Temporal range: Pliocene to Holocene
A photograph of "Benjamin", the last known thylacine, taken in 1933.
Conservation status
Status iucn3.1 EX.svg
Extinct  (1936) (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Infraclass: Marsupialia
Order: Dasyuromorphia
Family: Thylacinidae
Genus: Thylacinus
Species: T. cynocephalus
Binomial name
Thylacinus cynocephalus
(Harris, 1808)
  • Didelphis cynocephala Harris, 1808
  • Dasyurus cynocephalus Geoffroy, 1810

The thylacine (Thylacinus cynocephalus), colloquially known as the Tasmanian tiger, Tasmanian wolf or simply the Tassie tiger, is an extinct species of carnivorous marsupial and is the largest known carnivorous marsupial of modern times. It belongs to the extinct family Thylacinidae.

Once existing throughout Australia the thylacine is believed to become extinct during the early 20th century, when the last known capture specimen died at the Beaumaris Zoo in Hobart on September 7, 1936. However, many cryptozoologists and Tasmanian residents claim that some individuals survive in Tasmania and even in southern Australia. The last thylacine was called Benjamin.

In The MediaEdit

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