[Art] Thylacoleo as Totem

[moonvoice]

Thylacoleo as Totem

The Thylacoleo is an extinct, marsupial carnivore; often referred to as a 'marsupial lion.' They are megafauna of Australia, and at the time were the largest predator.

Interestingly they possessed opposable thumbs and had retractable claws (unheard of in marsupials). They also had the strongest bite of any mammal - alive or extinct.

Stephen Wroe, specialist in marsupial evolution in Australia, has posited that the Thylacoleo was the most specialised carnivorous mammal of all time.

Thylacoleo is also a personal - and now long-term - animal guide of mine. :) This picture turned out perfectly (in terms of what I wanted from it). Biaimundi is happy; and so am I.






NOT FOR SALE.
18.5 x 20.5cm (or 7.4 x 8 in)
illo's board, fineliner, aquarelle, pencil, metallic and iridescent paint

Comments

[sotepetsenu.livejournal.com]

Wow. That's all I can say.

[moonvoice.livejournal.com]

Wow is good. :)

[jet-ski.livejournal.com]

gorgeous and such a predator! can I ask what the red arrows symbolise?

[moonvoice.livejournal.com]

The glyph is... more to do with my personal mythology; what thylacoleo has told me.

But in general, I see spears/arrows as a sign of manifesting energy. Downwards; it's more draining the energy away. So I suppose it could have a mainstream interpretation of manifesting energy.

But for me personally, it's to do with the fact that Biaimundi has four spears stuck in his back. Heh.

[umbreons-shadow.livejournal.com]

beautiful!! :D

[moonvoice.livejournal.com]

Thank you!

[gemfyre.livejournal.com]

I sure wouldn't want to be caught between those teeth. There's a definite marsupialness about him despite the fact that he's more like a tiger in behaviour.

[moonvoice.livejournal.com]

Yeah I don't think I'd ever play 'put my hand in your mouth' with a Thylacoleo.

[bewylderbeast.livejournal.com]

I love the warmth and energy in this. You can just feel that he is close to you.

[moonvoice.livejournal.com]

Aw thank you. :)

[tsukikokoro.livejournal.com]

Somehow I didn't realize that Thylacoleo and Tasmanian Tiger (Thylacine... my bad) were different creatures until now! I think this piece is absolutely stunning, and something you should definitely be proud of. :)

[moonvoice.livejournal.com]

Hee, yeah different. :D :D :D

[dibeartach.livejournal.com]

Interesting teeth. Why on earth does Biaimundi have spears in him? Doesn't that hurt?
I like the whiskers, and the warmth.

xoxox

[darakat-ewr.livejournal.com]

They look more like runes to me, but I could be wrong

[moonvoice.livejournal.com]

*nods* They look a lot like the rune Tyr/Teiwaurz, which was based on the idea of a pillar and then became the concept of the 'pillar of justice,' or 'justice.'

[weishaupt.livejournal.com]

Hey so maybe Biaimundi really has Tyr runes in his back ;p

[moonvoice.livejournal.com]

Their teeth are *awesome*

As for spears... it's a long story, and I don't think they hurt him much anymore.

[deathofone.livejournal.com]

I'm loving the teeth! But the whole piece is amazing. :)

[moonvoice.livejournal.com]

Thanks!

[firehauke.livejournal.com]

really nice.

i expect to see it as one of your icons soon :)

[sidheblessed.livejournal.com]

OMG. *love*

[moonvoice.livejournal.com]

*bounces*

[anrui-ichido.livejournal.com]

Ahh, squee~! Marsupial!

This is absolutely amazing!

[moonvoice.livejournal.com]

Marsupials are win. I have another coming up in three 'totems' time. Heh.

[silere.livejournal.com]

woo. Slightly shivery at this one. that black space between his teeth keeps drawing my eye. I don't want to know what it feels like between his teeth.

I love his eye, and there's a sense of movement to me, like he's mid-stride.

He's beautiful.
Thank you for the image of him.

(i'm stupidly happy that i understood the four-spear glyph before you explained. ~rolls eyes at self~)

<3<3<3

[moonvoice.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I don't think any animal wants to know what it's like between those teeth. Eesh. Imagine if he just sneezed by accident? Your whole hand would come off!!

Heh.

[heathwitch.livejournal.com]

This one gives me the shivers -- amazing! :)

[moonvoice.livejournal.com]

Yay for shivers. *grins*

[paleo.livejournal.com]

This is beyond awesome! I'm a fan of the teeth, of course. The black band reminds me of the caves you talk about. The background...was he a desert or grassland beast?
It is interesting that this is one of the few profiled totems that you've done where the animal is looking directly at the viewer. Makes me think he really wanted a strong connection to you as you drew him.

[zuki-san.livejournal.com]

I seem to recall that thylacoleo was an ambush predator that dropped down from trees, actually. Pia can correct me if I'm wrong, though.

[moonvoice.livejournal.com]

It was probably an ambush predator; but 'ambush predator' includes sneaking up on prey on the land, as well as dropping down out of trees.

There is evidence to suggest that Thylacoleo could climb trees, but some paleontologists don't even know if they actually did - if that's the case, then ambush hunting happened on the ground.

That said, they probably did ambush predate from trees - and probably around billabongs and water-holes, where much of their prey had to go to drink (even when Australia was more heavily forested, it never had a wealth of fresh-water). And scientists don't know if what's true for Thylacoleo carnifex is also true of Thylacoleo hilli and Thylacoleo crassidentatus.

[moonvoice.livejournal.com]

They probably lived in arid scrub and woodland areas. So probably bush, mallee, kwongan and that type of landscape.

Makes me think he really wanted a strong connection to you as you drew him.

*nods* I think because I had that animal living 'in' me for such a long time, that connection is going to come through regardless. Unlike animals I only invite for a day or two, Thylacoleo and I lived together until I broke one of my teeth for him. Lol.

I love the teeth.

[trypanocorax.livejournal.com]

OH, but this is amazing!!! One of your best yet! I LOVE the textures, especially around the eye.
Immediately rushed to the bookshelf to research Thylacoleo. What an extraordinary species it must have been...

[moonvoice.livejournal.com]

Hey I did a rook in this style the other day; want me to send you a link? They are WEIRD looking birds. Lol.

And Thylacoleo was amazing. :) :) :)

[trypanocorax.livejournal.com]

Oo, yes please!!! Rooks have such a beautiful weirdness that would be SO in keeping with your work! You are SO astonishingly talented

[moonvoice.livejournal.com]

http://ravenari.deviantart.com/art/Rook-as-Totem-105730294

They are weird but awesome looking. Lol.

[trypanocorax.livejournal.com]

That's WONDERFUL!!!! I love the grading of the colour on the bill, and you have TOTALLY captured that expression that they have! I love your backgrounds too! Beautiful!

[mirrorred-star.livejournal.com]

It looks both sort-of-cute and very-very-nasty at the same time.