Simplify the following text for a Grade 5 native English-speaking person.
Original: It preceded the modern thylacine by 4 â `` 6 million years , and was 5 % bigger , was more robust and had a shorter , broader skull .
Simplified: In some ways it was more robust and had a shorter , broader skull than the modern Thylacine . The head and body together were around 5 ft long .