About Tasmanian devils. Published: 03/08/2011 History | Description | Distribution | Habitat | Breeding | Diet | Behaviour | FAQs History Devils once occurred on mainland Australia, with fossils having been found widely. But it is believed the devil became extinct on the mainland some 400 years ago – before European settlement. Devils probably became extinct there due to increasing aridity and the spread of the dingo, which was prevented by Bass Strait from entering Tasmania.
Today the devil is a Tasmanian icon. But it hasn’t always held this status. Description The world's largest surviving carnivorous marsupial, the devil has a thick-set, squat build, with a relatively large, broad head and short, thick tail. Distribution Anecdotal evidence suggests that devil numbers were quite variable over the past century, but were at historic highs in the early 1990s. Habitat Despite the decline in numbers since the early 1990s, populations of Tasmanian devils remain widespread in Tasmania from the coast to the mountains. Tasmanian devil facial tumour disease: lessons for conservation biology 10.1016/j.tree.2008.07.001 : Trends in Ecology & Evolution | ScienceDirect.com. Review Hamish McCallum School of Zoology, The University of Tasmania, Private Bag 5, Hobart 7000, Australia Available online 19 August 2008 Choose an option to locate/access this article: Check if you have access through your login credentials or your institution Check access DOI: 10.1016/j.tree.2008.07.001 Get rights and content Tasmanian devil facial tumour disease is an infectious cancer that threatens the largest surviving marsupial carnivore with extinction.
Copyright © 2008 Elsevier Ltd. Contagious cancer: The evolution of a killer—By David Quammen. Devil facial tumour disease. Devil facial tumour disease causes tumours to form in and around the mouth, interfering with feeding and eventually leading to death by starvation. Devil facial tumour disease (DFTD) is an aggressive non-viral transmissible parasitic cancer—which likely originated in Schwann cells—that affects Tasmanian devils.[1][2][3][4] The first "official case" was described in 1996, in Australia. In the subsequent decade the disease ravaged Tasmania's wild devils, with estimates of decline ranging from 20% to as much as a 50% of the devil population, across over 65% of the state.[5][6] Affected high-density populations suffer up to 100% mortality in 12–18 months.[7] The disease has mainly been concentrated in Tasmania's eastern half. Visible signs of DFTD begin with lesions and lumps around the mouth.
These develop into cancerous tumours that may spread from the face to the entire body. Six females have been found with a partial immunity. Characteristics[edit] Pathology[edit] History[edit] 'Immortal' Tasmanian devil brings vaccine hope - life - 17 February 2012. A bizarre facial cancer threatening to wipe out the Tasmanian devil probably evolved from a single female about 16 years ago, new scans of the cancer reveal. The scans are also helping to identify gene mutations found in the cancer but not healthy tissue, which might provide targets for a vaccine to rescue the endangered species.
Devil facial tumour disease is unusual in that the cancer cells themselves act as infectious agents. The cells spread between animals through biting during fights or mating. A vaccine could prime uninfected animals against the cancer if they are subsequently bitten. "Now we know which genes are mutated, we can begin assessing which ones might be good antigens for a vaccine," says Elizabeth Murchison of the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute in Hinxton, UK, who led the team. The immortal devil After analysing DNA from 104 tumours in 69 devils, Murchison found that all of them trace back to a single female – dubbed the "immortal devil".
Evolution of a cancer.