Editing Thylacine

{{Short description|Extinct carnivorous marsupial from Australasia}}
{{Redirect|Tasmanian tiger|the cricket team|Tasmanian Tigers|
other uses|Thylacine (disambiguation)}}
{{Featured article}}
{{Pp-move|small=yes}}
{{Pp|small=yes}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2023}}
{{Use Australian English|date=February 2023}}
{{Speciesbox
| name = Thylacine
| fossil_range = {{fossilrange|Early Pleistocene | Holocene}}
| image = Thylacinus.jpg
| image_upright = 1.2 
| image_caption = A female thylacine and her juvenile offspring in the [[National Zoological Park (United States)|National Zoo in Washington, D.C.]], {{circa|1903}}<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Sleightholme |first1=Stephen R. |last2=Campbell |first2=Cameron R. |title=A Catalogue of the Thylacine captured on film |journal=Australian Zoologist |date=30 September 2020 |volume=41 |issue=2 |pages=143–178 |doi=10.7882/AZ.2020.032 |url=https://meridian.allenpress.com/australian-zoologist/article-pdf/41/2/143/2807802/i0067-2238-41-2-143.pdf |access-date=22 June 2021|doi-access=free }}</ref>
| status = EX
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| status_ref = <ref name="IUCN" />
| extinct = 1936
| status2 = CITES_A1
| status2_system = CITES
| status2_ref = <ref name="IUCN" />
| genus = Thylacinus
| species = cynocephalus
| authority = ([[George Prideaux Robert Harris|Harris]], 1808)<ref name="Harris1808" />
| range_map = ThylacineRangeMap.png
| range_map_caption = Historic thylacine range in Tasmania (in green)<ref name="Paddle"/>
| synonyms = {{collapsible list|bullets = true|title=<small>List</small>
| ''Didelphis cynocephala'' <small>Harris, 1808</small><ref name="Harris1808" />
| ''Dasyurus cynocephalus'' <small>Geoffroy, 1810</small><ref name="Geoffroy1810" />
| ''Thylacinus harrisii'' <small>Temminck, 1824</small><ref name="Temminck1827" />
| ''Dasyurus lucocephalus'' <small>Grant, 1831</small><ref name="Grant1831" />
| ''Thylacinus striatus'' <small>Warlow, 1833</small><ref name="Warlow1933" />
| ''Thylacinus communis'' <small>Anon., 1859</small><ref name="Anon1859" />
| ''Thylacinus breviceps'' <small>Krefft, 1868</small><ref name="Krefft1868" />
| ''Thylacinus rostralis'' <small>De Vis, 1893</small><ref name="DeVis1894">{{cite journal |last=De Vis |first=C. W. |title=A thylacine of the earlier nototherian period in Queensland |journal=Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales |date= 1894 |volume=8 |pages=443–447 |url= https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/part/38080 |access-date=8 August 2019 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20190808064125/https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/part/38080 |archive-date=8 August 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref>}}
}}

The '''thylacine''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|θ|aɪ|l|ə|s|iː|n}}; [[binomial name]] '''''Thylacinus cynocephalus'''''), also commonly known as the '''Tasmanian tiger''' or '''Tasmanian wolf''', is an [[extinct]] carnivorous [[marsupial]] that was native to the [[Mainland Australia|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 (reward)|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.

The thylacine was known as the Tasmanian tiger because of the dark transverse stripes that radiated from the top of its back, and it was called the Tasmanian wolf because it resembled a medium- to large-sized [[canid]]. The name thylacine is derived from ''thýlakos'' meaning "pouch" and ''ine'' meaning "pertaining to", and refers to the [[Pouch (marsupial)|marsupial pouch]]. Both sexes had a pouch. The females used theirs for rearing young, and the males used theirs as a protective sheath, covering the [[Marsupial reproductive system|external reproductive organs]]. The animal had a stiff tail and could open its jaws to an unusual extent. Recent studies and anecdotal evidence on its predatory behaviour suggest that the thylacine was a solitary [[ambush predator]] specialised in hunting small- to medium-sized prey. Accounts suggest that, in the wild, it fed on small birds and mammals. It was the only member of the genus ''[[Thylacinus]]'' and family [[Thylacinidae]] to have survived until modern times. Its closest living relatives are the other members of [[Dasyuromorphia]], including the [[Tasmanian devil]], from which it is estimated to have split 42–36 million years ago.

Intensive hunting on Tasmania is generally blamed for its extinction, but other contributing factors were disease, the introduction of and competition with dingoes, human [[Habitat destruction|encroachment]] into its habitat and [[climate change]]. The remains of the last known thylacine were discovered at the [[Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery]] in 2022. Since extinction there have been numerous searches and reported sightings of live animals, none of which have been confirmed.

The thylacine has been used extensively as a symbol of Tasmania. The animal is featured on the official [[coat of arms of Tasmania]]. Since 1996, National Threatened Species Day has been commemorated in Australia on 7 September, the date on which the last known thylacine died in 1936. Universities, museums and other institutions across the world research the animal. Its [[Whole genome sequencing|whole genome sequence]] has been mapped, and there are efforts to [[Cloning|clone]] and bring it [[De-extinction|back to life]].<ref name=":2">{{Cite news |last=Le Page |first=Michael |date=26 October 2024 |title=De-extinction company claims it has a nearly complete thylacine genome |work=New Scientist |page=11}}</ref>

==Taxonomic and evolutionary history==
[[File:Thylacine harris cropped.jpg|thumb|The earliest known non-indigenous illustration of a thylacine; from Harris' 1808 description]]
Numerous examples of thylacine engravings and [[Indigenous Australian art|rock art]] have been found, dating back to at least 1000&nbsp;BC.<ref name="rockart">{{cite web| url= http://www.abc.net.au/science/news/ancient/AncientRepublish_1265476.htm| title= Rock art shows attempts to save thylacine|author=Salleh, Anna| publisher= ABC Science Online|date=15 December 2004| access-date=21 November 2006| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150416015323/http://www.abc.net.au/science/news/ancient/AncientRepublish_1265476.htm|archive-date=16 April 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Petroglyph]] images of the thylacine can be found at the Dampier Rock Art Precinct, on the [[Burrup Peninsula]] in Western Australia.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Mulvaney |first1=Ken J. |date=2009 |title=Dating the Dreaming: Extinct fauna in the petroglyphs of the Pilbara region, Western Australia |journal=Archaeology in Oceania |volume=44 |pages=40–48 |doi=10.1002/j.1834-4453.2009.tb00067.x}}</ref>

By the time the first European explorers arrived, the animal was already extinct in mainland Australia and New Guinea and rare in Tasmania. Europeans may have encountered it in Tasmania as far back as 1642, when [[Abel Tasman]] first arrived in Tasmania. His shore party reported seeing the footprints of "wild beasts having claws like a ''Tyger''".<ref name="REMP">{{cite journal | last= Rembrants| first= D. | year= 1682| title=A short relation out of the journal of Captain Abel Jansen Tasman, upon the discovery of the ''South Terra incognita''; not long since published in the Low Dutch| journal= Philosophical Collections of the Royal Society of London| number= 6| pages= 179–186}} Quoted in [[#Paddle|Paddle (2000)]], p. 3.</ref> [[Marc-Joseph Marion du Fresne]], arriving with the ''Mascarin'' in 1772, reported seeing a "tiger cat".<ref name= "ROTHP">Roth, H. L. (1891) "Crozet's Voyage to Tasmania, New Zealand, etc.&nbsp;... 1771–1772.". London. Truslove and Shirley. Quoted in [[#Paddle|Paddle (2000)]], p. 3.</ref>

The first definitive encounter was by French explorers on 13 May 1792, as noted by the naturalist [[Jacques Labillardière]], in his journal from the expedition led by [[d'Entrecasteaux]]. In 1805, [[William Paterson (governor)|William Paterson]], the Lieutenant Governor of Tasmania, sent a detailed description for publication in the ''[[Sydney Gazette]]''.<ref name= "LTT1">[[#Paddle|Paddle (2000)]], p. 3.</ref> He also sent a description of the thylacine in a letter to [[Joseph Banks]], dated 30 March 1805.<ref>Description of a Tasmanian Tiger Received by Banks from William Paterson, 30 March 1805. (n.d.). Sir Joseph Banks Papers, State Library of New South Wales, [http://digital.sl.nsw.gov.au/delivery/DeliveryManagerServlet?embedded=true&toolbar=false&dps_pid=FL3224270 SAFE/Banks Papers/Series 27.33] {{Webarchive| url= https://web.archive.org/web/20190209124423/http://digital.sl.nsw.gov.au/delivery/DeliveryManagerServlet?embedded=true&toolbar=false&dps_pid=FL3224270 |date=9 February 2019 }}</ref>

The first detailed scientific description was made by Tasmania's Deputy Surveyor-General, [[George Prideaux Robert Harris|George Harris]], in 1808, five years after first European settlement of the island.<ref name= "Harris1808" /><ref name= museum>{{cite web |url= http://www.museum.vic.gov.au/infosheets/10283.pdf |title=Information sheet: Thylacine ''Thylacinus cynocephalus'' | website= museum.vic.gov.au |publisher= Victoria Museum |date= April 2005 | access-date =21 November 2006| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20061109214310/http://www.museum.vic.gov.au/infosheets/10283.pdf |archive-date = 9 November 2006| url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="AFD">{{cite web |url= http://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/abrs/online-resources/fauna/afd/taxa/Thylacinus_cynocephalus |title=''Thylacinus cynocephalus'' (Harris, 1808) |date=9 October 2008 |work=Australian Faunal Directory |publisher=[[Australian Biological Resources Study]] |access-date=2 May 2009 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20121004181952/http://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/abrs/online-resources/fauna/afd/taxa/Thylacinus_cynocephalus |archive-date=4 October 2012 |url-status=dead  }}</ref> Harris originally placed the thylacine in the genus ''[[Didelphis]]'', which had been created by [[Carl Linnaeus|Linnaeus]] for the American [[opossum]]s, describing it as ''Didelphis cynocephala'', the "dog-headed opossum". Recognition that the Australian marsupials were fundamentally different from the known mammal genera led to the establishment of the modern classification scheme, and in 1796, [[Étienne Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire|Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire]] created the genus ''[[Dasyurus]]'', where he placed the thylacine in 1810. To maintain [[agreement_(linguistics)#Gender|gender agreement]] with the genus name, the species name was altered to ''cynocephalus''. In 1824, it was separated out into its own genus, ''Thylacinus'', by [[Coenraad Jacob Temminck|Temminck]].<ref name="LTT2">[[#Paddle|Paddle (2000)]], p. 5.</ref> The common name derives directly from the genus name, originally from the Greek {{lang|el|θύλακος}} ({{transliteration|el|thýlakos}}), meaning "pouch" or "sack" and ''ine'' meaning "pertaining to".<ref name="OED">{{cite book|title=The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology| editor= Hoad, T. F. |year= 1986| location= Oxford|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn = 978-0-19-863120-0}}</ref> The name is pronounced {{respell|THY|lə-seen}}<ref>{{cite book | title = Macquarie ABC Dictionary | publisher=The Macquarie Library Pty Ltd. | year = 2003 | page = 1032 | isbn = 978-1-876429-37-9}}</ref> or {{respell|THY|lə-syne}}.<ref>{{OED|thylacine}}</ref>

=== Evolution ===
[[File:Dasyuromorphia portraits.jpg|thumb|The thylacine was a basal member of [[Dasyuromorphia]], an order comprising most of the Australian carnivorous marsupials]][[File:Thylacine and Coyote skulls.jpg|thumb|Thylacine skull cast (bottom) and [[coyote]] skull (top), at the [[Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology]].]]The earliest records of the modern thylacine are from the [[Early Pleistocene]], with the oldest known fossil record in southeastern Australia from the [[Calabrian (stage)|Calabrian]] age around 1.77–0.78 million years ago.<ref>{{cite journal| last1=Piper| first1= Katarzyna J.| year=2007|title=Early Pleistocene mammals from the Nelson Bay local fauna, Portland, Victoria, Australia| journal=Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology|volume=27|issue=2|pages=492–503| doi=10.1671/0272-4634(2007)27[492:EPMFTN]2.0.CO;2|s2cid=130610478 }}</ref> Specimens from the [[Pliocene]]-aged Chinchilla Fauna, described as ''Thylacinus rostralis'' by [[Charles De Vis]] in 1894, have in the past been suggested to represent ''Thylacinus cynocephalus'', but have been shown to either have been curatorial errors, or ambiguous in their specific attribution.<ref name="chinchilla">Mackness, B. S., et al. "Confirmation of ''Thylacinus'' from the Pliocene Chinchilla Local Fauna". ''Australian Mammalogy''. 24.2 (2002): 237–242.</ref><ref name="Jackson2015">{{cite book |last1= Jackson |first1=S.M. |last2=Groves |first2= C. |title=Taxonomy of Australian Mammals |date=2015 |publisher=Csiro Publishing |isbn=9781486300136 |page= [https://books.google.com/books?id=RPznCQAAQBAJ&pg=PA77 77]}}</ref><ref name="REA19" /> The family [[Thylacinidae]] includes at least 12 species in eight genera. Thylacinids are estimated to have split from other members of [[Dasyuromorphia]] around 42–36 million years ago.<ref name="REA19">{{cite journal |last1=Rovinsky |first1= Douglass S. |first2=Alistair R. |last2= Evans |first3=Justin W. |last3= Adams |title=The pre-Pleistocene fossil thylacinids (Dasyuromorphia: Thylacinidae) and the evolutionary context of the modern thylacine| journal= PeerJ |date=2019 |volume=7 |at=e7457 |doi= 10.7717/peerj.7457| pmid= 31534836|pmc=6727838|doi-access=free }}</ref> The earliest representative of the family is ''[[Badjcinus turnbulli]]'' from the Late Oligocene of [[Riversleigh World Heritage Area|Riversleigh]] in Queensland,<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Muirhead |first1=J. |last2=Wroe |first2=S. |date=1998 |title=A new genus and species, ''Badjcinus turnbulli'' (Thylacinidae: Marsupialia), from the late Oligocene of Riversleigh, northern Australia, and an investigation of thylacinid phylogeny. |journal=Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology |volume=18 |issue=3 |pages=612–626 |bibcode=1998JVPal..18..612M |doi=10.1080/02724634.1998.10011088}}</ref> around 25 million years ago.<ref name="REA19" /> Early thylacinids were [[quoll]]-sized, well under {{cvt|10|kg}}. It probably ate insects and small reptiles and mammals, although signs of an increasingly-carnivorous diet can be seen as early as the early [[Miocene]] in ''[[Wabulacinus ridei|Wabulacinus]]''.<ref name="REA19" /> Members of the genus ''[[Thylacinus]]'' are notable for a dramatic increase in both the expression of carnivorous dental traits and in size, with the largest species, ''[[Thylacinus potens]]'' and ''[[Thylacinus megiriani]]'', both approaching the size of a wolf.<ref name="REA19" /> In [[late Pleistocene]] and early [[Holocene]] times, the modern thylacine was widespread (although never numerous) throughout Australia and New Guinea.<ref name="Dingo">{{cite journal |author1= Johnson, C. N.| author2=Wroe, S.| date=November 2003|title=Causes of extinction of vertebrates during the Holocene of mainland Australia: arrival of the dingo, or human impact?|journal=The Holocene |volume= 13| issue=6|pages=941–948| doi= 10.1191/0959683603hl682fa| bibcode= 2003Holoc..13..941J| s2cid= 15386196}}</ref>
A classic example of [[convergent evolution]], the thylacine showed many similarities to the members of the dog family, [[Canidae]], of the Northern Hemisphere: sharp teeth, powerful jaws, [[digitigrade|raised heels]], and the same general body form. Since the thylacine filled the same [[ecological niche]] in Australia and New Guinea as canids did elsewhere, it developed many of the same features. Despite this, as a marsupial, it is unrelated to any of the Northern Hemisphere [[Placentalia|placental mammal]] predators.<ref name="PWS2">{{cite web|title=Threatened Species: Thylacine&nbsp;– Tasmanian tiger, ''Thylacinus cynocephalus''| date= December 2003| website= parks.tas.gov.au| publisher=Parks and Wildlife Service, Tasmania |url= http://www.parks.tas.gov.au/factsheets/threatened_species/Thylacine.pdf| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20061002050127/http://www.parks.tas.gov.au/factsheets/threatened_species/Thylacine.pdf |archive-date=2 October 2006| access-date=22 November 2006}}</ref>

The thylacine is a [[basal (phylogenetics)|basal]] member of the [[Dasyuromorphia]], along with [[numbat]]s, [[dunnart]]s, [[wambenger]]s, and quolls. The [[cladogram]] follows:<ref name= "GR1">{{cite journal |title=The mitochondrial genome sequence of the Tasmanian tiger (''Thylacinus cynocephalus'') |journal=Genome Res. |volume=19 |issue=2 |pages=213–220 |date=February 2009 |pmid=19139089 |pmc=2652203 |doi= 10.1101/gr.082628.108 | last1 = Miller | first1 = W | last2 = Drautz | first2 = DI | last3 = Janecka | first3 = JE |display-authors=etal }}</ref>
{{clade| styl=font-size:100%; line-height:100%
|label1=[[Dasyuromorphia]]
|1={{clade
 |1='''''Thylacinus''''' ('''thylacines''')[[File:Thylacinus cynocephalus white background.jpg|80 px]]
 |2={{clade
  |1=''[[Myrmecobius]]'' (numbat)[[File:A hand-book to the marsupialia and monotremata (Plate XXX) (white background).jpg|60 px]]
  |2={{clade
   |1=''[[Sminthopsis]]'' (dunnarts)[[File:The zoology of the voyage of the H.M.S. Erebus and Terror (Sminthopsis leucopus).jpg|60 px]]
   |2={{clade
    |1=''[[Phascogale]]'' (wambengers)[[File:Phascogale calura Gould white background.jpg|60 px]]
    |2=''[[Dasyurus]]'' (quolls)[[File:Dasyurus viverrinus Gould white background.jpg|60 px]]}} }} }} }} }}
[[Phylogeny]] of Thylacinidae after Rovinsky et al. (2019)<ref name= "REA19" />

{{Clade|{{Clade
|label1=[[Thylacinidae]]
|1={{clade   |1=''[[Badjcinus turnbulli]]''
   |2={{Clade
      |1={{Clade
         |1=''[[Nimbacinus dicksoni]]''
         |2={{Clade
            |1=''[[Muribacinus gadiyuli]]''
            |2=''[[Ngamalacinus timmulvaneyi]]''
         }} }}
      |2={{Clade
         |1=''[[Tyarrpecinus rothi]]''
         |2={{Clade
           |label2=''[[Thylacinus]]''
            |1=''[[Wabulacinus ridei]]''
            |2={{Clade
               |1=''[[Thylacinus macknessi]]''
               |2={{Clade
                  |1=''[[Thylacinus potens]]''
                  |2={{Clade
                     |1=''[[Thylacinus megiriani]]''
                     |2=''[[Thylacinus yorkellus]]''
                     |3='''''Thylacinus cynocephalus'''''
}} }} }} }} }} }} }} }}}}

== 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>

==Distribution and habitat==
The thylacine most likely preferred the [[Flora of Australia|dry eucalyptus forests, wetlands, and grasslands]] of [[Australia (continent)|mainland Australia]].<ref name="tasparks" /> Indigenous Australian rock paintings indicate that the thylacine lived throughout mainland Australia and [[New Guinea]]. Proof of the animal's existence in mainland Australia came from a [[desiccated]] carcass that was discovered in a cave in the [[Nullarbor Plain]] in Western Australia in 1990; [[carbon dating]] revealed it to be around 3,300 years old.<ref name="nma">{{cite web|url=https://www.nma.gov.au/about/media/media-releases-listing-by-year/2004/mummified-thylacine-has-national-message |title=Mummified thylacine has national message |publisher=National Museum of Australia, Canberra|date=16 June 2004|access-date=15 September 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131110112250/http://www.nma.gov.au/media/media_releases_by_year/2004/2004_06_16|archive-date=10 November 2013|url-status=live}}</ref> Recently examined fossilised footprints also suggest historical distribution of the species on [[Kangaroo Island]].<ref>Fedorowytsch, T. 2017. [http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-07-23/kangaroo-island-fossil-footprints-reveal-ancient-wildlife/8735572 Fossil footprints reveal Kangaroo Island's diverse ancient wildlife]. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170724074546/http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-07-23/kangaroo-island-fossil-footprints-reveal-ancient-wildlife/8735572|date=24 July 2017}}. [[Australian Broadcasting Corporation|ABC]] Net News. Retrieved on 24 July 2017.</ref> The northernmost record of the species is from the Kiowa rock shelter in [[Chimbu Province]] in the [[New Guinea Highlands|highlands]] of [[Papua New Guinea]], dating to the Early Holocene, around 10,000–8,500 years [[Before Present]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Gaffney|first1=Dylan|last2=Summerhayes|first2=Glenn R.|last3=Luu|first3=Sindy|last4=Menzies |first4=James|last5=Douglass |first5=Kristina|last6=Spitzer|first6=Megan|last7=Bulmer|first7=Susan |date=February 2021|title=Small game hunting in montane rainforests: Specialised capture and broad spectrum foraging in the Late Pleistocene to Holocene New Guinea Highlands|journal=Quaternary Science Reviews |volume=253|at=106742|doi=10.1016/j.quascirev.2020.106742|bibcode=2021QSRv..25306742G|s2cid=234011303 |url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0277379120307046}}</ref> In 2017, White, Mitchell and Austin published a large-scale analysis of thylacine mitochondrial genomes, showing that they had split into eastern and western populations on the mainland prior to the [[Last Glacial Maximum]] and that Tasmanian thylacines had a low genetic diversity by the time of European arrival.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=White |first1=Lauren C. |last2=Mitchell |first2=Kieren J. |last3=Austin |first3=Jeremy J. |year=2018 |title=Ancient mitochondrial genomes reveal the demographic history and phylogeography of the extinct, enigmatic thylacine (''Thylacinus cynocephalus'') |journal=Journal of Biogeography |volume=45 |issue=1 |pages=1–13 |doi=10.1111/jbi.13101 |bibcode=2018JBiog..45....1W |issn=1365-2699 |s2cid=91011378}}</ref>

In Tasmania, they preferred the woodlands of the midlands and coastal [[heath]], which eventually became the primary focus of British settlers seeking grazing land for their livestock.<ref name="AML">{{cite web|url= http://amonline.net.au/thylacine/04.htm|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090602010849/http://amonline.net.au/thylacine/04.htm|archive-date=2 June 2009|title=Australia's Thylacine: Where did the Thylacine live?|publisher=Australian Museum|year=1999| access-date =21 November 2006}}</ref> The striped pattern may have provided camouflage in woodland conditions,<ref name="ABRS" /> but it may have also served for identification purposes.<ref name="P4243">[[#Paddle|Paddle (2000)]], pp. 42–43.</ref> The species had a typical home range of between {{cvt|40|and|80|km2}}.<ref name="UTAS" /> It appears to have kept to its home range without being territorial; groups too large to be a family unit were sometimes observed together.<ref name="P3839">[[#Paddle|Paddle (2000)]], pp. 38–39.</ref>

== Ecology and behaviour ==
[[File:Thylacine cubs.jpg|thumb|right|Thylacine family at [[Beaumaris Zoo]] in [[Hobart]], 1909]]
[[File:Thylacines.jpg|thumb|right|Thylacine family at Beaumaris Zoo in Hobart, 1910]]

===Reproduction===
There is evidence for at least some year-round breeding (cull records show joeys discovered in the pouch at all times of the year), although the peak breeding season was in winter and spring.<ref name="ABRS" /> They would produce up to four joeys per litter (typically two or three), carrying the young in a pouch for up to three months and protecting them until they were at least half adult size. Early pouch young were hairless and blind, but they had their eyes open and were fully furred by the time they left the pouch.<ref>Newton, Axel H.; Spoutil, Frantisek; Prochazka, Jan; Black, Jay R.; Medlock, Kathryn; Paddle, Robert N.; Knitlova, Marketa; Hipsley, Christy A.; Pask, Andrew J. (21 February 2018). "Letting the 'cat' out of the bag: pouch young development of the extinct Tasmanian tiger revealed by X-ray computed tomography". Royal Society Open Science. 5 (2): 171914. Bibcode:2018RSOS....571914N. doi:10.1098/rsos.171914. PMC 5830782. PMID 29515893.</ref> The young also had their own pouches that were not visible until they were 9.5 weeks old.<ref name="ABRS" /> After leaving the pouch, and until they were developed enough to assist, the juveniles would remain in the lair while their mother hunted.<ref name="P60">[[#Paddle|Paddle (2000)]], p. 60.</ref> Thylacines only once bred successfully in captivity, in [[Melbourne Zoo]] in 1899.<ref name="P228231">[[#Paddle|Paddle (2000)]], pp. 228–231.</ref> Their life expectancy in the wild is estimated to have been 5 to 7 years, although captive specimens survived up to 9 years.<ref name="tasparks" />
[[File:ThylacineFetus.jpg|thumb|266x266px|A thylacine [[fetus]] at the [[Australian Museum]]]]
In 2018, Newton et al. collected and CT-scanned all known preserved thylacine pouch young specimens to digitally reconstruct their development throughout their entire window of growth in their mother's pouch. This study revealed new information on the biology of the thylacine, including the growth of its limbs and when it developed its 'dog-like' appearance. It was found that two of the thylacine young in the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery (TMAG) were misidentified and of another species, reducing the number of known pouch young specimens to 11 worldwide.<ref name="newton">{{cite journal|last1=Newton|first1=Axel H.|last2=Spoutil|first2=Frantisek|last3=Prochazka|first3=Jan|last4=Black|first4=Jay R.|last5=Medlock|first5=Kathryn|last6=Paddle|first6=Robert N.|last7=Knitlova|first7=Marketa|last8=Hipsley|first8=Christy A.|last9=Pask|first9=Andrew J.|title=Letting the 'cat' out of the bag: pouch young development of the extinct Tasmanian tiger revealed by X-ray computed tomography|journal=Royal Society Open Science|date=21 February 2018|volume=5|issue=2|page=171914|doi=10.1098/rsos.171914|pmid=29515893|pmc=5830782|bibcode=2018RSOS....571914N}}</ref> One of four specimens kept at Museum Victoria has been serially sectioned, allowing an in-depth investigation of its internal tissues and providing some insights into thylacine pouch young development, biology, immunology and ecology.<ref name="Old">{{cite journal|last=Old|first=Julie M.|title=Immunological Insights into the Life and Times of the Extinct Tasmanian Tiger (''Thylacinus cynocephalus'')|journal=PLOS ONE|date=2015|volume=10 |issue=12 |pages=e0144091 |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0144091|pmid=26655868 |pmc=4684372 |bibcode=2015PLoSO..1044091O |doi-access=free }}</ref>

=== Feeding and diet ===
[[File:Animal life in the sea and on the land (1887) (14780637625).jpg|thumb|left|1887 illustration of an emu being chased by two thylacines]]
The thylacine was an [[apex predator]],<ref name="Paddle">[[#Paddle|Paddle (2000)]]</ref> though exactly how large its prey animals could be is disputed. It was a [[Nocturnal animal|nocturnal]] and [[crepuscular]] hunter, spending the daylight hours in small caves or hollow tree trunks in a nest of twigs, bark, or fern fronds. It tended to retreat to the hills and forest for shelter during the day and hunted in the open heath at night. Early observers noted that the animal was typically shy and secretive, with awareness of the presence of humans and generally avoiding contact, although it occasionally showed inquisitive traits.<ref name="sight">{{Cite journal | last = Heberle | first = G. | year = 1977 | journal = [[The Sunday Telegraph (Sydney)|Sunday Telegraph]] | page = 46 | title = Reports of alleged thylacine sightings in Western Australia | url = http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~gregheberle/AdobePDF/Thylacine/ThylacinePaper2004-P1-5.pdf | format = w | access-date = 5 February 2012 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130521142704/http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~gregheberle/AdobePDF/Thylacine/ThylacinePaper2004-P1-5.pdf | archive-date = 21 May 2013 | url-status = dead | df = dmy-all }}</ref> At the time, much stigma existed in regard to its "fierce" nature; this is likely to be due to its perceived threat to agriculture.<ref>[http://www.australiangeographic.com.au/journal/largest-private-collection-of-tasmanian-tigers-on-display.htm/ Tasmanian tigers brought to life] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110312203711/http://www.australiangeographic.com.au/journal/largest-private-collection-of-tasmanian-tigers-on-display.htm |date=12 March 2011 }}, Australian Geographic, 24 February 2011.</ref>

Historical accounts suggest that in the wild, the thylacine preyed on small mammals and birds, with waterbirds being the most commonly recorded bird prey, with historical accounts of thylacines predating on [[Pacific black duck|black ducks]] and [[Chestnut teal|teals]] with [[Eurasian coot|coots]], [[Tasmanian nativehen|Tasmanian nativehens]], [[Western swamphen|swamphens]], herons (''[[Ardea (bird)|Ardea]]'') and [[Black swan|black swans]] also being likely items of prey. The thylacine may also have preyed upon the now extinct [[Tasmanian emu]].<ref name="P812">[[Thylacine#Paddle|Paddle (2000)]], pp. 81.</ref> The most commonly recorded mammalian prey was the [[red-necked wallaby]], with other recorded prey including the [[Tasmanian pademelon]] and the [[short-beaked echidna]]. Other probable native mammalian prey includes other marsupials like [[Bandicoot|bandicoots]] and [[Brushtail possum|brushtail possums]], as well as native rodents like [[Rakali|water rats]].<ref>[[Thylacine#Paddle|Paddle (2000)]], pp. 79–80.</ref> Following their introduction to Tasmania, European rabbits rapidly multiplied and became abundant across the island, with a number of accounts reporting the predation of rabbits by thylacines.<ref>[[Thylacine#Paddle|Paddle (2000)]], p 84.</ref> Some accounts also suggest that the thylacine may have preyed on lizards, frogs and fish.<ref>[[Thylacine#Paddle|Paddle (2000)]], p 82.</ref> 

European settlers believed the thylacine to prey regularly upon farmers' sheep and poultry.{{efn|Based on the lack of reliable first hand accounts, Robert Paddle argues that the predation on sheep and poultry may have been exaggerated, suggesting the thylacine was used as a convenient scapegoat for the mismanagement of the sheep farms, and the image of it as a poultry killer impressed on the public consciousness by a striking photo taken by Henry Burrell in 1921.<ref name="P79">[[#Paddle|Paddle (2000)]], pp. 79–138.</ref>}} However, analysis by Robert Paddle suggests that there is little evidence that thylacines were significant predators of sheep or poultry (though some accounts suggest that they may have attacked them on occasion), with many sheep deaths likely caused by feral dog attacks instead.<ref>[[Thylacine#Paddle|Paddle (2000)]], pp. 83-138.</ref> Throughout the 20th century, the thylacine was often characterised as primarily a blood drinker; according to Robert Paddle, the story's popularity seems to have originated from a single second-hand account heard by Geoffrey Smith (1881–1916)<ref>Smith, Geoffrey Watkins (1909) [https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/504699783 "A Naturalist in Tasmania."] {{Webarchive|url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140910195542/http://www.worldcat.org/title/naturalist-in-tasmania/oclc/504699783 |date=10 September 2014 }}. Clarendon Press: Oxford.</ref><ref>[http://www.winchestercollegeatwar.com/archive/geoffrey-watkins-smith/ "Smith, Geoffrey Watkins"] {{Webarchive|url= https://web.archive.org/web/20141103220934/http://www.winchestercollegeatwar.com/archive/geoffrey-watkins-smith/ |date=3 November 2014 }}. ''winchestercollegeatwar.com''.</ref> in a shepherd's hut.<ref name="P2935">[[#Paddle|Paddle (2000)]], pp. 29–35.</ref>
[[File:Beutelwolfskelett brehm.png|thumb|Analysis of the skeleton suggests that, when hunting, the thylacine relied on stamina rather than speed in the chase.]]

Recent studies suggest that the thylacine was probably not suited for hunting large prey. A 2007 study argued that, while it could open its jaws wide like modern mammalian predators that consume large prey, the canine of the thylacine was not suited for slashing bites like that of large canids, indicating, based on the assumption that the bite was largely derived by its skull, that it hunted small to medium-sized prey as a solitary hunter.<ref name=W07/> A 2011 study by the [[University of New South Wales]] using advanced computer modelling indicated that the thylacine had surprisingly feeble jaws; animals usually take prey close to their own body size, but an adult thylacine of around {{cvt|30|kg}} was found to be incapable of handling prey much larger than {{cvt|5|kg}}, suggesting that the thylacine only ate smaller animals such as bandicoots, pademelons and possums, and that it may have directly competed with the [[Tasmanian devil]] and the [[tiger quoll]].<ref name="autogenerated1"/><ref name=A14/> Another study in 2020 produced similar results, after estimating the average body mass of thylacine as about {{cvt|16.7|kg}} rather than {{cvt|30|kg}}, suggesting that the animal did indeed hunt much smaller prey.<ref name="REMA"/> The cranial and facial morphology also indicate that the thylacine would have hunted prey less than 45% of its own body mass, consistent with modern carnivores weighing under {{cvt|21|kg}} which is about the average size of a thylacine.<ref>{{cite journal|first1=Douglass S.|last1=Rovinsky|first2=Alistair R.|last2=Evans|first3=Justin W.|last3=Adams|year=2021|title=Functional ecological convergence between the thylacine and small prey-focused canids|journal=BMC Ecology and Evolution|volume=21|issue=1 |at=58|doi=10.1186/s12862-021-01788-8 |pmid=33882837 |pmc=8059158 |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref name="REMA"/>

A 2005 study showed that the thylacine had a high [[bite force quotient]] of 166, which was similar to that of most quolls, indicating that it may have been able to hunt larger prey relative to its body size.<ref>{{Cite journal |pmc = 1564077|year = 2005|last1 = Wroe|first1 = S.|title = Bite club: Comparative bite force in big biting mammals and the prediction of predatory behaviour in fossil taxa|journal = Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences|volume = 272|issue = 1563|pages = 619–625|last2 = McHenry|first2 = C.|last3 = Thomason|first3 = J.|pmid = 15817436|doi = 10.1098/rspb.2004.2986}}</ref> A 2007 study also suggested that it would have had a much stronger bite force than a dingo of similar size, though this particular study argued that the thylacine would have hunted smaller prey.<ref name=W07/> A biomechanical analysis of the 3D skull model suggested that the thylacine would have likely consumed smaller prey, with its skull displaying high levels of stress that are not suited to withstand forces, and with its bite forces being estimated at a smaller value than that of Tasmanian devils.<ref name="autogenerated1">{{Cite journal |last1=Attard |first1=M. R. G. |author-link=Marie Attard |last2=Chamoli |first2=U. |last3=Ferrara |first3=T. L. |last4=Rogers |first4=T. L. |last5=Wroe |first5=S. |year=2011 |title=Skull mechanics and implications for feeding behaviour in a large marsupial carnivore guild: The thylacine, Tasmanian devil and spotted-tailed quoll |journal=Journal of Zoology |volume=285 |issue=4 |page=292 |doi=10.1111/j.1469-7998.2011.00844.x}}</ref> A 2014 study compared the skull of a thylacine with that of modern [[dasyurid]]s and an earlier [[thylacinid]] taxon ''[[Nimbacinus]]'' based on biomechanical analysis of their 3D skull models; the authors suggested that while ''Nimbacinus'' was suited to hunt large prey with a maximum muscle force of {{cvt|651|N}} which are similar to that of large Tasmanian devils, the thylacine skull displayed a much higher stress in all areas compared to its relatives due to its longer snout.<ref name=A14>{{Cite journal |doi = 10.1371/journal.pone.0093088|pmid = 24718109|pmc = 3981708|title = Virtual Reconstruction and Prey Size Preference in the Mid Cenozoic Thylacinid, Nimbacinus dicksoni (Thylacinidae, Marsupialia)|journal = PLOS ONE|volume = 9|issue = 4|pages = e93088|year = 2014|last1 = Attard|first1 = Marie R. G.|last2 = Parr|first2 = William C. H.|last3 = Wilson|first3 = Laura A. B.|last4 = Archer|first4 = Michael|last5 = Hand|first5 = Suzanne J.|last6 = Rogers|first6 = Tracey L.|last7 = Wroe|first7 = Stephen|bibcode = 2014PLoSO...993088A|doi-access = free}}</ref> If the thylacine were indeed specialised for small prey, this specialisation likely made it susceptible to small disturbances to the ecosystem.<ref name="autogenerated1"/>

It has been suggested on the basis of the canine teeth and limb bones that the thylacine was a solitary [[Pursuit predation|pounce-pursuit predator]] that hunted smaller prey with trophic niches similar to relatively smaller canids like the [[coyote]], and that it was not as specialised as large canids, hyaenids and felids of today: its canine lacked the adaptation for producing slashing or deep penetrating bites, and its anatomy was not suited for running fast in high speed.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Jones |first1=M. E. |last2=Stoddart |first2=D. M. |year=1998 |title=Reconstruction of the predatory behaviour of the extinct marsupial thylacine (''Thylacinus cynocephalus'') |journal=Journal of Zoology |volume=246 |issue=2 |pages=239–246 |doi=10.1111/j.1469-7998.1998.tb00152.x}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Jones |first=M. E. |title=Predators with Pouches: The Biology of Carnivorous Marsupials |publisher=CSIRO Publishing |year=2003 |isbn=9780643066342 |editor1=Jones |editor-first=M. E. |location=Collingwood, Australia |pages=285–296 |chapter=Convergence in ecomorphology and guild structure among marsupial and placental carnivores |editor2=Dickman |editor-first2=C. |editor3=Archer |editor-first3=A.}}</ref> However, the trappers reported it as an [[ambush predator]] hunting alone or in pairs mainly at night.<ref name="ABRS" /><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Janis |first1=C.M. |last2=Wilhelm |first2=P.B. |year=1993 |title=Were there mammalian pursuit predators in the Tertiary? Dances with wolf avatars |journal=Journal of Mammalian Evolution |volume=1 |issue=2 |pages=103–125 |doi=10.1007/bf01041590|s2cid=22739360 }}</ref> The elbow joint morphology and the forelimb anatomy of the thylacine also suggest that the animal was most likely an ambush predator.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Figueirido|first1=B.|last2=Janis|first2=C.M.|year=2011|title=The predatory behaviour of the thylacine: Tasmanian tiger or marsupial wolf?|journal=Biology Letters|volume=7|issue=6 |pages=937–940|doi=10.1098/rsbl.2011.0364|pmid=21543392 |pmc=3210661 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last1=Janis|first1=C.M.|last2=Figueirido|first2=B.|year=2014|title=Forelimb anatomy and the discrimination of the predatory behavior of carnivorous mammals: The thylacine as a case study|journal=Journal of Morphology|volume=275|issue=12|pages=1321–1338|doi=10.1002/jmor.20303|pmid=24934132 |s2cid=25924022 }}</ref>

The [[stomach]] of a thylacine was very muscular, capable of distending to allow the animal to eat large amounts of food at one time, probably an adaptation to compensate for long periods when hunting was unsuccessful and food scarce.<ref name="ABRS" /> In captivity, thylacines were fed a wide variety of foods, including dead rabbits and wallabies as well as beef, mutton, horse and, occasionally, poultry.<ref name="P96">[[#Paddle|Paddle (2000)]], p. 96.</ref> There is a report of a captive thylacine that refused to eat dead wallaby flesh or to kill and eat a live wallaby offered to it, but "ultimately it was persuaded to eat by having the smell of blood from a freshly killed [[wallaby]] put before its nose."<ref name="P32">[[#Paddle|Paddle (2000)]], p. 32.</ref>

==Extinction==
=== Dying out on the Australian mainland ===
[[File:Bagged thylacine.jpg|thumb|Killed thylacine, 1869]]
Australia lost more than 90% of [[Australian megafauna|its megafauna]] around 50–40,000 years ago as part of the [[Quaternary extinction event]], with the notable exceptions of several kangaroo and wombat species, emus, cassowaries, large [[goanna]]s, and the thylacine. The extinctions included the even larger carnivore ''[[Thylacoleo carnifex]]'' (sometimes called the marsupial lion) which was only distantly related to the thylacine.<ref name="manusia"/> A 2010 paper examining this issue showed that humans were likely to be one of the major factors in the extinction of many species in Australia although the authors of the research warned that one-factor explanations might be over-simplistic.<ref name="manusia">{{cite journal|last1=Prideaux|first1=Gavin J.|last2=Gully|first2=Grant A.|last3=Couzens|first3=Aidan M. C.|last4=Ayliffe|first4=Linda K.|last5=Jankowski|first5=Nathan R.|last6=Jacobs|first6=Zenobia|last7=Roberts|first7=Richard G.|last8=Hellstrom|first8=John C.|last9=Gagan|first9=Michael K.|date=December 2010|title=Timing and dynamics of Late Pleistocene mammal extinctions in southwestern Australia|journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences|volume=107|issue=51|pages=22157–22162|doi=10.1073/pnas.1011073107|pmc=3009796|pmid=21127262|first10=Lindsay M.|last10=Hatcher|bibcode=2010PNAS..10722157P|doi-access=free}}</ref> The youngest radiocarbon dates of the thylacine in mainland Australia are around 3,500 years old, with an estimated extinction date around 3,200 years ago, synchronous with that of Tasmanian devil, and closely co-inciding with the earliest records of the [[dingo]], as well as an intensification of human activity.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=White |first1=Lauren C. |last2=Saltré |first2=Frédérik |last3=Bradshaw |first3=Corey J. A. |last4=Austin |first4=Jeremy J. |date=January 2018 |title=High-quality fossil dates support a synchronous, Late Holocene extinction of devils and thylacines in mainland Australia |journal=Biology Letters |language=en |volume=14 |issue=1 |pages=20170642 |doi=10.1098/rsbl.2017.0642 |issn=1744-9561 |pmc=5803592 |pmid=29343562}}</ref>

A study proposes that the dingo may have led to the extinction of the thylacine in mainland Australia because the dingo outcompeted the thylacine in preying on the [[Tasmanian nativehen]]. The dingo is also more likely to hunt in packs than the more solitary thylacine.<ref name="johnson2003">{{cite journal |last1=Johnson |first1=C. N. |last2=Wroe |first2=S. |date=September 2003 |title=Causes of Extinction of Vertebrates during the Holocene of Mainland Australia: Arrival of the Dingo, or Human Impact? |journal=The Holocene |volume=13 |issue=6 |pages=941–948 |bibcode=2003Holoc..13..941J |doi=10.1191/0959683603hl682fa |s2cid=15386196}}</ref> Examinations of dingo and thylacine skulls show that although the dingo had a weaker bite, its skull could resist greater stresses, allowing it to pull down larger prey than the thylacine. Because it was a [[hypercarnivore]], the thylacine was less versatile in its diet than the omnivorous [[dingo]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/tigers-demise-dingo-did-do-it/2007/09/05/1188783320057.html|title=Tiger's demise: Dingo did do it|date=6 September 2007|newspaper=[[The Sydney Morning Herald]]|access-date=3 November 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081007162544/http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/tigers-demise-dingo-did-do-it/2007/09/05/1188783320057.html|archive-date=7 October 2008|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=W07>{{cite journal|title=Computer simulation of feeding behaviour in the thylacine and dingo as a novel test for convergence and niche overlap|journal=Proceedings of the Royal Society B|year=2007|volume=274|issue=1627|pages=2819–2828|doi=10.1098/rspb.2007.0906|pmid=17785272|pmc=2288692|first1=Stephen |last1=Wroe |first2=Philip |last2=Clausen|first3=Colin |last3=McHenry|first4=Karen |last4=Moreno|first5=Eleanor |last5=Cunningham}}</ref> Their ranges appear to have overlapped because thylacine [[subfossil]] remains have been discovered near those of dingoes. Aside from wild dingoes, the adoption of the dingo as a hunting companion by the indigenous peoples would have put the thylacine under increased pressure.<ref name=johnson2003/>

A 2013 study suggested that, while dingoes were a contributing factor to the thylacine's demise on the mainland, larger factors were the intense human population growth, technological advances, and the abrupt change in the climate during the period.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Prowse|first1=Thomas A. A.|last2=Johnson|first2=Christopher N.|last3=Bradshaw|first3=Corey J. A.|last4=Brook|first4=Barry W.|date=March 2014|title=An ecological regime shift resulting from disrupted predator–prey interactions in Holocene Australia|url=http://doi.wiley.com/10.1890/13-0746.1|journal=Ecology|volume=95|issue=3|pages=693–702|doi=10.1890/13-0746.1|pmid=24804453 |bibcode=2014Ecol...95..693P |issn=0012-9658}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Dingo wrongly blamed for extinctions|url=https://phys.org/news/2013-09-dingo-wrongly-blamed-extinctions.html |agency=University of Adelaide |date=September 9, 2013 |access-date=9 January 2021|website=phys.org}}</ref> A report published in the ''Journal of Biogeography'' detailed an investigation into the [[mitochondrial DNA]] and radio-carbon dating of thylacine bones. It concluded that the thylacine died out on mainland Australia in a relatively short time span.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://cosmosmagazine.com/history/palaeontology/climate-not-dingoes-killed-the-thylacine-on-mainland-australia/|title=Climate killed thylacine on mainland Australia|date=27 September 2017|website=Cosmos |first1=Cheryl |last1=Jones |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231025103339/https://cosmosmagazine.com/history/palaeontology/climate-not-dingoes-killed-the-thylacine-on-mainland-australia/ |archive-date= Oct 25, 2023 }}</ref>

Ken Mulvaney has suggested, based on the high number of rock carvings of the thylacine on the [[Burrup Peninsula]], Aboriginal Australians were aware of, and concerned about the thylacine’s dwindling numbers around that time.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Salleh |first=Anna |date=2004-12-15 |title=Rock art shows attempts to save thylacine |url=https://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2004/12/15/1265476.htm |access-date=2023-12-10 |website=ABC Science |language=en-AU}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Mulvaney |first=Ken J. |title=Thylacine: The History, Ecology and Loss of the Tasmanian Tiger |publisher=CSIRO Publishing |year=2023 |isbn=9781486315536 |editor-last=Holmes |editor-first=Branden |pages=51–54 |chapter=The relevance of rock art in understanding the thylacine's mainland extinction chronology}}</ref>

===Dying out on Tasmania===
[[File:Wilf Batty last wild Thylacine.jpg|thumb|Wilf Batty with the last thylacine that was killed in the wild; photo from 1930]]
Although the thylacine had died out on mainland Australia, it survived into the 1930s on the island of [[Tasmania]]. At the time of the first European settlement, the heaviest distributions were in the northeast, northwest and north-midland regions of the state.<ref name="AML" /> There were an estimated 5,000 at the time.{{sfn|Owen|2003|p=26}} They were rarely sighted but slowly began to be credited with numerous attacks on sheep. This led to the establishment of bounty schemes in an attempt to control their numbers. The [[Van Diemen's Land Company]] introduced bounties on the thylacine from as early as 1830, and between 1888 and 1909, the [[Government of Tasmania|Tasmanian government]] paid £1 per head for dead adult thylacines and ten [[shilling]]s for pups. In all, they paid out 2,184 bounties, but it is thought that many more thylacines were killed than were claimed for. Its extinction is popularly attributed to these relentless efforts by farmers and [[bounty hunter]]s.<ref name="tasparks" /><ref name="Jarvis">{{cite news |url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2018/07/02/the-obsessive-search-for-the-tasmanian-tiger |title=The Obsessive Search for the Tasmanian Tiger Could a global icon of extinction still be alive? |first1=Brooke |last1=Jarvis |date=2 July 2018 |magazine=[[The New Yorker]] |access-date=30 March 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190315204848/https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2018/07/02/the-obsessive-search-for-the-tasmanian-tiger |archive-date=15 March 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.nma.gov.au/defining-moments/resources/extinction-of-thylacine | title=National Museum of Australia – Extinction of thylacine }}</ref> 

Aside from persecution, it is likely that multiple factors rapidly compounded its decline and eventual extinction, including competition with wild dogs introduced by European settlers,<ref name="Boyce">{{cite journal|author=Boyce, James|year=2006|title=Canine Revolution: The Social and Environmental Impact of the Introduction of the Dog to Tasmania|url= http://www.historycooperative.org/journals/eh/11.1/boyce.html|url-status=dead|journal=Environmental History|volume=11|issue=1|pages=102–129|doi=10.1093/envhis/11.1.102|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090918111654/http://www.historycooperative.org/journals/eh/11.1/boyce.html|archive-date=18 September 2009}}</ref> erosion of its habitat, already-low genetic diversity, the concurrent extinction or decline of prey species, and a [[Canine distemper|distemper]]-like disease that affected many captive specimens at the time.<ref name="UTAS" /><ref name="P202203">[[#Paddle|Paddle (2000)]], pp. 202–203.</ref> A study from 2012 suggested that the disease was likely introduced by humans, and that it was also present in the wild population. The marsupi-carnivore disease, as it became known, dramatically reduced the lifespan of the animal and greatly increased pup mortality.<ref name="autogenerated2">{{cite journal|author=Paddle, R.|year=2012|title=The thylacine's last straw: Epidemic disease in a recent mammalian extinction|url=http://search.informit.com.au/documentSummary;dn=201212562;res=IELAPA|journal=Australian Zoologist|volume=36|issue=1|pages=75–92|doi=10.7882/az.2012.008|access-date=15 December 2014|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20181118184903/https://search.informit.com.au/documentSummary;dn=201212562;res=IELAPA|archive-date=18 November 2018|url-status=live|doi-access=free}}</ref>

[[File:Thylacine-chicken.png|thumb|left|This 1921 photo by Henry Burrell of a thylacine was widely distributed and may have helped secure the animal's reputation as a poultry thief. In fact the animal was in captivity.]]
A 1921 photo by [[Henry Burrell]] of a thylacine with a chicken was widely distributed and may have helped secure the animal's reputation as a poultry thief. The image had been cropped to hide the fact that the animal was in captivity, and analysis by one researcher has concluded that this thylacine was a [[taxidermy|dead specimen]], posed for the camera. The photograph may even have involved [[photo manipulation]].<ref name="CF">{{cite journal|journal=Australian Zoologist |volume=33 |issue=1 |author=Freeman, Carol |date=June 2005 |url= http://www.carnivoreconservation.org/files/issues/thylacine_picture_worth.pdf |title=Is this picture worth a thousand words? An analysis of Henry Burrell's photograph of a thylacine with a chicken |pages=1–15 |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120905080540/http://www.carnivoreconservation.org/files/issues/thylacine_picture_worth.pdf |archive-date=5 September 2012 |doi=10.7882/AZ.2005.001 }}</ref><ref>See {{Cite book |title=Paper Tiger: How Pictures Shaped the Thylacine |first1=Carol |last1=Freeman |edition=illustrated |publisher=Forty South Publishing |year=2014 |location=Hobart, Tasmania|isbn=978-0992279172 }}</ref>

The animal had become extremely rare in the wild by the late 1920s. Despite the fact that the thylacine was believed by many to be responsible for attacks on sheep, in 1928 the Tasmanian Advisory Committee for Native Fauna recommended a reserve similar to the [[Savage River National Park]] to protect any remaining thylacines, with potential sites of suitable habitat including the [[Arthur River, Tasmania|Arthur]]-[[Pieman River|Pieman]] area of western Tasmania.<ref name="CM2">{{cite web |url= http://www.nma.gov.au/collections/highlights/thylacine |title=Pelt of a thylacine shot in the Pieman River-Zeehan area of Tasmania in 1930: Charles Selby Wilson collection |publisher=National Museum of Australia, Canberra |access-date=9 January 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120322053713/http://www.nma.gov.au/collections/highlights/thylacine |archive-date=22 March 2012 |url-status=live }}</ref>

By the beginning of the 20th century, the increasing rarity of thylacines led to increased demand for captive specimens by zoos around the world, placing yet more pressure on an already small population.<ref>Department of the Environment (2018). [http://www.environment.gov.au/cgi-bin/sprat/public/publicspecies.pl?taxon_id=342 ''Thylacinus cynocephalus''] {{Webarchive|url= https://web.archive.org/web/20180408061435/http://www.environment.gov.au/cgi-bin/sprat/public/publicspecies.pl?taxon_id=342 |date=8 April 2018 }} in Species Profile and Threats Database, Department of the Environment, Canberra. Retrieved 7 April 2018.</ref> Despite the export of breeding pairs, attempts at rearing thylacines in captivity were unsuccessful, and the last thylacine outside Australia died at the [[London Zoo]] in 1931.<ref>{{cite web |first1=Penny |last1=Edmonds |first2=Hannah |last2=Stark |title=Friday essay: on the trail of the London thylacines |website=[[The Conversation (website)|The Conversation]] |publisher=Academic Journalism Society  |date=5 April 2018 |access-date=22 August 2022 |url=https://theconversation.com/friday-essay-on-the-trail-of-the-london-thylacines-91473 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180407182737/https://theconversation.com/friday-essay-on-the-trail-of-the-london-thylacines-91473 |archive-date=7 April 2018 }}</ref>

The last known thylacine to be killed in the wild was shot in 1930 by Wilf Batty, a farmer from [[Mawbanna, Tasmania|Mawbanna]] in the state's northwest. The animal, believed to have been a male, had been seen around Batty's house for several weeks.<ref name="ley196412">{{Cite magazine
 |last=Ley
 |first=Willy
 |date=December 1964
 |title=The Rarest Animals
 |department=For Your Information
 |url=https://archive.org/stream/Galaxy_v23n02_1964-12#page/n93/mode/2up
 |magazine=Galaxy Science Fiction
 |pages=94–103
}}</ref><ref name="NW">{{cite web|url=http://www.naturalworlds.org/thylacine/history/persecution/persecution_10.htm|title=History – Persecution – (page 10)|year=2006|publisher=The Thylacine Museum|access-date=27 November 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141220092350/http://www.naturalworlds.org/thylacine/history/persecution/persecution_10.htm|archive-date=20 December 2014|url-status=live}}</ref>
[[File:Alb Quarrell holding his prized thylacine kill.jpg|thumb|Alb Quarrel posing for a picture with a thylacine he had recently killed; photo from 1921]]
Work in 2012 examined the relationship of the genetic diversity of the thylacines before their extinction. The results indicated that the last of the thylacines in Tasmania had limited genetic diversity due to their complete geographic isolation from mainland Australia.<ref>
{{cite journal
  |last1=Menzies|first1=Brandon R.
  |first2=Marilyn B.|last2=Renfree
  |first3=Thomas|last3=Heider
  |first4=Frieder|last4=Mayer
  |first5=Thomas B.|last5=Hildebrandt
  |first6=Andrew J.|last6=Pask
  |title=Limited Genetic Diversity Preceded Extinction of the Tasmanian Tiger
  |journal=[[PLOS ONE]]
  |date=18 April 2012
|volume=7|number=4
  |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0035433
  |pages=e35433 |pmid=22530022 |pmc=3329426
|bibcode=2012PLoSO...735433M
  |doi-access=free
 }}</ref> Further investigations in 2017 showed evidence that this decline in genetic diversity started long before the arrival of humans in Australia, possibly starting as early as 70–120 thousand years ago.<ref name=":1">{{cite journal|last1=Feigin|first1=Charles Y.|last2=Newton|first2=Alex H.|last3=Doronina|first3=Liliya|display-authors=etal|title=Genome of the Tasmanian tiger provides insights into the evolution and demography of an extinct marsupial carnivore|journal=Nature Ecology & Evolution|date=11 December 2017|doi=10.1038/s41559-017-0417-y|pmid=29230027|volume=2|issue=1|pages=182–192|doi-access=free|bibcode=2017NatEE...2..182F }}</ref>

The thylacine held the status of [[endangered species]] until the 1980s. International standards at the time stated that an animal could not be declared extinct until 50 years had passed without a confirmed record. Since no definitive proof of the thylacine's existence in the wild had been obtained for more than 50 years, it met that official criterion and was declared extinct by the [[International Union for Conservation of Nature]] in 1982<ref name="IUCN">{{cite iucn | author = Burbidge, A. A. | author2 = Woinarski, J. | title = ''Thylacinus cynocephalus'' | journal = [[IUCN Red List of Threatened Species]] | volume = 2016 | page = e.T21866A21949291 | year = 2016 | url = https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/21866/21949291 | doi = 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-2.RLTS.T21866A21949291.en | access-date = 16 December 2019}}</ref> and by the Tasmanian government in 1986. The species was removed from Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora ([[CITES]]) in 2013.<ref name="CITES2013">{{cite web |url=http://www.cites.org/sites/default/files/eng/notif/2013/E-Notif-2013-012.pdf |title=Amendments to Appendices I and II of the Convention |date=19 April 2013 |publisher=Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora |access-date=16 December 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150722181130/https://cites.org/sites/default/files/eng/notif/2013/E-Notif-2013-012.pdf |archive-date=22 July 2015 |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Last of the species===
{{Contradicts other|Endlings|here|section=y|Conflict with Endlings|date=March 2024}} 
[[File:ThylacineHobart1933.jpg|left|thumb|A thylacine photographed at [[Hobart Zoo]] in 1933]]
[[File:Last known footage of a Thylacine.webm|left|thumb|Footage of a thylacine from 1935]] 
The last captive thylacine, lived as an [[endling]] (the known last of its species) at [[Hobart Zoo]] until its death on the night of 7 September 1936.<ref name="tmag.tas.gov.au">{{cite web |title=Thylacine mystery solved in TMAG collections |url=https://www.tmag.tas.gov.au/whats_on/newsselect/2022articles/thylacine_mystery_solved_in_tmag_collections |website=Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery}}</ref> The animal, a female,<ref name="auto">{{Cite news|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-12-06/benjamin-thylacine-tasmanian-tiger-naming-myth-persists/101734442|title=Stop calling the last thylacine Benjamin, Tasmanian tiger researcher says |newspaper=ABC News |date=5 December 2022 |first1=James |last1=Dunlevie |url-status=live |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20231216074150/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-12-06/benjamin-thylacine-tasmanian-tiger-naming-myth-persists/101734442 |archive-date= Dec 16, 2023 }}</ref> was captured by Elias Churchill with a [[snare trap]] and was sold to the zoo in May 1936. The sale was not publicly announced because the use of traps was illegal and Churchill could have been fined.<ref name="tmag.tas.gov.au"/> After its death, the remains of the endling were transferred to the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery. The remains were not properly recorded by the museum because the animal had been caught illegally. It lay undiscovered for decades until a taxidermist record dated from 1936 or 1937 mentioning the animal was noticed. This led to a full audit of all thylacine remains at the museum and the endling's successful identification at the end of 2022.<ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=5 December 2022 |title=Tasmanian tiger: remains of the last-known thylacine unearthed in museum |url=https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/dec/05/tasmanian-tiger-remains-of-the-last-known-thylacine-unearthed-in-museum |access-date=6 December 2022 |website=the Guardian |language=en}}</ref>

In 1968, Frank Darby{{elucidate|date=September 2024}} invented a myth that the endling was called Benjamin. The myth was widely circulated in the media, with Wikipedia itself repeating the invention.<ref name="auto"/> The thylacine that Darby was referring to was a female at Hobart Zoo.<ref name="auto"/> This animal is believed to have died as the result of neglect—locked out of its sheltered sleeping quarters, it was exposed to a rare occurrence of extreme Tasmanian weather: extreme heat during the day and freezing temperatures at night.<ref name=" P195">[[#Paddle|Paddle (2000)]], p. 195.</ref> This thylacine features in the last known motion picture footage of a living specimen: 45 seconds of black-and-white footage showing the thylacine in its enclosure in a clip taken in 1933, by naturalist [[David Fleay]].<ref name="NS">{{cite magazine |url=https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg17022915.100 |title=Rough Justice |magazine=[[New Scientist]] |date=19 May 2001 |author=Dayton, Leigh |access-date=15 February 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090913060648/http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg17022915.100 |archive-date=13 September 2009 |url-status=live }}</ref> In the film footage, the thylacine is seen seated, walking around the perimeter of its enclosure, yawning, sniffing the air, scratching itself (in the same manner as a dog), and lying down. Fleay was bitten on the buttock whilst shooting the film.<ref name="NS" /> In 2021, a digitally colourised 80-second clip of Fleay's footage of the thylacine was released by the National Film and Sound Archive of Australia, to mark National Threatened Species Day. The digital colourisation process was based on historic primary and secondary descriptions to ensure an accurate colour match.<ref>[https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-09-07/tasmanian-tiger-footage-digitised-and-colourised/100439870 Footage of last-known surviving Tasmanian tiger remastered and released in 4K colour] ''ABC News'', 7 September 2021. Retrieved 7 September 2021.</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Extinct Tasmanian tiger brought to life in colour footage |url=https://news.yahoo.com/extinct-tasmanian-tiger-brought-life-081207211.html|access-date=11 September 2021|website=news.yahoo.com}}</ref>

Although there had been a [[conservation movement]] pressing for the thylacine's protection since 1901, driven in part by the increasing difficulty in obtaining specimens for overseas collections, political difficulties prevented any form of protection coming into force until 1936. Official protection of the species by the Tasmanian government came all too late; it was introduced on 10 July 1936, 59 days before the last known specimen died in captivity.<ref name="P184">[[#Paddle|Paddle (2000)]], p. 184.</ref>

=== Searches and unconfirmed sightings ===
Between 1967 and 1973, zoologist [[Jeremy Griffith]] and dairy farmer James Malley conducted what is regarded as the most intensive search for thylacines ever carried out, including exhaustive surveys along Tasmania's west coast, installation of automatic camera stations, prompt investigations of claimed sightings, and in 1972 the creation of the Thylacine Expeditionary Research Team with Dr. [[Bob Brown]], which concluded without finding any evidence of the thylacine's existence.<ref>{{Cite journal|author=Park, Andy|date=July 1986|title=Tasmanian tiger&nbsp;– extinct or merely elusive?|journal=Australian Geographic|volume=1|issue=3|pages=66–83}}</ref>
[[File:Thylacine sightings Tasmania.png|thumb|right|Map showing the location of reported sightings between 1936 and 1980 in Tasmania. Black = 1 reported sighting, red = 5 reported sightings.]]
The [[Department of Environment and Conservation (Western Australia)|Department of Conservation and Land Management]] recorded 203 reports of sightings of the thylacine in Western Australia from 1936 to 1998.<ref name="sight" /> On the mainland, sightings are most frequently reported in Southern Victoria.<ref name="smhcbd">{{cite news |url= http://www.smh.com.au/news/Tassie-Tiger/Thyla-seen-near-CBD/2003/08/18/1061059765660.html |title= Thyla seen near CBD? |newspaper= The Sydney Morning Herald |date= 18 August 2003 |access-date= 15 February 2010 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20121106083559/http://www.smh.com.au/news/Tassie-Tiger/Thyla-seen-near-CBD/2003/08/18/1061059765660.html |archive-date= 6 November 2012 |url-status= live }}</ref>

According to the [[Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water and Environment]], there have been eight unconfirmed thylacine sighting reports between 2016 and 2019, with the latest unconfirmed visual sighting on 25 February 2018.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Dalton |first1=Jane |title=The last Tasmanian tiger is thought to have died more than 80 years ago. But 8 recent sightings suggest the creature may not be gone. |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/australians-report-sightings-tasmanian-tiger-once-thought-extinct-2019-10 |website=Business Insider}}</ref>

Since the disappearance and effective extinction of the thylacine, speculation and searches for a living specimen have become a topic of interest to some members of the [[cryptozoology]] subculture.<ref name="LOXTON-AND-PROTHERO">[[Daniel Loxton|Loxton, Daniel]] and [[Donald Prothero]]. ''Abominable Science!: Origins of the Yeti, Nessie, and Other Famous Cryptids'', p. 323 & 327. [[Columbia University Press]]. {{ISBN|978-0-231-15321-8}}</ref> The search for the animal has been the subject of books and articles, with many reported sightings that are largely regarded as dubious.<ref name="Fuller">{{cite book |last1=Fuller |first1=Errol |title=Lost Animals: Extinction and the Photographic Record |date=2013 |publisher=Bloomsbury |location=London |isbn=9781408172155 |pages=170, 178}}</ref>

A 2023 study published by [[Barry Brook (scientist)|Brook]] et al. compiles many of the alleged sightings of thylacines in Tasmania throughout the 20th century and claims that, contrary to beliefs that the thylacine went extinct in the 1930s, the Tasmanian thylacine may have actually lasted throughout the 20th century, with a window of extinction between the 1980s and the present day and the likely extinction date being between the late 1990s and early 2000s.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Brook|first1=Barry W.|last2=Sleightholme|first2=Stephen R.|last3=Campbell|first3=Cameron R.|last4=Jarić|first4=Ivan|last5=Buettel|first5=Jessie C.|date=2023|title=Resolving when (and where) the Thylacine went extinct|journal=Science of the Total Environment|volume=877|at=162878|doi=10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.162878|pmid=36934937 |bibcode= 2023ScTEn.87762878B|doi-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Worthington|first=Jackson|date=25 January 2021|title=Tracking the extinction of the Tasmanian tiger|url=https://www.araratadvertiser.com.au/story/7098023/tracking-the-extinction-of-the-tasmanian-tiger/|access-date=26 January 2021|website=The Ararat Advertiser}}</ref>

In 1983, the American [[media mogul]] [[Ted Turner]] offered a $100,000 reward for proof of the continued existence of the thylacine.<ref name="theage">{{cite news|url=http://www.theage.com.au/news/Science/Extinct-or-not-the-story-wont-die/2005/03/25/1111692630378.html|title=Extinct or not, the story won't die|author=Steger, Jason|work=The Age|location=Melbourne|date=26 March 2005|access-date=22 November 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070108204714/http://www.theage.com.au/news/Science/Extinct-or-not-the-story-wont-die/2005/03/25/1111692630378.html|archive-date=8 January 2007|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="MM">{{cite web|url=http://net.pembrokesc.vic.edu.au/home/tiger/expd5.html|title=Reward Monies Withdrawn|author=McAllister, Murray |year=2000| access-date =22 November 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071213055235/http://net.pembrokesc.vic.edu.au/home/tiger/expd5.html |archive-date=13 December 2007}}</ref> In March 2005, Australian news magazine ''[[The Bulletin (Australian periodical)|The Bulletin]]'', as part of its 125th anniversary celebrations, offered a $1.25&nbsp;million reward for the safe capture of a live thylacine. When the offer closed at the end of June 2005, no one had produced any evidence of the animal's existence. An offer of $1.75&nbsp;million has subsequently been offered by a Tasmanian tour operator, Stewart Malcolm.<ref name="smhclone">{{cite news |url=http://www.smh.com.au/news/Science/Clone-again/2005/05/14/1116024405941.html |title=Researchers revive plan to clone the Tassie tiger |author=Dasey, Daniel |newspaper=The Sydney Morning Herald |date=15 May 2005 |access-date=22 November 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170809163042/http://www.smh.com.au/news/Science/Clone-again/2005/05/14/1116024405941.html |archive-date=9 August 2017 |url-status=live }}</ref>

== Research ==
[[File:TasmanischerTiger naturhistorisches Museum Wien.jpg|thumb|A specimen at the [[Natural History Museum, Vienna|Natural History Museum]] in Vienna]]

Research into thylacines relies heavily on specimens held in museums and other institutions across the world. The number and distribution of these specimens has been recorded in the [[International Thylacine Specimen Database]]. As of 2022, 756 specimens are held in 115 museums and university collections in 23 countries.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Thylacine Museum – Biology: The Specimens (page 1)|url=http://www.naturalworlds.org/thylacine/biology/specimens/specimens_1.htm|publisher=naturalworlds|access-date=15 March 2022}}</ref> In 2017, a reference library of 159 micrographic images of thylacine hair was jointly produced by [[CSIRO]] and Where Light Meets Dark.<ref>Rehberg, C. (2017) [http://www.wherelightmeetsdark.com.au/research/tasmanian-tiger-(thylacine)-research/photomicrographs-of-thylacine-hair/ Photomicrographs of thylacine hair] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180114130655/http://www.wherelightmeetsdark.com.au/research/tasmanian-tiger-(thylacine)-research/photomicrographs-of-thylacine-hair/ |date=14 January 2018 }}. http://www.wherelightmeetsdark.com.au {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180114183743/http://www.wherelightmeetsdark.com.au/ |date=14 January 2018 }}</ref>

===Possible revival===
The [[Australian Museum]] in Sydney began a [[cloning]] project in 1999.<ref name="GU">{{cite news |author=Leigh |first=Julia |date=30 May 2002 |title=Back from the dead |url=https://www.theguardian.com/Archive/Article/0,4273,4424142,00.html |access-date=22 November 2006 |work=The Guardian |location=London, England}}</ref> The goal was to use [[genetics|genetic material]] from specimens taken and preserved in the early 20th century to [[cloning|clone]] new individuals and [[de-extinction|restore]] the species from extinction. Several molecular biologists dismissed the project as a public relations stunt.<ref name="AGE">{{cite news |url=http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2002/08/21/1029114134051.html |title=Tasmanian tiger clone a fantasy: scientist |newspaper=The Age |date=22 August 2002 |access-date=28 December 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080324030559/http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2002/08/21/1029114134051.html |archive-date=24 March 2008 |url-status=live }}</ref> In late 2002, the researchers had some success as they were able to extract replicable [[DNA]] from the specimens.<ref name="AMC">{{cite web |url=https://australian.museum/learn/australia-over-time/extinct-animals/the-thylacine/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100414003805/https://australian.museum/learn/australia-over-time/extinct-animals/the-thylacine/ |archive-date=14 April 2010 |title=Attempting to make a genomic library of an extinct animal |publisher=Australian Museum |year=1999 |access-date =22 November 2006}}</ref> On 15 February 2005, the museum announced that it was stopping the project.<ref name="abc1">{{cite web |url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200502/s1303501.htm |title=Museum ditches thylacine cloning project |publisher=ABC News Online |date=15 February 2005 |access-date =22 November 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081015173047/http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200502/s1303501.htm |archive-date=15 October 2008}}</ref><ref name="smhclone2">{{cite news |url=http://www.smh.com.au/news/science/tassie-tiger-cloning-pieinthesky-science/2005/02/16/1108500157295.html |title=Tassie tiger cloning 'pie-in-the-sky science' |author=Smith, Deborah |newspaper=The Sydney Morning Herald |date=17 February 2005 |access-date=22 November 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060324043036/http://www.smh.com.au/news/Science/Tassie-tiger-cloning-pieinthesky-science/2005/02/16/1108500157295.html |archive-date=24 March 2006 |url-status=live }}</ref> In May 2005, the project was restarted by a group of interested universities and a research institute.<ref name="smhclone"/><ref name="abcs">{{cite web |url=http://www.abc.net.au/science/news/stories/s1302459.htm |title=Thylacine cloning project dumped |author=Skatssoon, Judy |publisher=ABC Science Online |date=15 February 2005 |access-date=22 November 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050217014450/http://www.abc.net.au/science/news/stories/s1302459.htm |archive-date=17 February 2005 |url-status=live }}</ref>

In August 2022, it was announced that the [[University of Melbourne]] would partner with Texas-based biotechnology company [[Colossal Biosciences]] to attempt to re-create the thylacine using its closest living relative, the [[fat-tailed dunnart]], and return it to Tasmania.<ref>{{Cite press release |title=Lab takes 'giant leap' toward thylacine de-extinction with Colossal genetic engineering technology partnership |date=16 August 2022 |url=https://www.unimelb.edu.au/newsroom/news/2022/august/lab-takes-giant-leap-toward-thylacine-de-extinction-with-colossal-genetic-engineering-technology-partnership2 |url-status=live |access-date=25 August 2022 |publisher=[[University of Melbourne]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220816184227/https://www.unimelb.edu.au/newsroom/news/2022/august/lab-takes-giant-leap-toward-thylacine-de-extinction-with-colossal-genetic-engineering-technology-partnership2 |archive-date=16 August 2022}}</ref> The university had recently sequenced the genome of a juvenile thylacine specimen and was establishing a thylacine genetic restoration laboratory.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/aug/16/de-extinction-scientists-are-planning-the-multimillion-dollar-resurrection-of-the-tasmanian-tiger|last=Morton|first=Adam|title=De-extinction: scientists are planning the multimillion-dollar resurrection of the Tasmanian tiger|work=The Guardian|date=16 August 2022|access-date=16 August 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.smh.com.au/national/furry-tail-or-fairytale-thylacine-de-extinction-bid-wins-10m-boost-but-critics-question-science-20220815-p5b9u7.html?dicbo=v2-a6c8264d4be2c724959d1fd2eded3765 |last=Mannix|first=Liam|title=Furry tail or fairytale? Thylacine de-extinction bid wins $10m boost, but critics question science|work=Sydney Morning Herald |date=16 August 2022|access-date=17 August 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/australia-tasmanian-tiger-thylacine-de-extinction_n_62fc5f90e4b071ea958adba0 |last=Visser|first=Nick|title=Australian Scientists Hope To 'De-Extinct' Tasmanian Tiger In Next 10 Years|work=HuffPost.com |date=17 August 2022|access-date=20 August 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/scientists-want-to-bring-back-the-tasmanian-tiger-extinct-since-1936-180980604/ |last=Kuta|first=Sarah|title=Why the Idea of Bringing the Tasmanian Tiger Back From Extinction Draws So Much Controversy|work=Smithsonian Magazine|date=19 August 2022|access-date=20 August 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.npr.org/2022/08/20/1118436090/tasmanian-tiger-australia-genetic-editing|last=Chappell|first=Bill|title=A plan to bring the Tasmanian tiger back from extinction raises questions|work=NPR|date=20 August 2022|access-date=20 August 2022}}</ref> The research from the University of Melbourne was led by Andrew Pask.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |date=2022-08-16 |title=Tasmanian tiger: Scientists hope to revive marsupial from extinction |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-62568427 |access-date=2024-02-21 |language=en-GB}}</ref> The project was regarded with scepticism by other, uninvolved scientists.<ref name=":0" />

===DNA sequencing===
[[File:Thylacine skeleton (black background).jpg|thumb|A thylacine skeleton at [[Musée de l'École de Nancy]]]]
A draft [[whole genome sequencing]] of the thylacine was produced by Feigin et al. (2017) using the DNA extracted from an ethanol-preserved pouch of a young specimen provided by [[Museums Victoria]]. The neonatal development of the thylacine was also reconstructed from preserved pouch young specimens from several museum collections.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Newton|first1=Axel H.|last2=Spoutil|first2=Frantisek|last3=Prochazka|first3=Jan |last4=Black|first4=Jay R.|last5=Medlock|first5=Kathryn|last6=Paddle|first6=Robert N.|last7=Knitlova|first7=Marketa|last8=Hipsley|first8=Christy A.|last9=Pask|first9=Andrew J.|date=February 2018|title=Letting the 'cat' out of the bag: pouch young development of the extinct Tasmanian tiger revealed by X-ray computed tomography|journal=Royal Society Open Science|volume=5|issue=2|page=171914|doi=10.1098/rsos.171914|issn=2054-5703|pmc=5830782|pmid=29515893 |bibcode=2018RSOS....571914N}}</ref> Researchers used the genome to study aspects of the thylacine's evolution and natural history, including the genetic basis of its [[convergent evolution|convergence]] with [[canidae|canids]], clarifying its [[phylogenetic tree|evolutionary relationships]] with other marsupials and examining changes in its [[effective population size|population size]] over time.<ref name=Feigin2017>{{cite journal|last1=Feigin |first1=Charles Y.|last2=Newton|first2=Axel H.|last3=Doronina|first3=Liliya|last4=Schmitz|first4=Jürgen|last5=Hipsley|first5=Christy A.|last6=Mitchell|first6=Kieren J.|last7=Gower|first7=Graham|last8=Llamas|first8=Bastien |last9=Soubrier|first9=Julien|last10=Heider|first10=Thomas N.|last11=Menzies|first11=Brandon R.|title=Genome of the Tasmanian tiger provides insights into the evolution and demography of an extinct marsupial carnivore |journal=Nature Ecology & Evolution|date=11 December 2017|doi=10.1038/s41559-017-0417-y|pmid=29230027|volume=2|issue=1|pages=182–192|doi-access=free|bibcode=2017NatEE...2..182F }}</ref>

The genomic basis of the convergent evolution between the thylacine and grey wolf was further investigated in 2019,<ref name="Feigin 1648–1658">{{Cite journal|last1=Feigin|first1=Charles Y.|last2=Newton|first2=Axel H.|last3=Pask|first3=Andrew J.|date=October 2019|title=Widespread cis -regulatory convergence between the extinct Tasmanian tiger and gray wolf|journal=Genome Research|volume=29|issue=10|pages=1648–1658|doi=10.1101/gr.244251.118|issn=1088-9051|pmc=6771401|pmid=31533979}}</ref> with researchers identifying many [[Non-coding DNA|non-coding]] genomic regions displaying accelerated rates of evolution, a test for genetic regions evolving under [[Directional selection|positive selection]]. In 2021,<ref name=Newton2021>{{Cite journal|last1=Newton|first1=Axel H. |last2=Weisbecker|first2=Vera|last3=Pask|first3=Andrew J.|last4=Hipsley|first4=Christy A.|date=December 2021|title=Ontogenetic origins of cranial convergence between the extinct marsupial thylacine and placental gray wolf |journal=Communications Biology|volume=4|issue=1|page=51|doi=10.1038/s42003-020-01569-x|issn=2399-3642|pmc=7794302|pmid=33420327}}</ref> researchers further identified a link between the convergent skull shapes of the thylacine and wolf,<ref name=Feigin2017 /> and the previously identified genetic candidates.<ref name="Feigin 1648–1658"/> It was reported that specific groups of skull bones, which develop from a common population of stem cells called [[neural crest]] cells, showed strong similarity between the thylacine and wolf<ref name=Newton2021 /> and corresponded with the underlying convergent genetic candidates which influence these cells during development.<ref name="Feigin 1648–1658"/> In 2023, RNA was extracted from a 130-year-old thylacine specimen in Sweden; this represented the first time RNA has been extracted from an extinct species.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Marmol-Sanchez |first1=Emilio |last2=Fromm |first2=Bastian |last3=Oskolkov |first3=Nikolay |last4=Pochon |first4=Zoe |last5=Kalogeropoulos |first5=Panagiotis |last6=Eriksson |first6=Eli |last7=Biryukova |first7=Inna |last8=Sekar |first8=Vaishnovi |last9=Ersmark |first9=Erik |last10=Andersson |first10=Bjorn |last11=Dalen |first11=Love |last12=Friedlander |first12=Marc |date=2023-07-18 |title=Historical RNA expression profiles from the extinct Tasmanian tiger |url=https://genome.cshlp.org/content/early/2023/07/18/gr.277663.123 |journal=Genome Research |volume=33 |issue=8 |language=en |pages=1299–1316 |doi=10.1101/gr.277663.123 |issn=1088-9051 |pmid=37463752|pmc=10552650 }}</ref> In October 2024, a 99.9% thylacine [[genome]] was sequenced from a well-preserved skull that is estimated to be 110-year-old,<ref name=":2" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=MSN |url=https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/most-complete-tasmanian-tiger-genome-yet-pieced-together-from-110-year-old-pickled-head/ar-AA1spMUf |access-date=2024-10-18 |website=www.msn.com}}</ref> allowing for the full genome of the species to be sequenced three months later.<ref>{{Cite tweet |number=1877077480520990803 |user=@colossal |title=A massive step toward bringing back the Tasmanian tiger is the creation of a complete genome. Now, we have one 🐅 |date=8 January 2025 |access-date=8 January 2025}}</ref>

== Cultural significance ==
===Official usage===
[[File:Tasmania Coat of Arms.svg|thumb|right|The Tasmanian [[coat of arms]] features thylacines as [[supporter]]s.]]

The thylacine has been used extensively as a symbol of Tasmania. The animal is featured on the official [[Coat of arms of Tasmania|Tasmanian coat of arms]].<ref name=logo>{{cite web |url=http://www.utas.edu.au/library/exhibitions/thylacine/official.html |title=Imaging the Thylacine |access-date=13 April 2010 |publisher=[[University of Tasmania]] |date=24 September 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100916214908/http://www.utas.edu.au/library/exhibitions/thylacine/official.html |archive-date=16 September 2010 |url-status=live }}</ref> It is used in the official logos for the [[Government of Tasmania|Tasmanian government]] and the [[City of Launceston]].<ref name=logo/> It is also used on the [[University of Tasmania]]'s ceremonial mace and the [[Ship's badge|badge]] of the submarine {{HMAS|Dechaineux|SSG 76|6}}.<ref name=logo/> Since 1998, it has been prominently displayed on [[Vehicle registration plates of Australia#Tasmania|Tasmanian vehicle number plates]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-09-18 |title=Vehicle registration plates of Tasmania - TAS Rego Check |url=https://tas-rego-check.com.au/2021/09/18/vehicle-registration-plates-of-tasmania/ |access-date=2025-01-26 |website=TAS Rego Check {{!}} Check your registration status {{!}} Transport Services |language=en-AU}}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Jarvis |first=Brooke |date=2018-06-25 |title=The Obsessive Search for the Tasmanian Tiger |url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2018/07/02/the-obsessive-search-for-the-tasmanian-tiger |access-date=2025-01-26 |magazine=The New Yorker |language=en-US |issn=0028-792X}}</ref> The thylacine has appeared in postage stamps from Australia, [[Equatorial Guinea]], and [[Federated States of Micronesia|Micronesia]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Thylacine Stamps |url=http://www.pibburns.com/cryptost/thylacin.htm |access-date=29 May 2022 |website=www.pibburns.com}}</ref>

Since 1996,<ref>{{cite web|title=Threatened Species Day|website=NSW Environment & Heritage |url=http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/topics/animals-and-plants/threatened-species/saving-our-species-news/threatened-species-day|access-date=5 April 2018|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180406041153/http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/topics/animals-and-plants/threatened-species/saving-our-species-news/threatened-species-day|archive-date=6 April 2018}}</ref> 7 September (the date in 1936 on which the last known thylacine died) has been commemorated in Australia as National Threatened Species Day.<ref>{{cite web|title=National Threatened Species Day |url=https://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/Parliamentary_Departments/Parliamentary_Library/FlagPost/2017/September/National_Threatened_Species_Day|publisher=Parliament of Australia |work=FlagPost |date=September 5, 2017 |first1=Emily |last1=Hanna |access-date=5 April 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180406040735/https://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/Parliamentary_Departments/Parliamentary_Library/FlagPost/2017/September/National_Threatened_Species_Day|archive-date=6 April 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>

===In popular culture===
[[File:Thylacinus cynocephalus 2 Gould.jpg|thumb|left|[[John Gould]]'s lithographic plate from ''The Mammals of Australia'']]
The thylacine has become a cultural icon in Australia.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://cosmosmagazine.com/nature/evolution/thylacine-tasmanian-tiger-de-extinction/|title=Thylacine Tasmanian Tiger de-extinction|date=4 March 2022|website=Cosmos |first1=Amalyah |last1=Hart |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231229020912/https://cosmosmagazine.com/nature/evolution/thylacine-tasmanian-tiger-de-extinction/ |archive-date= Dec 29, 2023 }}</ref> The best known illustrations of ''Thylacinus cynocephalus'' were those in [[John Gould]]'s ''[[The Mammals of Australia]]'' (1845–1863), often copied since its publication and the most frequently reproduced,<ref name="UT">{{cite web|url=http://www.utas.edu.au/library/exhibitions/thylacine/exotic.html|title=The Exotic Thylacine|author=University Librarian|date=24 September 2007|work=Imaging the Thylacine|publisher=University of Tasmania|access-date=30 April 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091005162955/http://www.utas.edu.au/library/exhibitions/thylacine/exotic.html|archive-date=5 October 2009|url-status=live}}</ref> and given further exposure by [[Cascade Brewery]]'s appropriation for its label in 1987.<ref name="Ockham's Razor ">{{cite web|author1=Stephens, Matthew |author2=Williams, Robyn|url=http://www.abc.net.au/rn/ockhamsrazor/stories/2004/1130006.htm|title=John Gould's place in Australian culture|date=13 June 2004|work=Ockham's Razor |publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation|access-date=28 April 2009|author-link2=Robyn Williams|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20100205152506/http://www.abc.net.au/rn/ockhamsrazor/stories/2004/1130006.htm |archive-date=5 February 2010|url-status=live}}</ref> The government of Tasmania published a monochromatic reproduction of the same image in 1934,<ref>Government Tourist Bureau, Tasmania. Tasmania: The Wonderland. Hobart: Government Printer, Tasmania, 1934</ref> the author [[Louisa Anne Meredith]] also copied it for ''Tasmanian Friends and Foes'' (1881).<ref name="UT"/> The thylacine is the mascot for the [[Tasmanian Tigers|Tasmanian cricket team]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Library |first=University of Tasmania |title=Imaging the Thylacine Exhibition – University of Tasmania Library |url=https://www.utas.edu.au/library/exhibitions/thylacine/official.html |access-date=29 May 2022 |website=www.utas.edu.au}}</ref> A series of [[Postage stamp|postage stamps]] that feature [[Mickey Mouse]] characters with Australian animals features a thylacine stamp in the collection.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Postage Stamp Grenada 1988. Tasmanian Tiger, Mickey Mouse and Pluto Editorial Stock Image - Image of philatelic, postal: 300086244 |url=https://www.dreamstime.com/postage-stamp-grenada-tasmanian-tiger-mickey-mouse-pluto-post-stamp-printed-grenada-tasmanian-wolf-mickey-mouse-pluto-image300086244 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241204141750/https://www.dreamstime.com/postage-stamp-grenada-tasmanian-tiger-mickey-mouse-pluto-post-stamp-printed-grenada-tasmanian-wolf-mickey-mouse-pluto-image300086244 |url-status=dead |archive-date=4 December 2024 |access-date=2024-11-02 |website=Dreamstime |language=en }}</ref>

In video games, boomerang-wielding ''[[Ty the Tasmanian Tiger]]'' is the star of his own trilogy during the 2000s.<ref>{{Cite web |title=TY the Tasmanian Tiger |url=https://www.kromestudios.com/ty/ |access-date=29 May 2022 |website=Krome Studios}}</ref> [[Tiny Tiger]], a villain in the popular ''[[Crash Bandicoot]]'' video game series, is a mutated thylacine.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Andy |title=Tiny Tiger {{!}} CTR Nitro-Fueled Characters (Racers) {{!}} Crash Team Racing |url=https://www.gamesatlas.com/crash-team-racing/characters/tiny-tiger |access-date=29 May 2022 |website=Games Atlas}}</ref> In ''[[Valorant]]'', agent Skye has the ability to use a Tasmanian tiger to scout enemies and clear bomb-planting sites.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Stavropoulos |first=Andreas |date=9 October 2020 |title=Here are all of Skye's abilities: VALORANT's upcoming agent |url=https://dotesports.com/valorant/news/all-skyes-abilities-valorant |access-date=29 May 2022 |website=Dot Esports}}</ref>

The animal has made appearance in film and television. Characters in the early 1990s' cartoon ''[[Taz-Mania]]'' included the neurotic Wendell T. Wolf, the last surviving Tasmanian wolf.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Wendal T. Wolf – The Internet Animation Database |url=https://www.intanibase.com/iad_characters/character.aspx?charid=2212 |access-date=29 May 2022 |website=www.intanibase.com}}</ref> ''[[The Hunter (2011 Australian film)|The Hunter]]'' is a 2011 Australian drama film, based on the [[The Hunter (Leigh novel)|1999 novel of the same name]] by [[Julia Leigh]]. It stars [[Willem Dafoe]], who plays a man hired to track down the Tasmanian tiger.<ref>{{cite book |title=International Film Guide 2012 |first=Ian Hayden |last=Smith |year= 2012 |isbn= 978-1908215017 |page= 66 |publisher=International Film Guide }}</ref> In the 2021 film, ''[[Extinct (film)|Extinct]]'', a thylacine named Burnie, along with a group of other extinct animals, help the movie's main characters travel through time to rescue their species from extinction.<ref>{{Cite web |date=16 August 2021 |title=Extinct review – doughnut-shaped critters are an evolutionary dead end |url=http://www.theguardian.com/film/2021/aug/16/extinct-review-animation-family |access-date=29 May 2022 |website=the Guardian}}</ref> In the 2022 science-fiction show [[The Peripheral (TV series)|''The Peripheral'']] the Tasmanian tiger is brought back into existence from DNA extracts.<ref>{{cite web |title=Well one of Lev's hobbies is recreating such things. From their DNA. |date=21 October 2022 |url=https://www.tvfanatic.com/quotes/well-one-of-levs-hobbies-is-recreating-such-things-from-their-dn/ |publisher=TV Fanatic}}</ref> An animated [[web series]] titled "De-extincting Tasie" meant to explain the revival of the species by Colossal Biosciences and University of Melbourne features a thylacine named Tasie, a satire of the [[Mr. DNA]] character from the [[Jurassic Park]] media franchise.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-10-30 |title=Bringing back the Tasmanian Tiger? New series reveals how it could be done |url=https://www.southernhighlandnews.com.au/story/8806339/tasmanian-tiger-revival-new-series-explores-de-extinction/ |access-date=2024-11-02 |website=Southern Highland News |language=en-AU}}</ref>

===In Aboriginal tradition===

Rock art featuring thylacine-like animals are found throughout Northern Australia, particularly in the [[Kimberley (Western Australia)|Kimberley]] region.<ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=2021-01-27 |title=Thylacine |url=https://australian.museum/learn/australia-over-time/extinct-animals/the-thylacine/australian.museum/learn/australia-over-time/extinct-animals/the-thylacine/ |access-date=2023-12-19 |website=The Australian Museum |language=en }}{{Dead link|date=August 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

Various [[Aboriginal Tasmanians|Aboriginal Tasmanian]] names for the thylacine have been recorded, such as ''coorinna'', ''kanunnah'', ''cab-berr-one-nen-er'', ''loarinna'', ''laoonana'', ''can-nen-ner'' and ''lagunta'',<ref>{{cite web|title=The Thylacine Museum – Introducing the Thylacine: What is a Thylacine? |url=http://www.naturalworlds.org/thylacine/introducing/whatis/what_is_a_thylacine_1.htm|access-date=7 October 2020|website=NaturalWorlds}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Giddings|first1=Lara|last2=Bleathman|first2=Bill|date=2020|orig-year=2011|editor-last=Duretto|editor-first=Marco|title=Kanunnah |url=https://www.tmag.tas.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0003/128568/KANUNNAH4.pdf |journal=The Research Journal of the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery|volume=4|page=1}}</ref> while ''kaparunina'' is used in [[Palawa kani]].<ref>{{Cite journal|title=Three Capes Track|url=http://tacinc.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/Three-Capes-Welcome.pdf|journal=Tacinc.com.au|access-date=7 October 2020|archive-date=17 October 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221017151208/http://tacinc.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/Three-Capes-Welcome.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=7 September 2021 |title=How a vehicle testing ground became a biodiversity hotspot |url=https://vnpa.org.au/threatenedspeciesday-2021/ |access-date=27 February 2022 |website=Victorian National Parks Association}}</ref>

One Nuenonne myth recorded by Jackson Cotton tells of a thylacine pup saving Palana, a spirit boy, from an attack by a giant kangaroo. Palana marked the pup's back with ochre as a mark of its bravery, giving thylacines their stripes.<ref>Jackson Cotton, Touch the Morning: Tasmanian Native Legends (Hobart, OBM, 1979)</ref> A constellation, "Wurrawana Corinna" (identified as within or near [[Gemini (constellation)|Gemini]]), was also created as a commemoration of this mythic act of bravery.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Penprase |first=Bryan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XXOxGOpawuMC&dq=%22Wurrawana+Corinna%22&pg=PA73 |title=The Power of Stars: How Celestial Observations Have Shaped Civilization |publisher=Springer New York |year=2011 |isbn=9781441968036 |pages=73}}</ref>

An early European record tells how Aboriginals believed bad weather was caused by a Thylacine carcass being left exposed on the ground, instead of being covered by a small shelter.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Maynard |first=David |title=Animals, Plants and Afterimages |publisher=Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery |year=2014 |isbn=9780646919638 |editor-last=Bienvenue |editor-first=Valerie |chapter=Tasmanian Tiger, Precious Little Remains}}</ref>

== See also ==
{{Portal|Mammals}}
* [[Fauna of Australia]]
* [[List of extinct animals of Australia]]

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
===Citations===
{{Reflist|30em|refs=
<ref name="Krefft1868">{{cite journal|last1=Krefft|first1=Gerard|title=Description of a new species of Thylacine (''Thylacinus breviceps'')|journal=The Annals and Magazine of Natural History|date=1868|volume=2|issue=10|pages=296–297|doi=10.1080/00222936808695804|url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/22248158|series=Fourth Series|access-date=21 February 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170802101656/http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/22248158|archive-date=2 August 2017|url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="Warlow1933">{{cite journal|last1=Warlow|first1=W.|title=Systematically arranged Catalogue of the Mammalia and Birds belonging to the Museum of the Asiatic Society, Calcutta|journal=The Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal|date=1833|volume=2|issue=14|page=97|url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/37178581|access-date=21 February 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170802100121/http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/37178581|archive-date=2 August 2017|url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="Anon1859">{{cite book|title=Descriptive Catalogue of the Specimens of Natural History in Spirit Contained in the Museum of the Royal College of Surgeons of England. Vertebrata: Pisces, Reptilia, Aves, Mammalia|date=1859|publisher=Taylor and Francis|location=London|page=147|chapter-url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/21732931|chapter=Genus ''Thylacinus'', Temm.}}</ref>
<ref name="Grant1831">{{cite journal|last1=Grant|first1=J.|title=Notice of the Van Diemen's Land Tiger|journal=Gleanings in Science|date=1831|volume=3|issue=30|pages=175–177|url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/51532039|access-date=21 February 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170802093051/http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/51532039|archive-date=2 August 2017|url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="Temminck1827">{{cite book|last1=Temminck|first1=C. J.|title=Monographies de mammalogie|date=1827|publisher=G. Dufour et Ed. d'Ocagne|location=Paris|pages=63–65|chapter-url=http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k5800774n/f100.image|chapter=Thylacine de Harris. – ''Thylacinus harrisii''|volume=1}}</ref>
<ref name="Geoffroy1810">{{cite journal|last1=Geoffroy-Saint-Hilaire|first1=[Étienne]|title=Description de deux espèces de Dasyures (''Dasyurus cynocephalus'' et ''Dasyurus ursinus'')|journal=Annales du Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle|date=1810|volume=15|pages=301–306|url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/3546569|access-date=21 February 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170802100130/http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/3546569|archive-date=2 August 2017|url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="Harris1808">{{cite journal|last1=Harris|first1=G. P.|title=Description of two new Species of Didelphis from Van Diemen's Land|journal=Transactions of the Linnean Society of London|date=1808|volume=9|issue=1|pages=174–178|doi=10.1111/j.1096-3642.1818.tb00336.x|url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/757948|access-date=21 February 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170802101133/http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/757948|archive-date=2 August 2017|url-status=live}}</ref>
}}

=== Bibliography ===
* {{cite book|last=Owen|first=David|title=Thylacine: the Tragic Tale of the Tasmanian Tiger|year=2003|publisher=[[Allen & Unwin]]|isbn=978-1-86508-758-0}}
* {{cite book |author=Paddle |first=Robert |year=2000 |title=The Last Tasmanian Tiger: the History and Extinction of the Thylacine |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |isbn=978-0-521-53154-2 |ref=Paddle}}

== Further reading ==
* {{Cite book |last=Bailey |first=Col |url=https://archive.org/details/shadowofthylacin0000unse |title=Shadow of the Thylacine: One Man's Epic Search for the Tasmanian Tiger |publisher=[[Five Mile Press]] |year=2013 |isbn=978-1-74346-485-4 |location=Scoresby, Vic.}}
*{{Cite book |last=Freeman |first=Carol |url=https://archive.org/details/papertigervisual0000free |title=Paper Tiger: A Visual History of the Thylacine |publisher=[[Brill Publishers|Brill]] |year=2010 |isbn=978-90-04-18165-6 |series=Human-animal studies |location=Leiden ; Boston |oclc=643081588 |url-access=registration}}
* {{Cite book |last=Guiler |first=Eric R. |title=Thylacine: The Tragedy of the Tasmanian Tiger |date=1985 |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |isbn=978-0-19-554603-3 |location=Melbourne}}
* {{Cite book |last1=Guiler |first1=Eric R. |title=Tasmanian Tiger: A Lesson to be Learnt |last2=Godard |first2=Philippe |last3=Maguire |first3=David |date=1998 |publisher=Abrolhos Publishng |isbn=978-0-9585791-0-0 |location=Perth, W.A |author-mask1=2}}
* {{Cite journal |last=Guiler |first=Eric R. |date=1961a |title=Breeding Season of the Thylacine |journal=[[Journal of Mammalogy]] |volume=42 |issue=3 |pages=396–397 |doi=10.2307/1377040 |jstor=1377040}}
* {{Cite journal |last=Guiler |first=E. R. |year=1961b |title=The former distribution and decline of the Thylacine |journal=[[Australasian Science|Australian Journal of Science]] |volume=23 |issue=7 |pages=207–210}}
* {{Cite book |last=Heath |first=Alan |title=Thylacine: Confirming Tasmanian Tigers Still Live |date=2014 |publisher=Vivid Publishing |isbn=978-1-925209-40-2 |location=Chicago}}
* {{Cite book |last=Leigh |first=Julia |author-link=Julia Leigh |title=The Hunter |title-link=The Hunter (Leigh novel) |publisher=Penguin Books Australia |year=1999 |isbn=978-0-140-28351-8 |location=Ringwood, Australia}}
* {{Cite journal |last=Lord |first=Clive Errol |year=1927 |title=Existing Tasmanian marsupials |url=https://eprints.utas.edu.au/13062/ |journal=[[Papers and Proceedings of the Royal Society of Tasmania]] |publisher=[[Royal Society of Tasmania]] |volume=61 |pages=17–24 |doi=10.26749/GTOS1305 |issn=0080-4703}}
* {{Cite journal |last1=Lowry |first1=David C. |last2=Lowry |first2=Jacoba W. J. |date=January 1967 |title=Discovery of a Thylacine (Tasmanian Tiger) Carcase In a Cave Near Eucla, Western Australia |journal=[[Helictite (journal)|Helictite]] |volume=5 |issue=2 |pages=25–29}}
* {{Cite journal |last=Pearce |first=R. |year=1976 |title=Thylacines in Tasmania |journal=Australian Mammal Society Bulletin |volume=3 |page=58}}
* {{Cite AV media |title=International Thylacine Specimen Database |date=2005 |last=S. |first=Sleightholme |last2=N. |first2=Ayliffe |title-link=International Thylacine Specimen Database |type=CD-ROM |publisher=Zoological Society |place=London |edition=Master Copy}}
* {{Cite book |last=Smith |first=Steven J. |url=https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-2939261753 |title=The Tasmanian Tiger&nbsp;– 1980. A report on an investigation of the current status of thylacine ''Thylacinus cynocephalus'', funded by the World Wildlife Fund Australia |publisher=National Parks and Wildlife Service |year=1981 |isbn=978-0-724-61753-1 |series=Wildlife Division technical report |location=Hobart, Tasmania}}

==External links==
{{commons}}
{{wiktionary}}
{{scholia}}
* [https://sites.google.com/site/thethylacineproject/home The Thylacine Project] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230226211727/https://sites.google.com/site/thethylacineproject/home |date=26 February 2023 }} at the [[University of New South Wales]]
* [https://australian.museum/learn/australia-over-time/extinct-animals/the-thylacine/ The Thylacine] at the [[Australian Museum]]
* [http://www.naturalworlds.org/thylacine/index.htm The Thylacine Museum] at ''Natural Worlds''
* [https://www.theguardian.com/science/video/2020/may/19/tasmanian-tiger-newly-released-footage-captures-last-known-vision-of-thylacine-video Tasmanian tiger: newly released footage]. ''The Guardian''. 19 May 2020
{{Taxonbar|from=Q123102}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Apex predators]]
[[Category:Articles containing video clips]]
[[Category:Carnivorous marsupials]]
[[Category:Dasyuromorphs]]
[[Category:Extinct mammals of Australia]]
[[Category:Extinct marsupials]]
[[Category:Holocene extinctions]]
[[Category:Mammal extinctions since 1500]]
[[Category:Mammals described in 1808]]
[[Category:Mammals of Tasmania]]
[[Category:Marsupials of Australia]]
[[Category:Marsupials of New Guinea]]
[[Category:Pleistocene first appearances]]
[[Category:Species made extinct by deliberate extirpation efforts]]
[[Category:Species that are or were threatened by climate change]]