When The "Combat Wombat" Became An Apex Predator

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  • Опубліковано 5 гру 2022
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    In Australia, evolution built a family of deadly predators by taking a group of cute, harmless herbivores and turning them murderous.
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КОМЕНТАРІ • 1,2 тис.

  • @leeleaman8057
    @leeleaman8057 Рік тому +558

    “Typical Australia”

    • @AspireGMD
      @AspireGMD Рік тому +27

      Most accurate quote in human history.

    • @mikebauer6917
      @mikebauer6917 Рік тому +27

      Weird, extreme and dangerous? Checks out.

    • @leeleaman8057
      @leeleaman8057 Рік тому +14

      @@mikebauer6917 and wonderful!

    • @____________838
      @____________838 Рік тому +14

      “Peak Australia”

    • @t1bzy
      @t1bzy Рік тому +18

      I wanted to take offence at that statement but realised I had just chased off a Western Brown Snake. 😐

  • @Ginjitzu
    @Ginjitzu Рік тому +220

    PBS: "Thylacoleo Carnifex was an apex predator."
    Me, who's been through the redwoods biome on foot: "Ah yes. The ol' death-from-above, combat wombat."

    • @MickHaggs
      @MickHaggs Рік тому +20

      Going on foot is better than going through the redwood in the air.
      *Casually flying*
      *And now I'm falling to the ground from a great height while simultaneously having my face clawed off*
      They're great mounts though

    • @HairyNumbNuts
      @HairyNumbNuts Рік тому +9

      Drop bears are supposed to be a legend. So, there really used to be one.

    • @bronhaller
      @bronhaller Рік тому +13

      @@HairyNumbNuts yup. I maintain that the drop bear story comes from Indigenous people having to deal with them and passing down the lore

    • @sebcw1204
      @sebcw1204 Рік тому +9

      not to be confused with the purlovia "death from below badger tank"

    • @leobuana7430
      @leobuana7430 Рік тому +1

      @@bronhaller is that Australian cryptid legend ?

  • @Melanosuchusniger
    @Melanosuchusniger Рік тому +1085

    I’d argue Quinkana is the most underrated Australian carnivore, people always talk about Thylacoleo and Megalania but never the massive galloping land crocodile Quinkana that was equal in size with megalania and probably even more deadly.

    • @omage3457
      @omage3457 Рік тому +34

      I hard agree here

    • @jarlborg1531
      @jarlborg1531 Рік тому +218

      Everybody's gangster til the crocs start galloping.

    • @user-lq4ct6dr5m
      @user-lq4ct6dr5m Рік тому +40

      Don't forget the giant boa that hunts the croc as well

    • @mattrush8005
      @mattrush8005 Рік тому +20

      They did one on it 3 years ago I’m pretty sure.

    • @Zabi-S
      @Zabi-S Рік тому +47

      Quinkana, Megalania and Thylacoleo all filled different predatory niches.
      Thylacoleo = ambush hunter
      Quinkana = pursuit hunter
      Megalania = apex hunter

  • @hopsiepike
    @hopsiepike Рік тому +938

    A killer wombat seems as absurd as a murderous panda, but there it is.

    • @archangel_one
      @archangel_one Рік тому +85

      BEWARE the DROP BEARS!

    • @brooklyna007
      @brooklyna007 Рік тому +1

      Murderous Panda = Grizzly Bear.
      Bears are Carnivorans (the evolutionary order). Pandas are the herbivorous exception in that order.

    • @sirderpymister4883
      @sirderpymister4883 Рік тому +116

      Aren’t murderous pandas just a roundabout term for bears?

    • @archangel_one
      @archangel_one Рік тому +23

      @@sirderpymister4883 Someone's been watching Kung Fu Panda

    • @indyreno2933
      @indyreno2933 Рік тому +10

      Marsupial lions are actually more primitive than any living diprotodont.

  • @_ninthRing_
    @_ninthRing_ Рік тому +65

    While the direct translation may be "Meat Cutting", the word *Carnifex* is actually Latin for "Executioner".

    • @MossyMozart
      @MossyMozart Рік тому +4

      @ninthRing - Even more appropriate!

    • @JubioHDX
      @JubioHDX Рік тому +14

      Pretty cool taxonomic name, basically "the pouched lion executioner", gotta be the most badass marsupial in name at least. Wish we still had these guys in australia to continue to round out their ridiculous native fauna

  • @ryanwaege7251
    @ryanwaege7251 Рік тому +112

    So maybe not so far-fetched for koala bears to evolve into the mythical drop bear?

    • @madcow3417
      @madcow3417 Рік тому +25

      Mythical?!? My best friend was murdered by a drop bear! This was in Texas, and there were no other witnesses, but that's the story I'm sticking with.

    • @unicornfoal
      @unicornfoal Рік тому +15

      The whole reason the 'drop bear' story came about is because people like you keep calling koalas "koala bears" when they aren't bears. They're koalas.

    • @indyreno2933
      @indyreno2933 Рік тому +16

      There is no such thing as a koala bear, they're just called koalas, koalas are diprotodonts, while bears are carnivorans.

    • @sydhenderson6753
      @sydhenderson6753 Рік тому +6

      Drop bears are the surviving apex predator.

    • @Primalxbeast
      @Primalxbeast Рік тому +10

      @@unicornfoal I'm not going to stop calling sea horses sea horses just because they're fish.

  • @theonebman7581
    @theonebman7581 Рік тому +50

    Australian megafauna is extremely underrated tbh

    • @kenattwood8060
      @kenattwood8060 Рік тому +3

      Yes, I would like to see more on this topic.

    • @MuertaRara
      @MuertaRara Рік тому +5

      yes! it is so hard to find decent videos and books to that topic

  • @Delunkleus
    @Delunkleus Рік тому +69

    I like to think stories of ‘Drop Bears’ are really just some kind of cultural memory of thylacoleo

    • @julesmasseffectmusic
      @julesmasseffectmusic 10 місяців тому +5

      Thycaleo can't look up.
      Bad for a tree climber.
      The aboriginal in North QLD still have oral history about them. Must been scary if 10,000 years later the story is still around.

  • @358itachi
    @358itachi Рік тому +193

    It still feels somewhat missing without the name of 'Steve' to round up the patreon names. With the crazy 2+ years we have seen, I hope Steve is still doing well somewhere on this planet.

    • @chrisgames5201
      @chrisgames5201 Рік тому +14

      Agreed
      Steve was my favorite

    • @petrovtiganu9904
      @petrovtiganu9904 Рік тому +5

      Where is steve?

    • @AS-fi7hc
      @AS-fi7hc Рік тому +18

      I know!!! I think of him at the end of every video, hope he’s doing alright

    • @shaider1982
      @shaider1982 Рік тому +4

      Nice to know I wasn't the only one missing him.

    • @MossyMozart
      @MossyMozart Рік тому +5

      @@AS-fi7hc - I know what you mean. I always mentally add his name at the end of every video.

  • @savorymarshmallows
    @savorymarshmallows Рік тому +382

    I love puzzling out the meanings of these names and this is a great one.
    Thylac: pouched
    Oleo: a type of margarine
    What we're looking at here is the first marsupial butter substitute.

  • @mackdog3270
    @mackdog3270 Рік тому +69

    My money's on the koala being the next apex predator. They always seemed a little shifty to me.

    • @khajiitkitten5679
      @khajiitkitten5679 Рік тому +16

      I don't think that will happen, as apparently the eucalyptus leaves that are their exclusive diet have a natural soporific in them--the little guys are always stoned.

    • @edwardfletcher7790
      @edwardfletcher7790 Рік тому +1

      Never heard of Drop Bears ? LoL

    • @monticore1626
      @monticore1626 2 місяці тому

      @@khajiitkitten5679that’s why they haven’t killed us yet, if they sobered up we would be in big trouble

  • @geekyprojects1353
    @geekyprojects1353 Рік тому +220

    Imagine a lion approaches you and bares his teeth. And it has teeth like a cartoon squirrel. That would immediately take tension out of the situation.

    • @robinliesens7983
      @robinliesens7983 Рік тому +79

      I don't know, man. If a rat was the size of a leopard I'm quite sure nobody would laugh if it came at them.

    • @geekyprojects1353
      @geekyprojects1353 Рік тому +23

      @@robinliesens7983 Who knows? When a dictator looks like Winnie the Pooh people still do laugh.

    • @IchhabezuvielYoutubegegucktO_o
      @IchhabezuvielYoutubegegucktO_o Рік тому +35

      @@geekyprojects1353 Just on the Internet, not if they are standing infront of him and being at his mercy

    • @rbb9753
      @rbb9753 Рік тому +3

      Momentarily

    • @Primalxbeast
      @Primalxbeast Рік тому +29

      Beavers easily chew through trees. Rodent like teeth on a large carnivore wouldn't be something I would take lightly.

  • @veggieboyultimate
    @veggieboyultimate Рік тому +300

    Do you think you can do a video on the therizinosaurs? A family of dinosaurs that did the opposite, going from carnivore to herbivore.

    • @stephaniehight2771
      @stephaniehight2771 Рік тому +20

      As the most primitive of dinosaurs appear to all be carnivores or omnivores, all of your major dinosaur herbivores evolved from meat eaters.

    • @hyperswag506
      @hyperswag506 Рік тому +8

      The ones with the crazy long claws.
      Also… pandas went through the same thing. Bears turning herbivorous.

    • @marisoldavis3357
      @marisoldavis3357 Рік тому +2

      Please make a video of the hulitherium tomasetti aka marsupial panda it live in New Guinea .

    • @patriotenfield3276
      @patriotenfield3276 Рік тому +3

      It became vegan.

    • @debopriyokar4921
      @debopriyokar4921 Рік тому +3

      NO WAY I JUST WATCHED THEIR THERIZINOSAURS VIDEO

  • @chrisanderson7820
    @chrisanderson7820 Рік тому +17

    Wombats are not entirely small or harmless. They look cute but their muscle density is insane, they are basically a ball of solid steel and have been known to occasionally crash cars that drive over them and aren't afraid to stand up for themselves.

  • @aaronmarks9366
    @aaronmarks9366 Рік тому +39

    Along with the fascinating Thylacoleo, I was intrigued by the word "fell" as an adjective, which I had never seen before. According to Wiktionary, it means "Of a strong and cruel nature; eager and unsparing; grim; fierce; ruthless; savage" and derives from a Proto-Germanic adjective *faluz. The English word has cognates in a few other modern Germanic languages, but otherwise, parallel to many of the fantastic prehistoric animals of Australia, it seems to have mostly died out. The processes of biological and linguistic evolution are often surprisingly similar.

    • @paulc7143
      @paulc7143 Рік тому +6

      Still survives in the phrase "one fell swoop" but that's about the only continued usage

    • @kylemackinnon5696
      @kylemackinnon5696 Рік тому +7

      "Fell Beast" is a term ive seen in books a lot

    • @PurpleShift42
      @PurpleShift42 11 місяців тому +1

      ​@@kylemackinnon5696 especially fantasy fiction, haha

  • @jamesdominguez7685
    @jamesdominguez7685 Рік тому +70

    All of the extant and extinct marsupial carnivores are fascinating. Thylacoleo had some truly bizarre anatomy, such as a forelimb bone structure that doesn't seem to exist in any other animal. Also, thylacines (a.k.a. Tassie tigers) looked very dog-like, but when startled they would hop away at high speed on their hind legs, exactly like a kangaroo. I will always be angry at my Aussie ancestors for wiping out the Tassie tiger.

    • @powerbreed
      @powerbreed Рік тому

      From the moment humans got here they started killing off species and will continue to do so for our entire existence.

    • @thecorlorlesspig1993
      @thecorlorlesspig1993 Рік тому

      I'd love to see them jump on their hind legs

  • @jcortese3300
    @jcortese3300 Рік тому +110

    I love seeing interesting marsupials. For some reason I've never managed to grasp, it's fascinating to see a marsupial face -- so often a somewhat silly or cute vaguely antelope/mouse-deer-shaped face -- with gaping jaws and sharp teeth. It's just not something we're used to seeing -- a scary marsupial. Fascinating stuff!

    • @indridcold8433
      @indridcold8433 Рік тому +6

      The North American opossum looks rather fierce close up. From a distance, it does look like a large rat. Get up close and it is not Mickey anymore.

    • @jcortese3300
      @jcortese3300 Рік тому +3

      @@indridcold8433 Agreed -- I remember hearing someone online say how cute possums were and thinking, "Are you out of your mind?" It transpired they were in Australia, where they are kind of cuddly looking. Up here, you're absolutely right -- giant nightmare rats.

    • @asmith8692
      @asmith8692 Рік тому +4

      Tasmanian devils are also marsupials, so we still have some scary marsupials.
      Though, mind you, one of the scariest is the red kangaroo, which is capable of killing you with a kick. My parents were part of a tour group where the guides were attempting to keep a tourist away from kangaroos. Unfortunately they were calling him by the wrong name.

    • @tijanamilenkovic9442
      @tijanamilenkovic9442 11 місяців тому +3

      @@asmith8692 Imagine if kangaroos became apex predators what they would look like, what would they eat and the niche of which animals would fulfill maybe that predatory kangaroo would be a mix of a kangaroo, pangolin and wolverine and would be quadrupedal and would probably hunt a variety of prey and would be an ambush predator what do you think about it?

  • @EranRicos
    @EranRicos Рік тому +731

    Australia- the land with a “tiger” that’s less dangerous than a dog, and a “lion” That was smaller than a jaguar with front teeth like a rat🫤

    • @mikewilson858
      @mikewilson858 Рік тому +148

      On the other hand the lizards were the size of crocodiles

    • @cassiuspharell8711
      @cassiuspharell8711 Рік тому +70

      @@mikewilson858 Yes, megalania. 20 feet Komodo-like lizard.

    • @bennydufresne8994
      @bennydufresne8994 Рік тому +57

      Thilocine was definitely more dangerous than a dog, they can open there jaw 180 degreess

    • @michaelteret4763
      @michaelteret4763 Рік тому +2

      Hence venom?

    • @JustSomeDude42
      @JustSomeDude42 Рік тому +34

      @@mikewilson858 I know you’re talking about the giant Komodo dragon, but my brain could only look at this and go “… you mean like a crocodile” cause they have the salt water crocodile.

  • @tenstorme426
    @tenstorme426 Рік тому +8

    I can't get over how that one rendering of Thylacoleo completely captures that one Australian expression. 0:47 Look at 'em. It's as if they're crying out from ancient times "aaaaye **** what the **** are you doin' you dog ****"

  • @nightuniverse8314
    @nightuniverse8314 Рік тому +13

    I love how certain niches get filled regardless of class of organism.

  • @cloud_appreciation_society
    @cloud_appreciation_society Рік тому +19

    When I was a kid I discovered a book on Australian megafauna in the school library. It was the first time I'd ever encountered the concept and after the initial moment of my mind being blown I was absolutely enchanted. They felt tangible in a way that dinosaurs weren't because I had seen the smaller, distant relatives of so many of the animals pictured.
    To this day I still think megafauna are way underrated.

  • @fieldo85
    @fieldo85 Рік тому +61

    I've seen a cave painting of Thylacoleo in Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory. But it was on a sacred site that has little scientific investigation. There was also paintings of war between Aboriginal tribes. The area/cave has been continually inhabited for ~60,000 years.

    • @michaelwilliams3232
      @michaelwilliams3232 Рік тому +6

      I read somewhere that aboriginal peoples only drew what they saw so it would be useful to know how old the paintings were reckoned to be.

    • @blixten2928
      @blixten2928 Рік тому +12

      Yes, I've heard that Australian rock paintings show several extinct species. They are also beautiful, by the way.

    • @NoTaboos
      @NoTaboos Рік тому +5

      @@blixten2928 Yes; the aborigines caused a hell of a lot of extinctions.

    • @mehere8038
      @mehere8038 Рік тому +6

      the origins of the "drop bear" stories appears to be Aboriginal stories of the Thylacoeo hunting. Same with Yowies & Bunyips & all the rest - Aboriginal stories of real creatures now extinct, picked up on by whites

    • @carmen.eve.2033
      @carmen.eve.2033 Рік тому +6

      @@NoTaboos as have all humans. Also, that term is a slur. I understand you may not have known this but please try not to use it in future 😊

  • @brianedwards7142
    @brianedwards7142 Рік тому +95

    This is why I was relieved when they discovered that Bonnethead Sharks are deliberate omnivores. I wondered how such a successful group could have been around so long without some using all the resources at hand.

  • @danilodesouza6461
    @danilodesouza6461 Рік тому +10

    I'd LOVE if we discover that Thylacoleo also pooped dices

    • @edwardfletcher7790
      @edwardfletcher7790 Рік тому

      They were hypercarnivores.
      Wombats are herbivores.
      Carnivorous animals do really nasty poos.

  • @professorporygon6808
    @professorporygon6808 Рік тому +45

    One of my favorite prehistoric Mammals from Australia.

    • @Cornexium
      @Cornexium Рік тому +2

      Not a wide category for sure but still nice

    • @kenattwood8060
      @kenattwood8060 Рік тому +2

      @@Cornexium If you were to take an in-depth look at the Australian fossil record then you might possibly change your mind on the category size.

    • @Cornexium
      @Cornexium Рік тому +1

      @@kenattwood8060 Australian fossil record is indeed big especially for more recent megafauna however you gotta put it into context. How much does prehistoric Australian mammals make up of the general species diversity of prehistoric Earth starting from the evolution of proto-mammals?

    • @Zabi-S
      @Zabi-S Рік тому

      One of my favourite prehistoric mammals, PERIOD.

    • @kenattwood8060
      @kenattwood8060 Рік тому +1

      @@Cornexium This is actually irrelevant as prehistoric Australian fossils make up 100% of the general species diversity of prehistoric Australia.... We are discussing localised evolution after all.

  • @stuartaaron613
    @stuartaaron613 Рік тому +57

    Having a wombat ancestor developing into an apex predator is just like the finches discovered by Darwin which evolved into predators. As for the next apex predator in Australia, currently it's a creature know as homo sapiens.

    • @patrickmccurry1563
      @patrickmccurry1563 Рік тому +13

      Or that one finch Darwin missed that drinks blood. The vampire ground finch. Not kidding.

    • @stuartaaron613
      @stuartaaron613 Рік тому +8

      @@patrickmccurry1563 I heard of that one as well. Evolution can produce some wild creatures, and plants.

    • @dracodracarys2339
      @dracodracarys2339 Рік тому +1

      no it's the platypus

    • @chonqmonk
      @chonqmonk Рік тому +3

      I have several wombat relatives myself.

    • @duskpede5146
      @duskpede5146 Рік тому +1

      nah its cats and foxes

  • @makeracistsafraidagain
    @makeracistsafraidagain Рік тому +104

    We have lots of opossums in our yard. I'm sure they would enjoy seeing this.

    • @TragoudistrosMPH
      @TragoudistrosMPH Рік тому

      *stops playing dead* One day you'll be crawling over OUR fences primates!

    • @chaosgoettin
      @chaosgoettin Рік тому +4

      too bad you think they are useless :( You guys have marsupials, and they keep your yard free of pests. yet, you treat them like rats.

    • @marcpeterson1092
      @marcpeterson1092 Рік тому +8

      Invite them in. Make snacks. Make a party of it. (avoid alcohol, opossums are pretty crazy when they drink.)

    • @benpuljak2304
      @benpuljak2304 Рік тому +1

      @@chaosgoettin you know little.

    • @chaosgoettin
      @chaosgoettin Рік тому

      @@benpuljak2304 but more than you, it seems.

  • @bahghoul
    @bahghoul Рік тому +71

    I wish Thylacoleo hadn't gone extinct, yet at the same time, I realize how terrifying they would have been if they survived to modern times.

    • @sizanogreen9900
      @sizanogreen9900 Рік тому +21

      just imagine... real *combat wombats*

    • @thealmightyaku-4153
      @thealmightyaku-4153 Рік тому +18

      I can only imagine there'd be a few Thylacoleo heads mounted on English parlour walls.

    • @VioletEnds
      @VioletEnds Рік тому +10

      @@sizanogreen9900 real drop bears lol

    • @liammurphy2725
      @liammurphy2725 Рік тому

      'I wish' and 'if'. The pointless things some folks say.

    • @Glacier7474
      @Glacier7474 Рік тому +1

      ​@@liammurphy2725 what's wrong?

  • @tommyflo146
    @tommyflo146 Рік тому +10

    this bear knows how to drop it

  • @DonJuanMarco1994
    @DonJuanMarco1994 Рік тому +30

    Finally, an episode about Prehistoric Australian Marsupials. ❤️

  • @BaldPerspective
    @BaldPerspective Рік тому +6

    The scratch marks on the cave wall that were found remind me of those videos of cats that jump in plastic boxes & just start furiously pawing & scratching at the inner walls. Richard Owen was really a genius to name Thylacoleo after lions.

  • @AspireGMD
    @AspireGMD Рік тому +96

    I was hoping to see a new video from you guys, and right as I opened youtube, I was blessed, and perfectly on time too. Keep up the great work, especially love the prehistoric animal episodes like this one.

  • @Renisanxious
    @Renisanxious Рік тому +14

    I love this video, but I want to comment on the surveys that PBS does. I've been participating in them for the past 2 years and I find it so awesome that they take feedback and genuinely listen to their audiences. I've been watching PBS shows since the early 2000s when watching PBS Kids and I can't find another large company that actually cares about their audience on the same level as PBS. Thank you for all you do!

  • @eriklowe5844
    @eriklowe5844 Рік тому +3

    Very sad that they are gone 😢😢😢

  • @Gazza75
    @Gazza75 Рік тому +2

    Any predator that can take down hippo/rhino sized animals solo is a beast.

  • @Bonasera7
    @Bonasera7 Рік тому +19

    The epithet “carnifex” is probably the most metal byname of any animal

  • @sairajmenon556
    @sairajmenon556 Рік тому +12

    Finally!!! Thylacoleo is here!!! 😭😭😭 I've been waiting for this one for so long a while now!!! Thank you PBS Eons!!!

  • @albertines4827
    @albertines4827 Рік тому +5

    I really appreciated seeing the specific mobs mentioned at the end. It made me smile.

  • @royhay5741
    @royhay5741 Рік тому +20

    Megalania, quinkana, thylacoleo and wonambi might’ve gone extinct, but Komodo dragons only became locally extinct. Komodo dragons originated and used to live in Australia up until relatively recently. They died out along with their prey, but we've introduced new potential prey for them

    • @PurpleShift42
      @PurpleShift42 11 місяців тому +1

      To be fair, there are other relatives of the Komodo dragon still around in Australia, we just call them goannas (monitor lizards). Wikipedia even tells me we have their sister taxon still around, the lace monitor, and they're also apex predators. So we probably don't need to go that far to recreate the biosphere of pre-Indigenous-inhabitation Australia 😛

    • @sarban1653
      @sarban1653 8 місяців тому

      @@PurpleShift42 But still, none of those are as big as the Komodo dragon or would be able to do the same stuff. And yeah, Komodo dragons are technically a type of goanna.

  • @Lilhuniib
    @Lilhuniib Рік тому +6

    When I discovered this channel I was excited because…. Duh natural history! But now I’ve developed this habit of watching it before bed and I can’t make it through an episode without falling asleep. The hosts’ voices are so soothing, I can’t help it!

    • @Manj_J
      @Manj_J Рік тому +1

      Personally if I binge-watch more than like 3 of these episodes I start to feel sleepy because of the calmness of their voices, which is why whenever I'm sick I take my meds and snuggle up in bed to binge-watch them until I fall asleep, it's become a tradition for me now to the point that even watching these videos makes me feel better even without me being sick lol

  • @KimberlyGreen
    @KimberlyGreen Рік тому +10

    That critter has, to quote Monty Python, "nasty big pointy teeth!" 😲

    • @scp-2348
      @scp-2348 Рік тому +3

      "That could rip a man apart"!

  • @TragoudistrosMPH
    @TragoudistrosMPH Рік тому +8

    So cool seeing a different body plan. You never know what will work!

  • @TheRCvie
    @TheRCvie Рік тому +2

    If you've ever wondered how a wombat got all bitty then you've never met a wombat.

  • @carltanner9065
    @carltanner9065 Рік тому +4

    You also had a number of wallaby genera evolve to eat meat, Ekaltadeta, for instance. So, there were plenty of predatory animals around in Australia back in Thlacoleo's day, and even beforehand.

  • @rickG913
    @rickG913 Рік тому +5

    With Thylacoleo out of the picture it’s finally time for Kangaroos and convergent evolution to give rise to…Tyroonasaurus-Rex 🦖 🦘

  • @eEdselEdsel
    @eEdselEdsel Рік тому +1

    Australia: I'm gonna take a Dunkekosteus, make it land based and give it pockets.

  • @rheinbewachen1211
    @rheinbewachen1211 Рік тому +4

    This reminds me how over millions of years some lizard species became the mosasaur.

  • @OpEditorial
    @OpEditorial Рік тому +5

    Essentially the only thing filling the apex predator void in Australia would be the salt water crocodile, so if you stay out of Darwin and Far North Queensland you should be fine. Because every other dangerous animal in this country is usually small and timid and surprisingly easy to avoid.

    • @PurpleShift42
      @PurpleShift42 11 місяців тому

      And let's not forget the infamously baby-eating dingos (poor Lindy Chamberlain)

    • @OpEditorial
      @OpEditorial 11 місяців тому

      @@PurpleShift42 true, though dingos are almost never encountered in most suburban areas

  • @germanomagnone
    @germanomagnone Рік тому +8

    I imagine that perhaps an evolution similar to the Thylacoleo, from a herbivore to a carnivore, could happen for example in arboreal rodents such as squirrels, I think it could happen in certain places, if the conditions were optimal for a similar adaptation.

    • @sneeringimperialist6667
      @sneeringimperialist6667 Рік тому +5

      Squirrels eat bird's eggs now. Maybe not a huge stretch.

    • @germanomagnone
      @germanomagnone Рік тому +2

      ​@@sneeringimperialist6667 well, as Ian Malcolm in Jurassic Park he once said "life finds a way".😉😉😉😉

    • @ekosubandie2094
      @ekosubandie2094 Рік тому +3

      Most rodent species are already omnivorous, so it won't be particularly difficult for at least one of them to transition into full carnivory at some point in the future anyway

    • @germanomagnone
      @germanomagnone Рік тому +1

      @@ekosubandie2094 Already Dougal Dixon in 1981 with his Falanx: "Amphimorphodus cynomorphus" (descendants of the rats that cover the lifestyle of the wolves) had thought about it, I only made a variation with another type of rodent.

    • @tijanamilenkovic3425
      @tijanamilenkovic3425 Рік тому

      Does anyone know the example of a carnivore transitioning into a herbivore? 😅

  • @sableempire9654
    @sableempire9654 Рік тому +1

    Also will add- Wombats are built like a Combat Tank. They’re grumpy AF. They hate everyone. They ignore everything not grass or another wombat. They are loners. They’re very strong and destructive. They can burrow through a dam wall. They’re perfectly predisposed to becoming carnivores.

  • @tracksuitcheems
    @tracksuitcheems Рік тому +1

    What do you mean missing? Have you seen how jacked kangaroos are?!

  • @FishHeadSalad
    @FishHeadSalad Рік тому +2

    As someone who lives in Virginia, I have always had an adoration for our only marsupial. The Biogeography that got them here would sound crazy if it weren't for continental drift.

  • @iancanada6875
    @iancanada6875 Рік тому +19

    They’re just like us, from simple herbivores to apex predators dominating their environment.

    • @tijanamilenkovic3425
      @tijanamilenkovic3425 Рік тому

      Is there is something opposite of that, from a simple predator to a large dominant herbivore 😅

    • @thanator4063
      @thanator4063 4 місяці тому

      ​@@tijanamilenkovic3425 Well... Sauropods

  • @mischanandlerbong
    @mischanandlerbong 23 дні тому

    "Australia's Apex Predator" sounds like a thriller movie title

  • @kateenniaantoine7341
    @kateenniaantoine7341 Рік тому +1

    The dingo was introduced into Australia and they thrived!

  • @banthaexplosion
    @banthaexplosion Рік тому +14

    Love her voice, she needs to narrate more often.

  • @LucidLucifer13
    @LucidLucifer13 Рік тому +21

    Love seeing videos about the history of my adopted home. And what a great one it was!

    • @Circuit7Active
      @Circuit7Active Рік тому +1

      nothing special really.

    • @infinitemonkey917
      @infinitemonkey917 Рік тому +1

      @@Circuit7Active How is a big cat sized marsupial, evolved from placid herbivores and capable of taking down large prey with it's front teeth not awesome ?

    • @MossyMozart
      @MossyMozart Рік тому

      @@infinitemonkey917 - It is most definitely awsome!

  • @themonsterbaby
    @themonsterbaby Рік тому +2

    Man I would've loved to see one of these in real life. Such a cool, unique predator.

  • @ckl9390
    @ckl9390 Рік тому +1

    Giant, carnivorous, predatory wombat with retractable claws and teeth like bolt cutters. Sort of makes you want to clone one.

  • @cac_deadlyrang
    @cac_deadlyrang Рік тому +3

    thylacoleo my beloved

  • @LincolnDWard
    @LincolnDWard Рік тому +5

    Can we please collectively agree to call these guys real-life drop bears?

  • @5daboz
    @5daboz Рік тому +2

    9:50 ... humans. I mean, who would not kill a sheep-eating koala on-sight?

  • @jwellsmediainc.4593
    @jwellsmediainc.4593 Рік тому

    The koala bear will evolve to pray on Australians in a million years. You can tell by their cute deceitful eyes they are up to something.

  • @westbysouthwest
    @westbysouthwest Рік тому +3

    I, for one, welcome our new carnivorous quokka overlords.

  • @TheGoobler
    @TheGoobler Рік тому +8

    Was the dingo omitted from discussion as a Australian carnivorous predator because it was an introduced animal?

    • @Ashtari
      @Ashtari Рік тому +3

      Dingos are considered small to medium sized. This was a video about large predators and in the time since the decline of the thyla, something should have taken it’s place as the apex large predator. But outside of humans, there are no large predators on Australia.

    • @fubberpish3614
      @fubberpish3614 Рік тому +1

      @@Ashtari large terrestrial predators that is - Australia does have large aquatic predators. Saltwater Crocodiles, various sharks and rays, cetaceans, various predatory fishes.
      But yes, modern Australia lacks large land predators, other than humans and the Dingo. I do wonder what will evolve in the future to fill this open niche - perhaps a giant dasyurid? or a predatory kangaroo? fully terrestrial crocodiles? or predatory emus?

    • @Ashtari
      @Ashtari Рік тому +3

      @@fubberpish3614 As harsh as the Australian climate is combined with the appearance of modern humans, we may actually never see a large land predator take the niche.
      We are seeing this trend around the world, where large apex land predators are in decline where ever modern humans exist, unless said humans go out of their ways to bolster the populations. Or in the case of the Brown bear it's also a generalist that can survive on humanity's refuse.

  • @GhazMazMSM
    @GhazMazMSM Рік тому +2

    Imagine if the next top carnivore of Australia ends up being a giant Platypus.

  • @Pentten
    @Pentten Рік тому +2

    The answer to the question you pose at the end could be Drop Bears being an actual thing

  • @fizola88
    @fizola88 Рік тому +5

    Did the Survey, hope it helps you and Spacetime to still be on, since I love your content.
    Was a bit scared when there wasnt Terra to choose in survey, are they ending or what?

  • @tymon5349
    @tymon5349 Рік тому +6

    So basically it was a combat wombat

    • @indyreno2933
      @indyreno2933 Рік тому

      Not really, wombats are more closely related to cuscuses and kangaroos than to marsupial lions.

    • @clusterfer
      @clusterfer Рік тому

      Combat Wombat is my new band name!

    • @clusterfer
      @clusterfer Рік тому

      ... now

    • @tijanamilenkovic9442
      @tijanamilenkovic9442 Рік тому +1

      @@clusterfer MORTAL WOMBAT! just sound so edgy and metal so is your band heavy metal

  • @brendanhoffmann8402
    @brendanhoffmann8402 Рік тому +2

    I love doing surveys, especially for a company I love so much! you're welcome!

  • @kiancuratolo903
    @kiancuratolo903 Рік тому +1

    Wonderful presentation of an interesting topic as always!

  • @KayclauShipper
    @KayclauShipper Рік тому +4

    So many marsupial variants! Wouldn't it be funny if there were a humanoid marsupial? How would humans look if we were marsupials?

    • @teej008
      @teej008 Рік тому +1

      make a cool cryptid.

    • @juritudi57yearsago59
      @juritudi57yearsago59 Рік тому

      We’d have pouches

    • @ralsim5308
      @ralsim5308 Рік тому +1

      Childbirth would have been long way easier and less risky for poor women lives

    • @KayclauShipper
      @KayclauShipper Рік тому

      @@ralsim5308 oh definitely.

    • @tijanamilenkovic9442
      @tijanamilenkovic9442 Рік тому

      @@KayclauShipper also how about marsupial seal, marsupial whale, marsupial dolphin or marsupial sea cow
      just imagine a fully marine marsupial and so many opportunities this kind of animal would have for its lifestyle

  • @nerdyninjatemptress
    @nerdyninjatemptress Рік тому +2

    Can or have you ever done a video on how human populations ended up on Australia and other islands? I’d love to know more about how humans ended up on various islands and how isolation changed those populations the same way islands can create giant or miniature animals due to the isolation.

  • @celestebredin6213
    @celestebredin6213 Рік тому

    Really wanted to know more about this! Thank you ‼️

  • @cristianroth8524
    @cristianroth8524 6 місяців тому

    I think I've had a laughing nervous breakdown over the "combat wombat". I'm still wiping my tears.

  • @meganfitzmaurice5757
    @meganfitzmaurice5757 Рік тому +17

    I would love an episode on how people extrapolate what a beast looks like (i say beasts to be more accurate because humans are animals...🤷) based on just their bones. Do they compare them to the bones of beasts that people were able to study the bones and bodies of at the same time?

    • @dixon_481
      @dixon_481 Рік тому +2

      Yeah! I know little bits and bobs about this but I'd love to know more. I think that would make a great episode.

    • @Crow0567
      @Crow0567 Рік тому +4

      This applies to ancient humans too! So "animals" works just fine here

  • @stephenbesley3177
    @stephenbesley3177 Рік тому +3

    A stabby wombat. Cute...ish

  • @KSL042
    @KSL042 Рік тому +1

    I love this channel !!!!!!!!!!!!!! I hold my breath waiting for videos to drop !!!!!!!

  • @gerardbryant1445
    @gerardbryant1445 Рік тому +2

    I've always regarded the saltwater crocodiles as the apex predator, over the northern areas of Australia at least.

  • @PeloquinDavid
    @PeloquinDavid Рік тому +3

    Oh come on! We know perfectly well which is the most fell and destructive mammal predator in Australia (and everywhere else...)

  • @deinowolfhybridhero5101
    @deinowolfhybridhero5101 Рік тому +3

    Is possible that tylacoleo could be an excellent hunter /scavenger but also a total omnivore? Something more similar to a bear than a real hipercarnivorous

    • @Meraxes6
      @Meraxes6 Рік тому +2

      Its teeth would tell us that. Looks like it doesn’t really have crushing molars like most omnivores, only cutting teeth for eating meat

    • @edwardfletcher7790
      @edwardfletcher7790 Рік тому +1

      Totally wrong direction, absolutely a hypercarnivore.

  • @Thiago100Zwetsch
    @Thiago100Zwetsch Рік тому

    I love all of your videos. Those puns in the end are oustanding as well!!

  • @alexrossouw7702
    @alexrossouw7702 Рік тому

    "A proto-wombat". I died. Adorable overload.

  • @polardiamond981
    @polardiamond981 Рік тому +3

    Hey can you guys do a video on the weird looking ancient sharks?? I especially wanna about the one with the anvil thingy on its head LOL

  • @williammurry2593
    @williammurry2593 Рік тому +4

    I requested you guys cover this at the last audience survey! Im so excited!

  • @guelo757
    @guelo757 Рік тому +1

    A Killahala in the future would have to be adorable and dangerous. I imagine that while ripping through a dead animal, you feel the urge to cuddle it. And that's how it will catch prey. I would love to see a rendering of that.

  • @gianmarcozampella5138
    @gianmarcozampella5138 Рік тому +2

    such a cool critter,I know this genus since a lot of years,and yet,I still mistake Thylacoleo with Thylacosmilus

  • @FBIandre123
    @FBIandre123 Рік тому +4

    9:53 empty? What about dingos?

    • @tijanamilenkovic9442
      @tijanamilenkovic9442 Рік тому

      they are not native nor are they marsupials

    • @FBIandre123
      @FBIandre123 Рік тому +2

      ​@@tijanamilenkovic9442 but they are in australia and they are in the top predator nich

  • @julescaru8591
    @julescaru8591 Рік тому +9

    Just a quick thank you for acknowledging the traditional owners of the land, always was, always will be!
    All the best Jules 🌈

    • @duskpede5146
      @duskpede5146 Рік тому

      ah nothing like symbolic recognition without any substantive change to real injustice

    • @julescaru8591
      @julescaru8591 Рік тому +1

      @@duskpede5146 yeah that’s true we still have a long way to go, 💕

    • @mehere8038
      @mehere8038 Рік тому +2

      would have been nice if they also recognised how connected to the eco-system the Indigenous people were & how they kept everything in perfect balance without other apex predators present! That's never been seen anywhere else in the world & presumably took a LOT of skill

    • @AngryGodzillaBirds1
      @AngryGodzillaBirds1 Рік тому +1

      ​@Duskpede what is PBS eons supposed to do about centuries-spanning colonialism

    • @carmen.eve.2033
      @carmen.eve.2033 Рік тому +1

      @@duskpede5146 recognition is the first step lol we'll get there eventually

  • @PolarAxeMC
    @PolarAxeMC Рік тому +2

    Great to see a video about Australia's unique animals! I think they are really cool and underrated, more people should know about our unique fauna, they are as cool as the rest of the world! Great vid!

  • @yt.personal.identification
    @yt.personal.identification Рік тому +1

    A Saltwater Croc has entered the chat.

  • @GenghisDon1970
    @GenghisDon1970 Рік тому +38

    I dunno...I think the apex predators simply weren't mammalian (nor marsupial); they were reptiles. Huge monitor lizards like Komodo dragons or Varanus Priscus/Megalania & land crocodilians like Quinkana. It'd not like the marsupial lion isn't impressive, but the real issue was less about a missing apex predator & more about the apex predator not being a mammal at all. Too unthinkable for many.

    • @seanmckelvey6618
      @seanmckelvey6618 Рік тому +15

      This is exactly it. I think people are still bothered by the fact that there could exist a place during that time that didn't have mammalian apex predators, which I think stems from this deeply held belief that mammals are somehow inherently superior to reptiles or birds. Thylacoleo is an impressive creature for sure, but it's not big enough to be the apex predator when the largest game are things like Diprotodon and gigantic Kangaroos. You know what was more than big enough though? The giant monitor lizard and blade toothed land crocodiles. It bugs me that people can conceive of Australia's isolation being the reason for something like the marsupial lion existing, but can't seem to truly conceive of it's isolation also meaning that mammals never reached the spot of top predator.

    • @ZombieBarioth
      @ZombieBarioth Рік тому +7

      In fairness people do accept mammals aren't always the apex predator, that thinking apparently just ends with the dinosaurs. As though we somehow reached a point where mammals were too big to fail. Maybe we did, but Australian mammals clearly never got that far. That's the part people can't seem to wrap their heads around.

    • @GenghisDon1970
      @GenghisDon1970 Рік тому

      @@ZombieBarioth well said

    • @GenghisDon1970
      @GenghisDon1970 Рік тому

      @@seanmckelvey6618 yep!

    • @LastFirstism
      @LastFirstism Рік тому +1

      @@seanmckelvey6618 I think it is simply because mammal's superior thermoregulatory ability means that they can be more active terrestrial hunters than reptiles. Although monitor's unique among lizards ability to breathe while running does mean they can be more active than other reptiles and marsupials do tend to have lower metabolisms, hence lower activity levels. But lizards and crocodiles generally eat less frequently and move around less than their mammalian equivalents.
      Australia losing its placental mammals does clearly change things, though. And reptiles may have beat mammals to many of those niches.

  • @drstone3418
    @drstone3418 Рік тому +4

    Dingos are Apex predators

    • @FeralDropbear
      @FeralDropbear Рік тому +3

      Dingos are not native, they were brought over by early humans to the continent but yes they are the apex predators of Australia now even though only small in comparison to Thylacoleo.

  • @pastmasterjt6186
    @pastmasterjt6186 Рік тому +5

    I have never clicked a video so fast
    Aussie Aussie Aussie oi oi oi

  • @naomiwright4895
    @naomiwright4895 Рік тому

    The arms on that marsupial cat!

  • @DemonetisedZone
    @DemonetisedZone 10 місяців тому +1

    The extinction of megafauna correlates with the arrival of homo sapiens all over the world

  • @joshuaevans6295
    @joshuaevans6295 Рік тому +4

    "Koala family" "Skilled climber" WAIT ARE YOU SAING THIS WAS AN IRL DROP BEAR

  • @beejohare4684
    @beejohare4684 Рік тому +5

    Looking forward to the Australian Drop-Bear video, the deadliest land animal here in Oz 😉

    • @siobhantheprawn
      @siobhantheprawn Рік тому +2

      My cousin lost an ear to a drop bear, walked right under the tree with a Vegemite sandwich and BAM. Lucky it didn't take his head off.
      He only got away by calling it a shrimp which as we all know is the only thing that will make a Drop Bear retreat.
      Those of you that don't know, a Drop Bears only eat local produce, if it thinks you're a foreigner it will reject you.

    • @richardhaselwood9478
      @richardhaselwood9478 Рік тому

      @@siobhantheprawn Truly vicious bastards.

    • @Reoh0z
      @Reoh0z Рік тому +1

      @@siobhantheprawn That's why we always walk around with a Vegemite sandwich in hand, its drop bear insurance. Just wave it at them, toss it over and run!

  • @poulthomas469
    @poulthomas469 Рік тому

    Shout out for the survey. The more people who speak up the better!

  • @Hmm...Whats-Their-Name
    @Hmm...Whats-Their-Name Рік тому

    Seriously, of all the amazing bits from this video, 10:08 is my favorite, so-PBS moment. Thanks for all you do.