Family : Thylacinidae
Text © Prof. Angelo Messina
English translation by Mario Beltramini
Commonly known under several names, among which Tasmanian wolf, Tasmanian tiger or Marsupial wolf, the Thylacine (Thylacinus cynocephalus Harris, 1808) is a marsupial mammal of the order of the Dasyuromorphia, one of the few species belonging to the genus Thylacinus, from the Greek “thýlakos” (θύλακος), that means “bag” or “sack”, referring to the marsupial pouch characteristic to this animal. The Latin suffix -ine (inside) means “he who carries a pocket”.
The specific epithet cynocephalus originates from the Greek “kyōn” (κύων), dog, and kephalḗ (κεφαλή), head, due to the resemblance of the head to a dog’s one.
Thylacinus cynocephalus is the only present member of the Thylacinidae family. All other species of the genus, yore widespread over the Australian continent, have extinguished before the appearance of man and are known only thanks to the examination of fossil remains. Only the Thylacine has certainly survived until the last century although it is believed extinguished already since 1936. However, the existence of wreck groups of Thylacines relegated in inhospitable mountain environments cannot be excluded. Considered as the largest predator among all marsupials, it reaches the full size of more than 1 m in length, per a weight of 20-30 kg.
In its appearance it somewhat resembles a dog or a fox due to the shape of the head and the back of the body, slightly hunched, and the striped colour of the mantle could also evoke a Striped hyena (Hyaena hyaena Linnaeus, 1758). In any case, the resemblance to Dogs, Foxes, rather than Hyenas, is not a consequence of an actual phylogenetic relationship between the Thylacine and these animals, as well as to a clear phenomenon of evolutionary convergence.
In the Thylacine, the sexual dimorphism appears with the males who are significantly larger and more robust than the females.
The head is elongated with the mouth armed with sharp predators’ teeth that can be greatly opened wide even up to 180°, with the jaw and the mandibles practically arranged in a straight line. The years are short and roundish. The front legs are pentadactyl, the hind ones do not have the first toe. Each toe is equipped with strong non-retractable claws.
Rarefied or maybe extinct, as appears in IUCN Red List, the Thylacine (Thylacinus cynocephalus) is the biggest carnivorous extant marsupial, even more than 1 m long © wikipedia-ed.-mazza-monaconatureencyclopedia
The tail is smooth, long and strong, with a very enlarged basal part that somewhat reminds that of the kangaroos. In the juveniles the tip of the tail has a tuft of longer hairs, disappearing in the adults. Utilized for balancing the animal while running and jumping, the tail is employed by the Thylacine to stand on its hind legs even if for short periods.
It seems that, together with the Water opossum of Yapok (Chironectes minimus Zimmermann, 1870), the Thylacine is the only Australian marsupial where both sexes were equipped with a pouch. This, formed by a sort of membranous wall opening back, is equipped with four teats and in the male serves as scrotal sac.
The coat has thick and soft hair, about 15 mm long and is of colour varying from cream to dark brown, paler on the ventral parts. In the rear part of the back the coat is decorated with typical blackish streaks, hence also the common name of Tasmanian tiger. Well evident in the juveniles, with age this streak gets less marked with age.
About the biology of Thylacinus cynocephalus poor information is available, most being obtained from specimens in captivity or from sporadic testimonies from the last century farmers.
It seems that this animal was able to reproduce in whatever period of the year, more frequently between winter and spring, and that the females gave birth to two to four cubs, little developed, blind and naked, kept for more than three months in the pouch. The cubs were attended by their mother until maturity was reached.
Animal with presumably crepuscular and nocturnal habits, the Thylacine is, or has been a predator mainly of small vertebrates, such as kangaroos, reptilians and birds.
As the specific name states, the head evokes that of a dog, but there isn’t any phylogenetic relationship: it is only a classical phenomenon of evolutionary convergence © Natural film and sound archive of Australia-ed.-mazza-monaconatureencyclopedia
Considered, perhaps wrongly, particularly harmful to poultry and livestock farmers, there is no news concerning attacks against people.
Based on cave paintings and on the discovery of a carcass of Thylacine mummified more than 3 thousand years ago in a grotto of the Nullarbor plain, arid and treeless region of central southern Australia, it is thought that the original range of this species included the whole Australian continent, Tasmania, and New Guinea. It seems that by that time, the Thylacine lived indifferently in the arid eucalyptus forests as well as in the grassy plains.
It is certain that in historical times Thylacinus cynocephalus has suffered the competition with the Dingo (Canis lupus dingo Meyr, 1793), and has been the object of a ruthless hunt because it was considered particularly harmful for the livestock farms. Rightly, the hunting of this animal has been encouraged by the reward system on the killed animals. The fact is that the competition with the Dingo and the relentless hunt, with the addition of the alteration of its own habitat due to the heavy human action, stand among the causes having determined the extreme rarefaction of the Thylacine.
It is thought that one of the last free Thylacines were killed in 1930 on the north-western Tasmanian coast. The prank for the Thylacine came a few years later, in 1936, when it was declared a protected species by the Australian government.
In any case, whether rarefied or extinct, as states the IUCN Red List that in 2025 defines it “EX Extinct”, the Thylacine has been by sure driven out from its own original habitat and, maybe, pushed into the inhospitable mountain regions.
Presently, the hope that the Thylacine is not extinct in the wild is kept alive by numerous sightings, all to be confirmed, in Australia and in Tasmania and by the research of specialists and scholars.