Stephen Wroe

Stephen Wroe
Nationality	Australian
Alma mater	University of New South Wales
Known for	Carnivores, marsupials
Scientific career
Fields	Palaeontology, Zoology
Institutions	University of Newcastle (Australia)

Stephen Wroe (also known as Steve Wroe) is an Australian vertebrate palaeontologist, ^[1] biomechanist, ^[2] YouTuber, and science communicator.

As a researcher, he is best known for his work describing and evaluating carnivores, especially measuring their bite force quotient. ^[3]

Currently, he is associate professor of the School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences at the University of New South Wales, and also Conjoint Associate Professor at the School of Engineering, University of Newcastle (Australia).

Research

He obtained a science degree at the University of New South Wales in 1991 and obtained a Ph.D. in paleontology at the same university in 1996. ^[4]

Publications

Popular Science

• Attard, M.; Wroe, S (June 2012). "The thylacine myth". Australasian Science . 33 (5): 19–22. ISSN   1442-679X.
• Roe, S. (2005). "On little lizards and the big extinction blame game" (PDF). Guest Editorial. Quaternary Australasia. 23 (1): 8–12. ISSN   0811-0433.
• Wroe, Stephen (May 1999). "Killer Kangaroos and Other Murderous Marsupials". Scientific American . 280 (5): 68–74. ISSN   0036-8733. JSTOR   stable/26058244.

• Wroe, Stephen (2004). "Factors behind the rarity of large mammalian carnivores". Australasian Science: 21–23. ISSN   1442-679X.
• Wroe, Stephen; Field, Judith; Fullagar, Richard (Winter 2002). "Lost Giants" (PDF). Nature Australia. 27 (5). Australian Museum: 54–61. ISSN   1324-2598.

Media

Wroe was quoted by BBC News on the issue of whether Neanderthals could speak. ^[5]

TV Shows

He has appeared in:

Year	Title	Season	Episode No.	Series Title	Network
2001	Marsupial Carnivores	1	9	Killer Instinct with Rob Bredl	Amazon Prime
2002	What Killed the Mega Beasts?	-	-	-	Discovery Channel
2009	Death of the Mega Beasts	-	-	-	Discovery Channel
2009	Monster Shark	1	5	Prehistoric Predators	National Geographic Channel

YouTube Channel

Wroe's YouTube channel is called "Real Paleontology".

Honours

Wroe has had the species Protamalleus stevewroei named after him. [3]

References

1. Cooper, Dani (6 September 2007). "Thylacine skull shows how the dingo did it". Australian Broadcasting Corporation . Retrieved 22 September 2025.
2. Choi, Charles Q. (4 August 2008). "110-ton shark's bite more powerful than T. rex's". NBC News via LiveScience . Retrieved 22 September 2025.
3. Churchill, Timothy J.; Archer, Michael; Hand, Suzanne J. "Three new malleodectids (Marsupialia, Malleodectidae) from the late Oligocene and early Miocene deposits of the Riversleigh World Heritage area, northwestern Queensland". Alcheringa . doi:10.1080/08912963.2025.2543075. ISSN   0311-5518. The species name stevewroei honours Professor Steve Wroe for his significant contributions to Australian mammalian palaeontology, particularly in the description and interpretation of fossil dasyuromorphians. The name also acknowledges his influential research into the biomechanics of bite force in extinct mammalian carnivores, which has greatly advanced understanding of functional morphology and predatory adaptations in deep time.
4. "Stephen Wroe". une.au.academia.edu. Retrieved 22 February 2025.
5. Hogenboom, Melissa (20 December 2013). "Neanderthals could speak like modern humans, study suggests". BBC News . Retrieved 22 September 2025.

External links

• Wroe's profile on Google Scholar
• "Real Paleontology", his YouTube Channel
• Stephen Wroe - IMDb His entry in the Internet Movie Database. Not to be confused with that of Steve Wroe, a cameraman and actor.