Thylacine: The History, Ecology and Loss of the Tasmanian Tiger

by Branden Holmes (Editor), Gareth Linnard (Editor)

Overview

Until the mid-20th century, the thylacine was the world’s largest carnivorous marsupial, and its disappearance has left many questions and contradictions.

Alternately portrayed as a scourge and as a high value commodity, the thylacine’s ecology and behaviour were known only anecdotally. In recent years, its taxonomic position, ecology, behaviour and body size have all been re-examined scientifically, while advances in genetics have presented the potential for de-extinction.

With 78 contributors, Thylacine: The History, Ecology and Loss of the Tasmanian Tiger presents an evidence-based profile of the thylacine, examining its ecology, evolution, encounters with humans, persecution, assumed extinction and its appearance in fiction. The final chapters explore the future for this iconic species – a symbol of extinction but also hope.

Certificate of Commendation, The Royal Zoological Society of NSW 2023 Whitley Awards: Historical Zoology

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781486315550
Publisher:	CSIRO PUBLISHING
Publication date:	03/01/2023
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	240
File size:	10 MB

About the Author

Branden Holmes is a thylacine researcher who studies the earliest period of European–thylacine interactions and the resulting misperceptions. He jointly re-discovered the last known moving images of the species.
Gareth Linnard is a researcher who primarily specialises in the historical trade in thylacines during the 1920s and 1930s. Based in South Wales, UK, he co-authored a revision of the identity of the last captive thylacine.

Table of Contents

Foreword
Cultural sensitivity warning
Dedication
Acknowledgements
Preface
Prologue
Introduction: The thylacine in Australian ecosystems
List of contributors

Part 1: Anatomy, biology and ecology
Part 2: Evolution, palaeontology and taxonomy
Part 3: Aboriginal knowledge and archaeology
Part 4: Early European encounters (1792–1829)
Part 5: The bounty years (1830–1914)
Part 6: A rapidly disappearing species (1915–1936)
Colour plates
Part 7: Into the shadows (1937–present)
Part 8: Beyond the present
Part 9: Beyond reality

References
Index