Intact femur of ancient Territory tiger unearthed at Alcoota reserve

A team from the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory excavating the Alcoota Scientific Reserve, roughly 150 kilometres north-east of Alice Springs, has recovered an intact femur of the extinct Territory tiger, Thylacinus potens. Senior curator Adam Yates described the discovery as the first complete limb bone of this species, which roamed Central Australia during the late Miocene when the climate was wetter and rivers flowed year-round.

The bone suggests the animal was not as massive as previously thought, possessing a large head but a relatively modest body. Its teeth appear broader than those of the Tasmanian thylacine, implying a diet that included tougher parts of carcasses such as bone and sinew. The femur will be carefully extracted and taken to Megafauna Central in Alice Springs for detailed analysis, offering new insights into the size and ecology of this ancient predator.