Skull morphology of the extinct Tasmanian tiger suggests unique biting style.

Thylacines' skull morphology reveals a unique biting style, with traits indicating high-impact snapping not seen in other carnivores, despite their resemblance to canids.

• Why it matters: Understanding the thylacine's cranial structure is crucial because it challenges assumptions based on its superficial similarity to placental predators and highlights gaps in knowledge about extinct marsupial predators' functional adaptations.
• What they did: The study used geometric and linear morphometric analyses on the skulls of the extinct thylacine, revealing a mosaic of traits including large heads, tall snouts, and prominent infraorbital foramina, suggesting specialized prey capture behaviors.
• The result: Findings imply that the thylacine's cranial function was uniquely adapted for fast, high-impact biting, emphasizing the importance of direct morphological analysis over inferences from living mammals and opening avenues for genomic research.