Convergent Evolution: Dasyuromorphia And Carnivora

Thylacines from a German illustration of marsupials from 1890.

A newly discovered photograph of a captive thylacine at Beaumaris Zoo c.1913, found in a private collection in the U.K. by thylacine enthusiast Alan Pringle.

The photo was one of three purchased at Salamanca Market in Hobart over 20 years ago. [x]

This thylacine footage was recently rediscovered by researchers Gareth Linnard, Branden Holmes and Mike Williams on March 4, 2020.

Originally filmed by the Bester family c. 1933-1936, the 9.5mm black and white film includes 7 seconds of a captive thylacine in its enclosure at the Beaumaris Zoo.

Such a rare and amazing find!

“Driftwood Thylacine” by Fiona Francois, done in pencil and charcoal. [x]

Kelpie

Powerful shapeshifting equine, lure people into the water, usually in the form of a horse or a beautiful young woman, in order to drown them and feast on their corpses.

The door of the Holy Trinity Church in Blythburgh, England, boasts the proposed claw marks of Black Shuck. On August 4th, 1577, the Hellhound burst through the door of the church during a thunderstorm, interrupting the congregation in their meeting. Records state that two people, a man and a boy, were killed by the beast and the steeple of the church collapsed.  The marks were made when Black Shuck left the church after the attack. 

Beebe’s Manta Ray was first reported by William Beebe nearby the Galapagos Islands on April 27th, 1923. He described the manta as having a 10 foot wingspan. Its back is a dark brown with distinctive white bands that go halfway down its back to either side of its head. The very tips of the wings are also white in color. The manta supposedly collided with Beebe’s vessel briefly before quickly retreating from it.