High-quality fossil dates support a synchronous, Late Holocene extinction of devils and thylacines in mainland Australia.

Lauren C White, Frédérik Saltré, Corey J A Bradshaw, Jeremy J Austin

January 2018 Biol Lett

Synopsis of Social media discussions

Several discussions reflect curiosity about the causes of extinction, with phrases like 'the cause of these extinctions is the subject of debate' and mention of various hypotheses, demonstrating moderate engagement and interest. The tone is informational, emphasizing scientific debates rather than emotional reactions, which influences a moderate impact score.

A
Agreement
 Moderate agreement

Most discussions acknowledge the study's findings that suggest a synchronous extinction event, showing general agreement with the article's conclusions.

I
Interest
 Moderate level of interest

Participants show moderate interest by referencing debates over causes like dingoes, human activity, and climate change, indicating an engagement with the broader implications.

E
Engagement
 Neutral engagement

While some users mention hypotheses and scientific debates, there is limited deep analysis or debate within these posts.

I
Impact
 Moderate level of impact

The discussion highlights recognition of the article's significance in understanding extinction patterns, but lacks widespread calls for action or policy change.

Social Mentions

YouTube

2 Videos

Facebook

2 Posts

Twitter

4 Posts

Blogs

2 Articles

News

2 Articles

Reddit

2 Posts

Metrics

Video Views

217,451

Total Likes

6,476

Extended Reach

245,770

Social Features

14

Timeline: Posts about article

Top Social Media Posts

Posts referencing the article

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210 views

  • Caroline Snow
    @Carolin21440680 (Twitter)

    RT @Karmageddon67: @tilly64 @WagnerKnew @raythemouse FYI “The cause of these extinctions is the subject of debate, with introduced dingoe…
    view full post

    December 22, 2021

    2

  • Ray Raymond
    @raythemouse (Twitter)

    RT @Karmageddon67: @tilly64 @WagnerKnew @raythemouse FYI “The cause of these extinctions is the subject of debate, with introduced dingoe…
    view full post

    December 22, 2021

    2

  • Roadkill Wallaby Reef Foundation
    @Karmageddon67 (Twitter)

    @tilly64 @WagnerKnew @raythemouse FYI “The cause of these extinctions is the subject of debate, with introduced dingoes, human intensification and climate change being the three main competing, but not necessarily mutually exclusive, hypotheses [3].” https://t.co/X4yklWq8oi
    view full post

    December 21, 2021

    1

    2

  • Roadkill Wallaby Reef Foundation
    @Karmageddon67 (Twitter)

    @McAffee @JoelMCurzon @AidaGreenbury https://t.co/X4yklWq8oi
    view full post

    May 20, 2021

    1

Abstract Synopsis

  • Recent, high-quality fossil dating indicates that the extinction of the Tasmanian devil and thylacine on mainland Australia happened around 3179 to 3227 years BP, supporting the idea that their extinctions were synchronous.
  • Earlier fossil dates suggested these extinctions occurred around 25,500 years BP, but many of those dates have now been rejected as unreliable, challenging the previous assumption of a single, shared cause.
  • The study introduces new radiocarbon ages and utilizes advanced statistical methods to confirm that both species went extinct at roughly the same time during the mid-Holocene, reinforcing the hypothesis of a common extinction event.