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Animals · Australia and Oceania

Tasmanian devil

Sarcophilus harrisii

The most powerful bite among mammals

A Tasmanian devil opens its jaws almost at a right angle, showing off its forty-two sharp teeth.
A Tasmanian devil opens its jaws almost at a right angle, showing off its forty-two sharp teeth.
  • Status: Endangered
  • Only on the island of Tasmania, among forests, rocks, and tall grass

Numbers

Weight
23 lbmales from 20 to 26 lb; females reach 13 to 18 lb
Length
31 intail included, about 10 in; females measure 26 to 28 in
Height
16 inshoulder height, from 12 to 16 in
Lifespan
5 yearsin the wild; the oldest recorded, Coolah, died in captivity at seven and a half years
Bite force
553 newtonsproportionally 62 percent more powerful than a lion
Speed
15 mphmaintained for one mile
Meal in half an hour
40 % of body weightaverage daily consumption equal to 15 percent of weight

Ten fun facts

  1. its bite generates 553 newtons of force, which is enough to pierce metal sheets and crush thick bones and teeth.

  2. about sixteen percent of these animals are completely black, missing the usual white crescent patch across their chest.

  3. it can smell a dead carcass from half a mile away, even when the decaying body is buried underground.

  4. it has forty-two teeth just like a dog, but any broken or lost teeth will never grow back again.

  5. it uses its tail to store fat, so the tail swells thick when food is abundant and shrinks during lean times.

  6. it travels an average of five miles in a single night, though some individuals have covered over thirty miles.

  7. it does not sweat and cools down by panting like a dog, which is a very rare trait among marsupials.

  8. its droppings are six to ten inches long and look gray because of all the crushed bones inside them.

  9. around a single carcass, scientists counted twenty distinct body postures and eleven different calls used to communicate with rivals.

  10. it went extinct on the Australian mainland about four hundred years before European settlers arrived there in 1788.

The quiz answers

Five questions about this animal. Pick an answer and find out if it is the right one.

Question 1 of 5

What makes the Tasmanian devil so exceptional?

Question 2 of 5

Where does its name come from?

Question 3 of 5

What does it mainly feed on?

Question 4 of 5

How many young can a female give birth to?

Question 5 of 5

What disease threatens the species today?

Try it yourself

Experiment 1

Open your mouth as wide as possible in front of a mirror and measure the angle. This marsupial can open its jaws up to eighty degrees.

Experiment 2

Walk five miles using a step counter on your phone. That is the average distance a Tasmanian devil travels during a single night in search of food.

Experiment 3

Calculate forty percent of your total body weight. That is the huge amount of food this wild animal can devour in just thirty minutes.

Data from Wikidata (Q134964) and Wikipedia (Tasmanian devil).