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BIOLOGY:
- ANATOMY -
MISTAKEN IDENTITY
(Thylacine and Zebra Duiker Stripe Pattern Comparison)
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A Case of Mistaken Identity:

    The museum is occasionally asked to identify photographs of what people believe to be thylacine skins.  The enquirers are often disappointed to learn that their presumed thylacine skin actually belongs to a small species of African antelope, the Zebra duiker (Cephalophus zebra), found in Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast), Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia.

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thylacine (Thylacinus cynocephalus) - specimen skin 26.9.1910 (World Museum, Liverpool)
Zebra duiker (Cephalophus zebra)
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Thylacine (Thylacinus cynocephalus) skin (with head end facing downward).  Bifurcated (split) stripe circled in red, and interconnecting band in blue.
Photo: Nicholas Ayliffe (ITSD 5th Revision 2013).
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The African Zebra duiker (Cephalophus zebra), also known as the Banded duiker or Zebra antelope.
Photo: Tanya Dewey.
(Animal Diversity Web - UMMZ)

    Fortunately, there are several distinguishing characteristics that enable ease of identification between the respective skins:

1.  The stripe pattern of the duiker is bolder (darker) than that of the thylacine.
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2.  The terminations of the stripes in the thylacine are sharp, whereas those of the duiker are blunt.
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3.  There is no bifurcation (splitting) of any of the stripes in the duiker, whereas in the thylacine, bifurcation is frequently found.
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4.  There are numerous interconnecting bands linking the stripes in the thylacine, but these are completely absent in the duiker.
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5.  In the thylacine, the stripes over the thigh are the longest, usually the 4th and 5th bands anterior to the root of the tail running down the rear leg, whereas in the duiker, there is relative uniformity of stripe length.
side-by-side comparison of the stripe patterns of the thylacine (left) and the Zebra duiker (right)
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A side-by-side comparison of the stripe patterns of the thylacine (left) and the Zebra duiker (right).
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thylacine (Thylacinus cynocephalus)
Zebra duiker (Cephalophus zebra)
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Graduation of stripe length in the case in the thylacine, versus uniformity of stripe length as seen in the Zebra duiker.
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