits in the Riversleigh World Heritage Area, northwestern Queensland. Here, we ask whether N. dicksoni was more similar to its recently extinct relative or to several large living marsupials in a key aspect of feeding ecology, i.e., was N. dicksoni a relatively small or large prey specialist. To address this question we have digitally reconstructed its skull and applied three-dimensional Finite Element Analysis to compare its mechanical performance with that of three extant marsupial carnivores and T. cynocephalus. Under loadings adjusted for differences in size that simulated forces generated by both jaw closing musculature and struggling prey, we found that stress distributions and magnitudes in the skull of N. dicksoni were more similar to those of the living spotted-tailed quoll (Dasyurus maculatus) than to its recently extinct relative. Considering the Finite Element Analysis results and dental morphology, we predict that N. dicksoni likely occupied a broadly similar ecological niche to that of D. maculatus, and was likely capable of hunting vertebrate prey that may have exceeded its own body mass.https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0093088&type=printable |
| spellingShingle | Marie R G Attard William C H Parr Laura A B Wilson Michael Archer Suzanne J Hand Tracey L Rogers Stephen Wroe Virtual reconstruction and prey size preference in the mid Cenozoic thylacinid, Nimbacinus dicksoni (Thylacinidae, Marsupialia). PLoS ONE |
| title | Virtual reconstruction and prey size preference in the mid Cenozoic thylacinid, Nimbacinus dicksoni (Thylacinidae, Marsupialia). |
| title_full | Virtual reconstruction and prey size preference in the mid Cenozoic thylacinid, Nimbacinus dicksoni (Thylacinidae, Marsupialia). |
| title_fullStr | Virtual reconstruction and prey size preference in the mid Cenozoic thylacinid, Nimbacinus dicksoni (Thylacinidae, Marsupialia). |
| title_full_unstemmed | Virtual reconstruction and prey size preference in the mid Cenozoic thylacinid, Nimbacinus dicksoni (Thylacinidae, Marsupialia). |
| title_short | Virtual reconstruction and prey size preference in the mid Cenozoic thylacinid, Nimbacinus dicksoni (Thylacinidae, Marsupialia). |
| title_sort | virtual reconstruction and prey size preference in the mid cenozoic thylacinid nimbacinus dicksoni thylacinidae marsupialia |
| url | https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0093088&type=printable |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT mariergattard virtualreconstructionandpreysizepreferenceinthemidcenozoicthylacinidnimbacinusdicksonithylacinidaemarsupialia AT williamchparr virtualreconstructionandpreysizepreferenceinthemidcenozoicthylacinidnimbacinusdicksonithylacinidaemarsupialia AT lauraabwilson virtualreconstructionandpreysizepreferenceinthemidcenozoicthylacinidnimbacinusdicksonithylacinidaemarsupialia AT michaelarcher virtualreconstructionandpreysizepreferenceinthemidcenozoicthylacinidnimbacinusdicksonithylacinidaemarsupialia AT suzannejhand virtualreconstructionandpreysizepreferenceinthemidcenozoicthylacinidnimbacinusdicksonithylacinidaemarsupialia AT traceylrogers virtualreconstructionandpreysizepreferenceinthemidcenozoicthylacinidnimbacinusdicksonithylacinidaemarsupialia AT stephenwroe virtualreconstructionandpreysizepreferenceinthemidcenozoicthylacinidnimbacinusdicksonithylacinidaemarsupialia |