Troll_Man
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WWD: Didelphodon vorax
🕑 Added 2023-08-20 22:17:22 +0000 UTCThe pugnacious, Tasmanian devil/badger/dog stem-marsupial animal thing that is a continuous and ever increasing presence in the episode. Of course, now we know that it wasn't nearly as Tasmanian devil/badger/dog-like in appearance as initially believed, as they only had teeth and a disassociated skull to go off of at the time, and more complete remains showing the appearance of the post-cranial skeleton, showing a far more sinuous and otter-like body than what was presented in the episode. Indeed, semi-aquatic habits have been suggested for the species, although this lifestyle is up for debate.
Much of this mistake has to do with the morphology of the skull and teeth, which are robust and massively built, leading to the idea the rest of the body was just as robust. Didelphodon had a tremendously powerful bite; adjusted for size, it's the most powerful bite of any known mammal that has ever lived. Of course, Didelphodon only got to about 15 pounds and was maybe about four feet long, which makes it less impressive in practice. Still, it was the largest known therian mammal of the Mesozoic, and the largest known Mesozoic mammal period at the time. Exactly what it was eating that required such a powerful bite is yet unclear, but perhaps it hunted animals with hard shells like crustaceans, bivalves, or snails, although there is the possibility it hunted small dinosaurs, like a big prehistoric weasel.
Comments
Ian Pendleton
I can imagine Didelphodon being a decent swimmer but not quite as aquatic as modern otters, being just as likely to hunt for food on land as it was in the water.
