Editing Thylacine (section)

== Description ==
[[File:Thylacine footage compilation.ogv|thumb|thumbtime=2:45|A compilation of most Australian footage of live thylacines, filmed in Hobart Zoo, Tasmania, in 1911, 1928 and 1933, respectively. Two other films are known, recorded in London Zoo.]]
The only recorded species of ''[[Thylacinus]]'', a genus that superficially resembles the dogs and foxes of the family [[Canidae]], the animal was a predatory marsupial that existed on mainland Australia during the Holocene epoch and was observed by Europeans on the island of Tasmania; the species is known as the Tasmanian tiger for the striped markings of the [[pelage]]. Descriptions of the thylacine come from preserved specimens, fossil records, skins and skeletal remains, and black and white photographs and film of the animal both in captivity and from the field. The thylacine resembled a large, short-haired dog with a stiff tail which smoothly extended from the body in a way similar to that of a [[kangaroo]].<ref name="PWS2" /> The mature thylacine measured about {{cvt|60|cm}} in shoulder height and {{convert|1|-|1.3|m|ft|abbr=on}} in body length, excluding the tail which measured around {{cvt|50|to|65|cm}}.<ref name="PI">{{cite book|title=Tasmania's Threatened Fauna Handbook|author=Bryant, Sally|author2=Jackson, Jean|author3=Threatened Species Unit, Parks|author4=Wildlife Service, Tasmania|publisher=Bryant and Jackson|year=1999|isbn=978-0-7246-6223-4|pages=190–193|name-list-style=amp|url=https://nre.tas.gov.au/Documents/threatfauna.pdf}}</ref> Because the recorded body mass estimates are scant, it has been suggested that they may have weighed anywhere from {{cvt|15|to|35|kg}},<ref name="REA19"/> but a 2020 study that examined 93 adult specimens, with 40 of the specimens' sexes being known, argued that their average body mass would be {{cvt|16.7|kg}} with a range of {{cvt|9.8|-|28.1|kg}} based on volumetric analysis.<ref name="REMA">{{cite journal |last1=Rovinsky |first1=Douglass S. |first2=Alistair R. |last2=Evans|first3=Damir G. |last3=Martin |first4=Justin W. |last4=Adams |title=Did the thylacine violate the costs of carnivory? Body mass and sexual dimorphism of an iconic Australian marsupial |journal=Proceedings of the Royal Society B |date=2020 |volume=287 |issue=20201537 |doi=10.1098/rspb.2020.1537|pmid=32811303 |pmc=7482282 }}</ref> There was slight [[sexual dimorphism]], with the males being larger than females on average.<ref name="FA">{{cite journal|author=Jones, Menna|year=1997|title=Character displacement in Australian dasyurid carnivores: size relationships and prey size patterns|journal=Ecology|volume=78|issue=8|pages=2569–2587|doi=10.1890/0012-9658(1997)078[2569:CDIADC]2.0.CO;2}}</ref> Males weighed on average {{cvt|19.7|kg}}, and females on average weighed {{cvt|13.7|kg}}.<ref name="REMA"/> The skull is noted to be highly convergent on those of canids, most closely resembling that of the [[red fox]].<ref name=":1" />

Thylacines, uniquely for marsupials, had largely cartilaginous [[epipubic bones]] with a highly reduced [[osseous]] element.<ref>{{cite web|url =http://www.naturalworlds.org/thylacine/biology/anatomy/skullandskeleton/skeleton/skeleton_1.htm|title=The Thylacine Museum – Biology: Anatomy: Skull and Skeleton: Post-cranial Skeleton (page 1)|first=Cameron|last=Campbell|access-date=15 June 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160403133107/http://www.naturalworlds.org/thylacine/biology/anatomy/skullandskeleton/skeleton/skeleton_1.htm|archive-date=3 April 2016|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>Ronald M. Nowak, Walker's Marsupials of the World, JHU Press, 12 September 2005</ref> This was once considered a [[synapomorphy]] with [[sparassodonts]],<ref>Marshall, L. Evolution of the Borhyaenidae, extinct South American predaceous marsupials. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1978.</ref> though it is now thought that both groups reduced their epipubics independently. Its yellow-brown coat featured 15 to 20 distinctive dark stripes across its back, rump and the base of its tail,<ref name="ABRS"/> which earned the animal the nickname "tiger". The stripes were more pronounced in younger specimens, fading as the animal got older.<ref name="ABRS">{{cite web|url=https://www.dcceew.gov.au/sites/default/files/env/pages/a117ced5-9a94-4586-afdb-1f333618e1e3/files/20-ind.pdf |title=Fauna of Australia chap.20 vol.1b |author=Dixon, Joan |publisher=Australian Biological Resources Study (ABRS) |access-date=22 November 2006 }}</ref> One of the stripes extended down the outside of the rear thigh. Its body hair was dense and soft, up to {{cvt|15|mm}} in length. Colouration varied from light fawn to a dark brown; the belly was cream-coloured.<ref name="UTAS">{{cite web|url=http://www.zoo.utas.edu.au/tfprofiles/tasanimals/Thylacine2.htm|title=Profile&nbsp;– Thylacine|author=Guiler, Eric|year=2006|publisher=Zoology Department, University of Tasmania|access-date=21 November 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050718155359/http://www.zoo.utas.edu.au/tfprofiles/tasanimals/Thylacine2.htm|archive-date=18 July 2005}}</ref>

Its rounded, erect ears were about {{cvt|8|cm}} long and covered with short fur.<ref name="AM1">{{cite web|url=https://australian.museum/learn/australia-over-time/extinct-animals/the-thylacine/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091024073340/https://australian.museum/learn/australia-over-time/extinct-animals/the-thylacine/|archive-date=24 October 2009|title=Australia's Thylacine: What did the Thylacine look like?|publisher=Australian Museum|year=1999| access-date =21 November 2006}}</ref> The early scientific studies suggested it possessed an acute sense of smell which enabled it to track prey,<ref name="tasparks" /> but analysis of its brain structure revealed that its [[olfactory bulb]]s were not well developed. It is likely to have relied on sight and sound when hunting instead.<ref name="ABRS" /> In 2017, Berns and Ashwell published comparative [[cortical map]]s of thylacine and Tasmanian devil brains, showing that the thylacine had a larger, more modularised [[basal ganglion]]. The authors associated these differences with the thylacine's more predatory lifestyle.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Berns |first1=Gregory S. |last2=Ashwell |first2=Ken W. S. |date=18 January 2017 |title=Reconstruction of the Cortical Maps of the Tasmanian Tiger and Comparison to the Tasmanian Devil |journal=PLOS ONE |volume=12 |issue=1 |pages=e0168993 |bibcode=2017PLoSO..1268993B |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0168993 |issn=1932-6203 |pmc=5242427 |pmid=28099446 |doi-access=free}}</ref> Analysis of the forebrain published in 2023 suggested that it was similar in morphology to other dasyuromorph marsupials and dissimilar to that of canids.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Haines |first1=Elizabeth |last2=Bailey |first2=Evan |last3=Nelson |first3=John |last4=Fenlon |first4=Laura R. |last5=Suárez |first5=Rodrigo |date=2023-08-08 |title=Clade-specific forebrain cytoarchitectures of the extinct Tasmanian tiger |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences |language=en |volume=120 |issue=32 |pages=e2306516120 |doi=10.1073/pnas.2306516120 |doi-access=free |issn=0027-8424 |pmc=10410726 |pmid=37523567 |bibcode=2023PNAS..12006516H}}</ref>

[[File:"Benjamin".jpg|thumb|The thylacine could open its jaws to an unusual extent: up to 80 degrees.]]
The thylacine was able to open its jaws to an unusual extent: up to 80 degrees.<ref name="APTTR">{{cite web|url=http://animal.discovery.com/news/afp/20031020/thylacine.html |title=Extinct Thylacine May Live Again |author=AFP |publisher=Discovery Channel |date=21 October 2003 |access-date=28 November 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121008035435/http://animal.discovery.com/news/afp/20031020/thylacine.html |archive-date=8 October 2012 }}</ref> This capability can be seen in part in [[David Fleay]]'s short black-and-white film sequence of a captive thylacine from 1933. The jaws were muscular, and had 46 teeth, but studies show the thylacine jaw was too weak to kill sheep.<ref name="AM1" /><ref name="Jaws">[https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/08/110831210058.htm "Tasmanian Tiger's Jaw Was Too Small to Attack Sheep, Study Shows"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190323200236/https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/08/110831210058.htm |date=23 March 2019 }}. ''[[Science Daily]]''. 1 September 2011.</ref><ref>[http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2011/09/01/3307455.htm "Tasmanian tiger was no sheep killer"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120104023634/http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2011/09/01/3307455.htm |date=4 January 2012 }}. ''[[ABC News and Current Affairs|ABC Science]]''. 1 September 2011.</ref> The tail vertebrae were fused to a degree, with resulting restriction of full tail movement. Fusion may have occurred as the animal reached full maturity. The tail tapered towards the tip. In juveniles, the tip of the tail had a ridge.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.naturalworlds.org/thylacine/biology/anatomy/external/external_anatomy_9.htm|title=The Thylacine Museum: External Antatomy|access-date=25 January 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170621032352/http://www.naturalworlds.org/thylacine/biology/anatomy/external/external_anatomy_9.htm|archive-date=21 June 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> The female thylacine had a pouch with four [[teat]]s, but unlike many other marsupials, the pouch opened to the rear of its body. Males had a scrotal pouch, unique amongst the Australian marsupials,<ref>The scrotal pouch is almost unique within the marsupials&nbsp;– the only other marsupial species to have this feature is the [[water opossum]], ''Chironectes minimus'', which is found in Mexico and [[Central America|Central]] and South America.</ref> into which they could withdraw their [[scrotum|scrotal sac]] for protection.<ref name="ABRS" />

Thylacine footprints could be distinguished from other native or introduced animals; unlike foxes, cats, dogs, [[wombat]]s, or [[Tasmanian devil]]s, thylacines had a very large rear pad and four obvious front pads, arranged in almost a straight line.<ref name="tasparks">{{cite web|url=http://www.parks.tas.gov.au/wildlife/mammals/thylacin.html|title=Wildlife of Tasmania: Mammals of Tasmania: Thylacine, or Tasmanian tiger, ''Thylacinus cynocephalus''|publisher=Parks and Wildlife Service, Tasmania|year=2006|access-date=21 November 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080721024331/http://www.parks.tas.gov.au/wildlife/mammals/thylacin.html|archive-date=21 July 2008|url-status=live}}</ref> The hindfeet were similar to the forefeet but had four digits rather than five. Their claws were non-retractable.<ref name="ABRS" /> The plantar pad is tri-lobal in that it exhibits three distinctive lobes. It is a single plantar pad divided by three deep grooves. The distinctive plantar pad shape along with the asymmetrical nature of the foot makes it quite different from animals such as dogs or foxes.<ref name="vicmuseaum">{{cite web|url=http://collections.museumsvictoria.com.au/specimens/2093369|title=Foot cast of a freshly dead thylacine: Thylacine, or Tasmanian tiger, ''Thylacinus cynocephalus''|publisher=Victoria Museum, Victoria|year=2015|access-date=6 October 2015|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20151007170235/http://collections.museumvictoria.com.au/specimens/2093369|archive-date=7 October 2015|url-status=live}}</ref>

The thylacine was noted as having a stiff and somewhat awkward [[gait]], making it unable to run at high speed. It could also perform a bipedal hop, in a fashion similar to a kangaroo—demonstrated at various times by captive specimens.<ref name="ABRS" /> Guiler speculates that this was used as an accelerated form of motion when the animal became alarmed.<ref name="UTAS" /> The animal was also able to balance on its hind legs and stand upright for brief periods.<ref name="TA">{{cite web|url=http://portal.archives.tas.gov.au/menu.aspx?detail=1&type=i&id=1084|title=Tasmanian Tiger|publisher=Archives Office of Tasmania|year=1930|access-date=27 November 2006|archive-url= https://archive.today/20120712104101/http://portal.archives.tas.gov.au/menu.aspx?detail=1&type=i&id=1084|archive-date=12 July 2012|url-status=live}}</ref>

Observers of the animal in the wild and in captivity noted that it would growl and hiss when agitated, often accompanied by a threat-yawn. During hunting, it would emit a series of rapidly repeated guttural cough-like barks (described as "yip-yap", "cay-yip" or "hop-hop-hop"), probably for communication between the family pack members. It also had a long whining cry, probably for identification at distance, and a low snuffling noise used for communication between family members.<ref name="P6566">[[#Paddle|Paddle (2000)]], pp. 65–66.</ref> Some observers described it as having a strong and distinctive smell, others described a faint, clean, animal odour, and some no odour at all. It is possible that the thylacine, like its relative, the Tasmanian devil, gave off an odour when agitated.<ref name="P49">[[#Paddle|Paddle (2000)]], p. 49.</ref>