11th April, 2008
'Crash-tested' skulls throw light on extinctions
National Geographic News
by Emma Young
http://technology.newscientist.com/channel/tech/mg19826516.100-crashtested-skulls-throw-light-on-extinctions.html

STEPHEN WROE'S lab is no place to be alone in the dark. Propped against a wall is a massive set of jaws from a great white shark. On shelves above the desk are skulls that once belonged to other fearsome animals - a sabre-toothed cat, a clouded leopard, a "Tasmanian tiger".

Watch an exclusive video about 3D modelling of skulls

18th April, 2008
Komodo Dragon's bite is "weaker than a house cat's"
National Geographic News
by Carolyn Barry
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/04/080418-komodo-dragons.html

The world's largest living lizard, the fearsome Komodo dragon, has a bite weaker than a house cat's, researchers say.

 

18th January, 2008
Marsupial lion was a fast killer
The Australian
by Leigh Dayton
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,23069545-30417,00.html

AUSTRALIA'S extinct marsupial lion was a quick kill artist that dispatched its prey faster and more efficiently than living African lions.

A lion skull (A) deals well with the forces from thrashing prey. But a Smilidon's jaw lights up with stress from the shaking (B), twisting (C) and pulling-back (D) of prey.

 

1st October, 2007
Sabre-toothed cats were weak in the jaw
Nature news
by Daniel Cressey
http://www.nature.com/news/2007/071001/full/news071001-2.html

Toothsome, not to mention fearsome, sabre-toothed cats actually had quite a weak bite, according to research that has implications for our understanding of how the animals hunted.

A new computer model reveals how much force was generated by the sabre-tooth cat's bite (Image: John Conway)

1st October, 2007
Sabretooth's surprising weak bite
BBC News
by Johnathan Amos
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7023644.stm

The sabretooth tiger may have looked a fearsome sight with its massive canines but its reputation takes something of a knock with a new piece of research.

The thylacine had a greater bite force than the dingo (Image: UNSW)

7th September, 2007
Dingo had measure of Tassie tiger
BBC News
by Johnathan Amos
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6984080.stm

Scientists have digitally crash-tested the predator performance of two Australian icons - the feral dingo dog and the extinct Tasmanian "tiger".

6th September, 2007
Tiger's demise: dingo did do it
The Sydney Morning Herald
by Richard Macey
http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/tigers-demise-dingo-did-do-it/2007/09/05/1188783320057.html

Scientists investigating the disappearance of the Tasmanian tiger from mainland Australia 3000 years ago have found damning evidence against a key suspect. It seems the dingo did it.

Carcharodon carcharias
White shark

27th July, 2007
Measuring the great white's bite
Cosmos Magazine
by Samantha Medina
http://www.cosmosmagazine.com/node/1499

Mighty bite: The researchers used a CT scanner to to generate 3-D images of a recently-netted great white's internal anatomy. Now they are plugging the data into sophisticated computer software to reveal the fish's maximum bite force.


Dr. Wroe with the shark

25th July, 2007
Great white's migthy bite to be revealed
UNSW News
by Dan Gaffney
http://www.science.unsw.edu.au/news/great-white-s-mighty-bite-to-be-revealed/

Scientists are using sophisticated computer software to determine the "bite force" of a great white shark (Carcharodon carcharias) netted near the coast of Sydney.

 

13th July, 2007
Snout shape evolves with diet
Discovery Channel
by Anna Sellah
http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2007/07/13/snout_ani.html?category=animals&guid=20070713110030

Similar diets have led to the evolution of similar snout shapes in a range of unrelated animals, say Australian researchers.
"Animals that had long skinny snouts tend to eat plants or small prey," says Dr Stephen Wroe of the University of New South Wales.
"Those with short broad snouts tended to be true carnivores and eat large prey."

Dr Wroe: Examined "a great natural experiment"

10th May, 2004
Past predators not found wanting
BBC News
by Johnathan Amos
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/3683627.stm

Australia's ancient lands had their fair share of big, fierce carnivores, a Sydney team of researchers argues.

 

Thylacoleo carnifex
Marsupial lion

5th March, 2004
Extinct Australian "Lion" Was Big Biter, Expert Says
National Geographic News
by Bijal P. Trivedi
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/03/0305_040305_TVsuperpredator.html

Two million years ago bizarre creatures roamed the Australian continent—the flesh-eating giant rat-kangaroo, the thunder bird, the marsupial wolf, and a giant monitor lizard. But these animals have never taken center stage in the public's imagination or even the scientific community like the large prehistoric creatures of other continents—in part, because a poor fossil record revealed few specimens that looked either large or ferocious.

Thylacinus cynocephalus
Tasmanian tiger

4th November, 2003
Dog doubts over Tasmanian tiger
BBC News
by Johnathan Amos
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/3237791.stm

The dingo it seems had an accomplice in driving the Tasmanian "tiger" off mainland Australia - human hunters.

Human hunting does not tell the whole story (Image by BBC Bristol Design)

17th September, 2003
Monster marsupial's weight gain
BBC News
by Johnathan Amos
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/3113932.stm

The largest marsupial that ever lived was even bigger than we thought, Australian scientists say.