McCoy and Sarcophilus Harrisii Boitard, 1842 - A diabolical relationship

Frederick McCoy contributed to the knowledge of the fossil record of the Tasmanian Devil Sarcophilus harrisii Boitard, 1842 in Victoria by including a number of figured specimens in the Prodromus of the Palaeontology of Victoria. However, an article McCoy wrote under the pseudonym 'Microzooni highlighted his anti-Darwinian thoughts and embraced a successionist viewpoint. The article, entitled 'Pre-historic Tasmanian Devils', is an interesting account of zoogeography from a successionist perspective, and is used here to contrast McCoy's anti-evolutionary viewpoint with modern Darwinian thought. A number of fossil sarcophilines discovered since McCoy's death illustrate the shortcomings of McCoy's favoured anti-Darwinian viewpoint when discussing the nature of evolution and extinction.<br>