Its shared bloodline meant that while its predecessors were herbivorous, the transfer to Australia by rafting, and the lack of adequate sustenance led them to evolve into carnivores, which is an unprecedented occurrence. While it is now thought that T. carnifex was indeed a carnivore, its diet and behaviour have been intensely debated. In addition to an early description as a herbivore, "the species has been speculatively portrayed as a consumer of crocodile eggs, a hyaena-like scavenger, a melon specialist, a leopard-like predator that dragged prey into trees, a slow-to-medium-paced runner incapable of climbing, a terrestrial version of a cookie-cutter shark or raider of kangaroo pouches, and a bear-like super-predator".[2]