I can’t tell you how badly I want someone to find a real, living Thylacine. =(

Yes, that is what I was referring to. Thanks for posting the link. I had seen it awhile back but had forgotten what the mutation is called (a “Sampson” fox).

I wonder if animals with this mutation will have a better chance now than in the past, of surviving and producing offspring, due to the warming climate? The Sampson mutation apparently produces a coat without the long shaggy guard hairs that give a red fox its typical appearaance. Maybe this is evolution in action.

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2006/03/0321_060321_tyco_fox.html

http://scienceblogs.com/clock/2007/02/hairless_grey_foxes_in_north_c.php

The point is, when brushtail possums walk along on all fours, their tails commonly stick up in the air.

A second interesting point is that in the earliest fauna records of Queensland, the “Queensland tiger” appears, then suddenly there are no more records in official books. Was this thylacoleo? Was it a prank that slipped into publication? Was there a real animal and if so, is it still there now?

Back to the report at hand, the most likely choices would have to be dog then dingo. Following that, possibly a cat or fox, and then your less credible creatures like thylacines and thylacoleo.

The other creature that comes to mind is “Rilla’s Critter” for the stripes on the front half of its body. However, even though it seems to have a small head, its chest appears quite heavy-set, unlike the description of this animal - although mange, malnutrition… they can alter appearances somewhat.

Someone asked what time it gets dark here. Sunset is a few minutes after 8 pm, and all daylight is gone by about 8:30 at the moment.

Great info on the thylacine Kittenz!

All these animals have separately evolved similar adaptations in response to the same selective pressures and needs of the environment or niche that they occupy. The dolphins and sharks, for instance, because that body shape is the best one for operating in their marine environment. The environment is going to favor the adaptations and mutations that are most conducive to survival. And so you come to the Thylacines.

Thylacines evolved on an isolated continent, without any dogs (and even if they COULD interbreed with dogs, which they can’t, let’s remember dingoes weren’t introduced until much later.), and without any biological connection to dogs, yet they bear a remarkable physical resemblance largely because they fill the same ecological niche. It really is quite fascinating to think about.

And notice that I use the present tense when referring to the Thylacine too, because I agree with Kittenz that they are perhaps not extinct yet.