|
2nd
Decembre, 2010
Great white shark's jaw weakness revealed
BBC news
by Victoria Gill
http://news.bbc.co.uk/earth/hi/earth_news/newsid_9247000/9247603.stm
Until they are mature, great white sharks are not such formidable predators
At up to 3m in length, adolescent great white sharks certainly look like formidable predators.
But until they reach maturity, the sharks have surprisingly weak jaws, according to researchers.
|
 |
24th
November, 2010
Marsupial carnivores 'as diverse as other mammals once'
BBC news
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-11824762
They are an extraordinary and now rare group of animals but Earth has had some formidable marsupial carnivores.
|
 |
18th
August, 2010
'Terror bird' was prize fighter
BBC news
by Jonathan Amos
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-11013735
They are popularly called "terror birds", and with good reason.
The giant, flightless beasts that roamed South America for more than 50 million years following the demise of the dinosaurs were fearsome predators.
New research shows the birds' huge beaks could deliver swift and powerful pecks, very probably killing their victims in one blow before ripping the flesh from their bodies.
|
 |
22nd
June, 2010
Who are you calling weak? Human jaws are surprisingly strong and efficient
Discover. Science, technology and the future
by Ed Yong
http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/notrocketscience/2010/06/22/who-are-you-calling-weak-human-jaws-are-surprisingly-strong-and-efficient/comment-page-1/#comment-14597
Stephen Wroe has built a career out of analysing some of the planet’s most formidable skulls. His group at the University of New South Wales have studied the strength, sturdiness and biting power of the sabre-toothed cat, the great white shark, and the Komodo dragon. Now, he has turned his attention to a predator whose skull is far less impressive but yields surprises all the same – us.
|
 |
16th
October, 2008
The ultimate assassin
Channel 9, 60 Minutes
by Peter Overton
http://sixtyminutes.ninemsn.com.au/stories/peteroverton/648165/the-ultimate-assassin
Here's some chilling news. Just what you want to hear as you head back to the beach this summer.
Sharks are not only deadly, they're smart, too. And the one we fear most, The Great White, is the smartest of them all.
That's what the experts are telling us, based on the latest research into the predator's brain and its thought patterns.
|
|
20th
May, 2009
Venom is Komodo dragon's lethal weapon
Times Online
by Anne Barrowclough
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/science/article6316672.ece
The Komodo dragon is not just the largest living lizard, but also one of the most venomous creatures on Earth, scientists have discovered.
The carnivorous animal, which can tear its prey apart, kills with venom rather than bacteria-laden bites, as scientists had always believed.
Komodo dragons are venomous killers
|
|
11th
April, 2008
'Crash-tested' skulls throw light on extinctions
New Scientist
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.
|