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A Case of
Mistaken Identity:
The museum is occasionally asked to identify photographs of what people
believe to be thylacine skins. The enquirers are often disappointed
to learn that their presumed thylacine skin actually belongs to a small
species of African antelope, the Zebra
duiker (Cephalophus zebra), found in Côte
d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast), Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia. |
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Thylacine
(Thylacinus cynocephalus) skin (with head end facing downward).
Bifurcated (split) stripe circled in red,
and interconnecting band in blue.
Photo:
Nicholas Ayliffe (ITSD 5th Revision 2013).
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The
African Zebra duiker (Cephalophus zebra), also known as the Banded
duiker or Zebra antelope.
Photo:
Tanya Dewey.
(Animal
Diversity Web - UMMZ)
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Fortunately, there are several distinguishing characteristics that enable
ease of identification between the respective skins:
| 1. |
The
stripe pattern of the duiker is bolder (darker) than that of the thylacine.
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| 2. |
The
terminations of the stripes in the thylacine are sharp, whereas those of
the duiker are blunt.
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| 3. |
There
is no bifurcation
(splitting) of any of the stripes in the duiker, whereas in the thylacine,
bifurcation is frequently found.
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| 4. |
There
are numerous interconnecting bands
linking the stripes in the thylacine, but these are completely absent in
the duiker.
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| 5. |
In
the thylacine, the stripes over the thigh are the longest, usually the
4th
and 5th bands anterior to the root of the tail running down the rear
leg, whereas in the duiker, there is relative uniformity of stripe length. |
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A
side-by-side comparison of the stripe patterns of the thylacine (left)
and the Zebra duiker (right).
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Graduation
of stripe length in the case in the thylacine, versus uniformity
of stripe length as seen in the Zebra duiker.
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