The thylacine, also commonly known as the Tasmanian tiger or Tasmanian wolf, is an extinct carnivorous marsupial that was native to the Australian mainland and the islands of Tasmania and New Guinea. The thylacine died out in New Guinea and mainland Australia around 3,600–3,200 years ago, prior to the arrival of Europeans, possibly because of the introduction of the dingo, whose earliest record dates to around the same time, but which never reached Tasmania. Prior to European settlement, around 5,000 remained in the wild on Tasmania. Beginning in the nineteenth century, they were perceived as a threat to the livestock of farmers and bounty hunting was introduced. The last known of its species died in 1936 at Hobart Zoo in Tasmania. The thylacine is widespread in popular culture and is a cultural icon in Australia.
Thylacinidae is an extinct family of carnivorous marsupials from the order Dasyuromorphia. The only species to survive into modern times was the thylacine, which became extinct in 1936.
Australidelphia is the superorder that contains roughly three-quarters of all marsupials, including all those native to Australasia and a single species – the monito del monte – from South America. All other American marsupials are members of the Ameridelphia. Analysis of retrotransposon insertion sites in the nuclear DNA of a variety of marsupials has shown that the South American monito del monte's lineage is the most basal of the superorder.
Thylacoleo is an extinct genus of carnivorous marsupials that lived in Australia from the late Pliocene to the Late Pleistocene, often known as marsupial lions. They were the largest and last members of the family Thylacoleonidae, occupying the position of apex predator within Australian ecosystems. The largest and last species, Thylacoleo carnifex, approached the weight of a lioness. The estimated average weight for the species ranges from 101 to 130 kg.
Thylacinus potens was the largest species of the family Thylacinidae, originally known from a single poorly preserved fossil discovered by Michael O. Woodburne in 1967 in a Late Miocene locality near Alice Springs, Northern Territory. It preceded the most recent species of thylacine by 4–6 million years, and was 5% bigger, was more robust and had a shorter, broader skull. Its size is estimated to be similar to that of a grey wolf; the head and body together were around 5 feet long, and its teeth were less adapted for shearing compared to those of the now-extinct thylacine.
Thylacoleonidae is a family of extinct carnivorous diprotodontian marsupials from Australia, referred to as marsupial lions. The best known is Thylacoleo carnifex, also called the marsupial lion. The clade ranged from the Late Oligocene to the Late Pleistocene, with some earlier species the size of a possum, while the youngest members of the family belonging to the genus Thylacoleo reached sizes comparable to living big cats.
Badjcinus is an extinct thylacinid marsupial. It is the earliest and most primitive known thylacinid, living 23 to 28 million years ago in the late Oligocene.
Wakaleo is an extinct genus of medium-sized thylacoleonids that lived in Australia in the Late Oligocene and Miocene Epochs.
The genus Nimbacinus contains two species of carnivorous, quadrupedal marsupials in Australia both of which are extinct:
Thylacinus macknessi lived during the early Miocene and is the oldest known member of the genus Thylacinus. It is named after Brian Mackness, a supporter of Australian vertebrate paleontology.
Thylacinus megiriani lived during the late Miocene, 8 million years ago; the area T. megiriani inhabited in the Northern Territory was covered in forest with a permanent supply of water.
Maximucinus is an extinct genus of thylacinid that lived during the Middle Miocene in what is now Queensland, Australia. It is known only a second upper molar found at the Riversleigh World Heritage Area. It was the largest thylacinid of its time, attaining a body size of 18 kg. The genus is monotypic, containing only one species, Maximucinus muirheadae.
Muribacinus is an extinct genus of thylacinid that lived during the middle Miocene in what is now northwestern Queensland, Australia. It was described in 1995 from remains collected at the Riversleigh World Heritage Area. Only one species is known, M. gadiyuli.
Ngamalacinus is an extinct genus of thylacinid marsupial that lived during the late Oligocene and early Miocene of Australia. Fossils have been found in Riversleigh.
Tyarrpecinus is an extinct genus of thylacinid that lived during the late Miocene in what is now the Northern Territory, Australia. It is known only from a partial skull bone that was reconstructed from numerous fragments. It was a small thylacinid and represents a late surviving relict. The genus is monotypic, containing only one species, Tyarrpecinus rothi.
Wabulacinus is a poorly known genus of thylacinid marsupial from Early Miocene and possibly Late Oligocene deposits at the Riversleigh World Heritage Area in Queensland. It consists of two species, the type species W. ridei and W. macknessi. The snout of W. ridei was relatively broad, while W. macknessi had a noticeably elongated skull. Both species are thought to have been hypercarnivorous.
Riversleigh fauna is the collective term for any species of animal identified in fossil sites located in the Riversleigh World Heritage Area.
Lekaneleo is a fossil genus of carnivorous marsupial that existed during the early Miocene in Australia. Once allied to the type species of the genus Priscileo, later placed as Wakaleo pitikantensis, "Priscileo" roskellyae was subsequently transferred to its own genus Lekaneleo.
Thylacinus yorkellus is a fossil species of carnivorous marsupial, a sister species of the recently extinct Thylacinus cynocephalus, the Tasmanian tiger, both of which existed on mainland Australia.
William D. Turnbull (1922-2011) was an American paleontologist associated with the Chicago Field Museum. He published over 100 papers on mammals, continuing after his retirement as the museum's curator of mammals. He searched in Australia for evidence of recently extinct species, and made frequent expeditions to sites at the Washakie Formation in southwest Wyoming. His studies are considered significant contributions to the paleontology and biogeography of dinosaurs and Eocene mammals.
