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from the their-genes-should-have-worked-out-more dept.
Tasmanian tigers were suffering from poor genetic diversity prior to being hunted to extinction by humans:
Australian scientists sequenced the genome of the native marsupial, also known as the thylacine. It showed the species, alive until 1936, would have struggled to survive even without human contact. The research also provides further insights into the marsupial's unique appearance.
"Even if we hadn't hunted it to extinction, our analysis showed that the thylacine was in very poor [genetic] health," said lead researcher Dr Andrew Pask, from the University of Melbourne. "The population today would be very susceptible to diseases, and would not be very healthy."
He said problems with genetic diversity could be traced back as far as 70,000 years ago, when the population is thought to have suffered due to a climatic event.
The researchers sequenced the genome from a 106-year-old specimen held by Museums Victoria. They said their study, published in the journal Nature Ecology and Evolution, is one of the most complete genetic blueprints of an extinct species.
Genome of the Tasmanian tiger provides insights into the evolution and demography of an extinct marsupial carnivore (open, DOI: 10.1038/s41559-017-0417-y) (DX)
Related: Huge Population and Lack of Genetic Diversity Killed Off the Passenger Pigeon
(Score: 2) by PartTimeZombie on Tuesday December 12 2017, @07:44PM (5 children)
The arrival of humans in Australia seemed to have had a huge impact on the megafauna.
As usual Wikipedia has a good article [wikipedia.org]
The Marsupial lion [wikipedia.org] seems to have died out about 46,000 years ago, and I don't imagine anyone wanted a 130 kg ambush predator living near the camp, so that might explain that.
I'm guessing that some of the other huge marsupials were slow moving and a 3,000 kg [wikipedia.org] wombat would have fed the village for a fair while.
(Score: 2) by Immerman on Tuesday December 12 2017, @08:12PM (4 children)
Indeed, I referred to that article when looking for info. From what I can tell there was lots of megafauna, but very few megafauna *predators* prior to human's arrival, at least on land. The marsupial lion that you mention (which I somehow overlooked as being a thylacine), the giant monitor lizard Megalania, and the Quinkana terrestrial crocodiles. It seems like pretty much everything else went extinct long before humanity evolved, or was small enough to not directly compete with us (though there's always the possibility that they were delicious, or at least easy to find/kill)
(Score: 2) by PartTimeZombie on Tuesday December 12 2017, @10:00PM (3 children)
The Demon Duck of Doom [wikipedia.org] was what I was really looking for, but it lived about 15 million years ago, so did not predate humans, which is nice.
A 2.5 metre tall, 250 kg bird with a head bigger than a horse would not make a great neighbour, except the article says it is now thought to have been a herbivore. Kind of shoots the whole theory down really.
(Score: 2) by Immerman on Wednesday December 13 2017, @01:36AM (2 children)
Don't let a little herbivorousness discourage your mindplay. Deer are herbivorous, but have been documented to be quite willing to intentionally eat any birds careless enough to linger in reach. A quick burst of calories and protein is rarely ignored, even by animals not optimized for it.
And to something with a head the size of a horse, you'd probably make a toothsome snack.
(Score: 2) by PartTimeZombie on Wednesday December 13 2017, @02:23AM (1 child)
I may have phrased that badly, I meant it's head was bigger than a horses head, not the whole horse.
I have no doubt it would have had no problem defending itself if it had to, and plenty of birds defend their young, so yes, potentially very dangerous.
(Score: 2) by Immerman on Wednesday December 13 2017, @04:08AM
Less entertaining, but I still wouldn't want to be stuck alone with one that hadn't eaten in several days...