X-rays show skull of extinct thylacine in collector's auction find
An English taxidermist and collector was adamant he had snapped up a rare find — and now X-rays confirm he is the owner of a thylacine skull.
X-rays of a taxidermied head advertised as a fox at auction have revealed it to be an intact skull of an extinct thylacine, a Tasmanian tiger. The specimen was purchased by UK collector James Cranfield for £62,000 ($120,000) in an auction, significantly above the expected price. The nearly perfect skull is set to be added to the International Thylacine Specimen Database, with scientists planning to collect DNA samples.
Cranfield, who owns a curiosity shop, recognized the specimen as a thylacine after inspecting the teeth, noting the unique number of upper incisors that foxes lack. The specimen, believed to have been preserved in the late 1800s, was initially listed as a fox head, leading to a heated bidding war. Despite its poor condition and naive mount, the thylacine is considered historically significant, with only 16 specimens known to exist in private hands. Cranfield, along with scientists, hopes to de-extinct the thylacine using DNA testing.
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