The thylacine (pronounced /ˈθaɪləsiːn/; scientific name Thylacinus cynocephalus), also called the Tasmanian tiger or Tasmanian wolf, was a carnivorous marsupial that lived in Australia, Tasmania, and New Guinea. It became extinct in New Guinea and mainland Australia about 3,600–3,200 years ago. This may have happened because of the arrival of dingoes, which first appeared around the same time but never reached Tasmania. Before Europeans arrived in Australia, about 5,000 thylacines lived in the wild on Tasmania. In the 1800s, people began hunting them because they were seen as a threat to farm animals. The last known thylacine died in 1936 at Hobart Zoo in Tasmania. The thylacine is a well-known symbol in Australian culture and is considered an important cultural icon.
The thylacine was called the Tasmanian tiger because of the dark stripes on its back, and the Tasmanian wolf because it looked similar to a medium- or large-sized dog. The name "thylacine" comes from the Greek word thýlakos, meaning "pouch," and the suffix -ine, meaning "related to." This refers to the pouch that both male and female thylacines had. Female thylacines used their pouches to care for their young, while males used theirs to protect their reproductive organs. The animal had a stiff tail and could open its mouth very wide. Studies suggest it hunted alone and waited to catch small to medium-sized animals, such as birds and mammals. It was the only member of its genus and family to survive until modern times. Its closest living relatives are other animals in the group Dasyuromorphia, like the Tasmanian devil, which it split from about 42–36 million years ago.
The main reason for the thylacine’s extinction was intense hunting in Tasmania. Other factors included disease, competition with dingoes, human activity that disrupted its habitat, and climate changes. In 2022, scientists found the remains of the last known thylacine at the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery. After it became extinct, many people have reported seeing live thylacines, but none have been confirmed.
The thylacine is an important symbol of Tasmania and appears on the official coat of arms of the region. Since 1996, September 7 has been celebrated in Australia as National Threatened Species Day, marking the day the last thylacine died in 1936. Scientists around the world continue to study the thylacine. Researchers have mapped its entire genome, and some are working to clone it and bring it back to life.
Taxonomic and evolutionary history
Many drawings and carvings of thylacines have been found. These were made at least 1000 years ago. Petroglyph images of the thylacine can be found at the Dampier Rock Art Precinct, on the Burrup Peninsula in Western Australia.
By the time the first European explorers arrived, the thylacine was already gone from mainland Australia and New Guinea and very rare in Tasmania. Europeans may have seen it in Tasmania as early as 1642, when Abel Tasman first arrived there. His group reported seeing footprints of "wild beasts having claws like a tiger." Marc-Joseph Marion du Fresne, who arrived with the Mascarin in 1772, described seeing a "tiger cat."
The first clear record of the thylacine was made by French explorers on May 13, 1792, as noted by naturalist Jacques Labillardière in his journal from the expedition led by d'Entrecasteaux. In 1805, William Paterson, the Lieutenant Governor of Tasmania, sent a detailed description to the Sydney Gazette. He also sent a description of the thylacine in a letter to Joseph Banks, dated March 30, 1805.
The first detailed scientific description was made by Tasmania's Deputy Surveyor-General, George Harris, in 1808, five years after the first European settlement of the island. Harris originally placed the thylacine in the genus Didelphis, which had been created by Linnaeus for American opossums, describing it as Didelphis cynocephala, the "dog-headed opossum." Later, scientists realized that Australian marsupials were different from other mammals, leading to the creation of the modern classification system. In 1796, Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire created the genus Dasyurus, where he placed the thylacine in 1810. To match the gender of the genus name, the species name was changed to cynocephalus. In 1824, the thylacine was placed in its own genus, Thylacinus, by Temminck. The name "thylacine" comes from the Greek words thýlakos ("pouch" or "sack") and -ine ("pertaining to"). It is pronounced THY-lə-seen or THY-lə-syne.
The earliest records of the modern thylacine are from the Early Pleistocene, with the oldest known fossils found in southeastern Australia from the Calabrian age, about 1.77 to 0.78 million years ago. Fossils from the Pliocene-aged Chinchilla Fauna, described as Thylacinus rostralis by Charles De Vis in 1894, were once thought to belong to Thylacinus cynocephalus, but later studies showed they were either errors or unclear. The family Thylacinidae includes at least 12 species in eight genera. Thylacinids are believed to have split from other members of Dasyuromorphia around 42–36 million years ago. The earliest known member of the family is Badjcinus turnbulli from the Late Oligocene of Riversleigh in Queensland, about 25 million years ago. Early thylacinids were about the size of quolls, weighing less than 10 kg (22 lb). They likely ate insects and small reptiles and mammals, but some evidence suggests they began eating more meat as early as the early Miocene in Wabulacinus. Members of the genus Thylacinus are notable for growing larger and developing sharper teeth for eating meat. The largest species, Thylacinus potens and Thylacinus megiriani, were about the size of a wolf. In late Pleistocene and early Holocene times, the modern thylacine lived across Australia and New Guinea, though it was never very common.
The thylacine is a classic example of convergent evolution, showing many similarities to the dog family, Canidae, in the Northern Hemisphere: sharp teeth, strong jaws, raised heels, and a similar body shape. The thylacine filled the same role in Australia and New Guinea as dogs did elsewhere, leading to similar traits. However, as a marsupial, it is not related to any Northern Hemisphere placental predators.
Thylacinidae, including the thylacine, is the earliest diverging lineage of Dasyuromorphia, which also includes numbats, dunnarts, and Dasyuridae (which includes wambengers, quolls, and the Tasmanian devil, among others). The cladogram below follows the results of genetic studies:
Thylacinus (thylacines)
Sminthopsis (dunnarts)
Phascogale (wambengers)
Sarcophilus (Tasmanian devil)
Phylogeny of Thylacinidae after Rovinsky et al. (2019)
Ngamalacinus timmulvaneyi
Thylacinus cynocephalus
Description
Descriptions of the thylacine come from preserved specimens, fossil records, skins, skeletal remains, and black-and-white photographs and film of the animal in captivity and in the wild. The thylacine looked like a large, short-haired dog with a stiff tail that extended smoothly from the body, similar to a kangaroo. Adult thylacines stood about 60 cm (24 in) tall at the shoulder and measured 1–1.3 m (3.3–4.3 ft) in body length, not including the tail, which was 50–65 cm (20–26 in) long. Body mass estimates are limited, but it is believed they weighed between 15–35 kg (33–77 lb). A 2020 study of 93 adult specimens suggested an average weight of 16.7 kg (37 lb), with a range of 9.8–28.1 kg (22–62 lb). Males were slightly larger than females on average, with males weighing about 19.7 kg (43 lb) and females about 13.7 kg (30 lb). The thylacine’s skull was similar to that of canids, like the red fox.
Thylacines had cartilaginous epipubic bones, a feature unique to marsupials, with very little bony structure. This trait was once thought to link them to sparassodonts, but recent research suggests both groups developed this independently. Their coat was yellow-brown with 15–20 dark stripes across the back, rump, and base of the tail, earning them the nickname "tiger." Stripes were more visible in young thylacines and faded with age. One stripe ran down the outside of the rear thigh. Their fur was dense and soft, up to 15 mm (0.59 in) long, and their color ranged from light fawn to dark brown, with a cream-colored belly.
Thylacines had rounded, erect ears about 8 cm (3.1 in) long, covered in short fur. Early studies suggested they had a strong sense of smell, but brain analysis showed their olfactory bulbs were not well developed. They likely relied on sight and sound for hunting. A 2017 study compared the thylacine’s brain with that of the Tasmanian devil, finding the thylacine had a larger, more organized basal ganglion, linked to its predatory behavior. A 2023 study showed the thylacine’s forebrain was similar to other dasyuromorph marsupials but different from canids.
The thylacine could open its jaws up to 80 degrees, a feature visible in a 1933 film of a captive specimen. Its jaws were muscular with 46 teeth, but studies suggest they were too weak to kill sheep. The tail vertebrae were partially fused, limiting full tail movement. This fusion likely occurred as the animal matured. The tail tapered toward the tip, with a ridge at the tip in juveniles. Female thylacines had a pouch with four teats that opened to the rear of the body, unlike most marsupials. Males had a scrotal pouch, unique among Australian marsupials, allowing them to protect their scrotal sac.
Thylacine footprints had a large rear pad and four front pads arranged in a straight line, distinguishing them from other animals. The hindfeet had four digits instead of five, and their claws were non-retractable. The plantar pad had three distinct lobes, separated by deep grooves. This shape, along with the asymmetrical foot, made thylacine footprints different from those of dogs or foxes.
The thylacine had a stiff, awkward gait, limiting its ability to run quickly. It could also hop on its hind legs, like a kangaroo, possibly to move faster when alarmed. It could stand upright on its hind legs for short periods. Observers noted that thylacines growled and hissed when agitated, often with a threat-yawn. During hunting, they made rapid, guttural barks (called "yip-yap" or "hop-hop-hop") for communication. They also used a long whining cry for identification and a low snuffling sound for close communication. Some described the thylacine as having a strong smell, others a faint, clean odor, and some noted no smell at all. It is possible they released an odor when agitated, similar to the Tasmanian devil.
Distribution and habitat
The thylacine most likely lived in the dry eucalyptus forests, wetlands, and grasslands of mainland Australia. Indigenous Australian rock paintings show that the thylacine was found across mainland Australia and New Guinea. Evidence that the thylacine lived in mainland Australia was found when a dry, preserved body was discovered in a cave on the Nullarbor Plain in Western Australia in 1990. Scientists used carbon dating to determine the body was about 3,300 years old. Recently studied fossilized footprints also suggest the thylacine lived on Kangaroo Island. The northernmost place where the thylacine lived is the Kiowa rock shelter in Chimbu Province, in the highlands of Papua New Guinea. This location dates back to the Early Holocene, about 10,000–8,500 years ago. In 2017, scientists White, Mitchell, and Austin analyzed the genetic material of many thylacine mitochondrial genomes. Their study showed that thylacines on mainland Australia had split into eastern and western groups before the Last Glacial Maximum. By the time Europeans arrived in Tasmania, thylacines there had low genetic diversity.
In Tasmania, the thylacine lived in the woodlands of the midlands and coastal heath, areas that later became important for British settlers who wanted to raise livestock. The striped pattern on the thylacine’s body may have helped it blend into woodland environments. It may also have helped thylacines recognize each other. The typical home range of a thylacine was between 40 and 80 kilometers (15 and 31 square miles). Thylacines seemed to stay within their home range without marking it as their own. Sometimes, groups of thylacines that were too large to be a family were seen together.
Ecology and behaviour
There is evidence that thylacines bred throughout the year, as records show baby thylacines (called joeys) found in their mother’s pouch at any time of the year. However, most births happened during winter and spring. Each mother could give birth to up to four joeys per litter, but usually had two or three. The young stayed in the pouch for up to three months and remained protected until they reached about half the size of an adult. When the joeys were very young, they had no fur and could not see, but by the time they left the pouch, they had fully grown fur and open eyes. The young also had their own pouches, which became visible when they were 9.5 weeks old. After leaving the pouch, the juveniles stayed in the lair while their mother hunted until they were strong enough to help. Thylacines successfully bred only once in captivity, at Melbourne Zoo in 1899. In the wild, they lived about 5 to 7 years, but some in captivity lived up to 9 years.
In 2018, Newton and others studied all known preserved thylacine pouch young specimens by using CT scans to create digital images of their growth inside the mother’s pouch. This study showed new details about how thylacine young developed, including how their limbs grew and when they looked like dogs. Researchers found that two specimens in the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery were incorrectly identified and belong to another species, leaving only 11 known pouch young specimens worldwide. One of four specimens at Museum Victoria was cut into thin slices, allowing scientists to study its internal tissues and learn more about thylacine young development, biology, and ecology.
Thylacines were top predators, but how large their prey could be is unclear. They hunted at night and during dawn and dusk, resting during the day in small caves or hollow tree trunks lined with twigs, bark, or ferns. They often hid in hills and forests during the day and hunted in open areas at night. Early observers described thylacines as shy and cautious, usually avoiding humans but sometimes showing curiosity. At the time, people believed they were dangerous, likely because they were thought to threaten farming.
Historical records say thylacines hunted small mammals and birds, with waterbirds like black ducks and coots being common prey. Other birds included Tasmanian nativehens, swamphens, herons, and black swans. They may have also hunted the now-extinct Tasmanian emu. The most common mammal prey was the red-necked wallaby, followed by pademelons, echidnas, and other marsupials like bandicoots and possums. Native rodents like water rats were also likely prey. After European rabbits were introduced to Tasmania, thylacines were sometimes seen hunting them. Some accounts suggest they may have also eaten lizards, frogs, and fish.
European settlers believed thylacines often attacked sheep and poultry, but research by Robert Paddle found little evidence that they were major predators of these animals. Many sheep deaths were likely caused by feral dogs instead. In the 20th century, thylacines were often described as blood-drinking animals, but this idea likely came from a single story shared by a shepherd in the 1880s.
Recent studies suggest thylacines probably hunted small to medium prey. A 2007 study said their teeth were not suited for deep bites like those of large dogs, indicating they hunted smaller animals. A 2011 study using computer models found thylacine jaws were weaker than expected, suggesting they could not handle prey much larger than 5 kg (11 lb). This would mean they likely ate small animals like bandicoots, pademelons, and possums, possibly competing with Tasmanian devils and tiger quolls. Their teeth showed similar wear patterns to Tasmanian devils. A 2020 study estimated thylacine body mass as about 16.7 kg (37 lb), supporting the idea they hunted smaller prey.
A 2005 study found thylacines had a high bite force, similar to quolls, suggesting they could hunt prey larger than their size. However, a 2007 study said their bite force was stronger than a dingo of similar size but still likely focused on small prey. A 3D skull model analysis showed their skulls could not handle large forces, and their bite force was weaker than Tasmanian devils’. A 2014 study compared thylacine skulls with those of other animals and found their longer snouts caused higher stress during hunting, making them better suited for small prey. If thylacines specialized in small prey, this could have made them vulnerable to changes in their environment.
Studies suggest thylacines were solitary hunters that pounced on small prey, similar to coyotes. Their teeth and limbs were not adapted for fast running or deep bites. Trappers reported them as ambush predators that hunted alone or in pairs at night. Their elbow joints and forelimbs also suggest they were ambush hunters.
Thylacines had very strong stomachs that could stretch to hold large amounts of food, likely helping them survive when food was scarce. In captivity, they were fed a variety of foods, including dead rabbits.
Extinction
Australia lost more than 90% of its megafauna around 50–40,000 years ago as part of a major extinction event during the Quaternary period. Exceptions included some kangaroo and wombat species, emus, cassowaries, large goannas, and the thylacine. The extinction of Thylacoleo carnifex, a large carnivore sometimes called the marsupial lion, was also part of this event. This species was only distantly related to the thylacine. A 2010 study suggested that humans were likely a major cause of many extinctions in Australia, though the researchers warned that blaming one factor alone might be too simple. The youngest thylacine remains found in mainland Australia are about 3,500 years old, with an estimated extinction date around 3,200 years ago. This time matches the extinction of the Tasmanian devil and the arrival of the dingo in Australia, as well as increased human activity. Recent research has found more thylacine images in Arnhem Land, including rock art that may be less than 1,000 years old. This raises questions about whether the species survived longer in some areas, though this is still uncertain.
A study suggests that the dingo may have contributed to the thylacine’s extinction on the mainland because dingoes competed with thylacines for prey, such as the Tasmanian nativehen. Dingoes also hunt in packs, unlike the more solitary thylacine. Skull studies show that while dingoes had weaker bites, their skulls could handle more stress, allowing them to pull down larger prey. Thylacines, being hypercarnivores (animals that eat mostly meat), had less varied diets than the omnivorous dingo. Thylacine and dingo remains have been found near each other, suggesting their ranges overlapped. Indigenous people using dingoes as hunting companions may have also increased pressure on thylacine populations.
A 2013 study noted that while dingoes played a role in the thylacine’s decline on the mainland, larger factors included human population growth, technological advances, and sudden climate changes. A 2025 study proposed that genetic losses over the thylacine’s evolutionary history made the species more vulnerable to extinction. These genetic traits, which could have helped the thylacine adapt to environmental changes, were lost over time.
Ken Mulvaney suggested that the many rock carvings of the thylacine on the Burrup Peninsula indicate that Aboriginal Australians were aware of the species’ declining numbers.
Although the thylacine died out on mainland Australia, it survived until the 1930s on the island of Tasmania. At the time of European settlement, thylacines were most common in the northeast, northwest, and north-midland regions of Tasmania. There were about 5,000 thylacines at that time. They were rarely seen but began to be blamed for attacks on sheep. This led to bounty programs, such as those introduced by the Van Diemen’s Land Company in 1830 and the Tasmanian government between 1888 and 1909. The government paid £1 per adult thylacine and ten shillings per pup. A total of 2,184 bounties were paid, though many more thylacines were likely killed. The species’ extinction is often linked to these efforts by farmers and bounty hunters.
Other factors that may have contributed to the thylacine’s decline include competition with wild dogs introduced by Europeans, habitat loss, low genetic diversity, the decline of prey species, and a distemper-like disease that affected captive and wild thylacines. A 2012 study suggested this disease was likely introduced by humans.
A 1921 photo of a thylacine with a chicken, taken by Henry Burrell, was widely shared and may have reinforced the thylacine’s reputation as a poultry thief. The image was cropped to hide that the animal was in captivity, and analysis later showed the thylacine was a dead specimen posed for the camera. The photo may have involved manipulation.
By the late 1920s, thylacines were extremely rare in the wild. Despite their reputation for attacking sheep, a 1928 committee recommended creating a reserve, like the Savage River National Park, to protect remaining thylacines.
By the early 20th century, zoos worldwide sought to capture thylacines, adding pressure to an already small population. Attempts to breed them in captivity failed, and the last thylacine outside Australia died in 1931 at the London Zoo.
The last known thylacine killed in the wild was shot in 1930 by Wilf Batty, a farmer in northwest Tasmania. The animal, believed to be male, had been near Batty’s home for weeks.
A 2012 study found that the last thylacines in Tasmania had limited genetic diversity due to their geographic isolation from mainland Australia. Earlier research in 2017 suggested this decline began as early as 70–120,000 years ago, long before humans arrived in Australia.
The thylacine was classified as an endangered species until the 1980s. International rules stated that an animal could not be declared extinct until 50 years had passed without confirmed sightings. Since no thylacine had been seen in the wild for over 50 years, it was declared extinct by the International Union for Conservation of Nature in 1982 and by the Tasmanian government in 1986. The species was removed from Appendix I of CITES in 2013.
The last captive thylacine, known as an endling (the last of its species), died at Hobart Zoo on September 7, 1936. It was captured by Elias Churchill using a snare trap and sold to the zoo in May 1936. The sale was not announced publicly because trapping was illegal. After its death, the endling’s remains were transferred to the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery but were not properly recorded. They remained undiscovered for decades until a taxidermist record from 1936 or 1937 was found, leading to an audit of all thylacine remains.
Research
Research on thylacines depends on samples stored in museums and other institutions around the world. The number and locations of these samples are recorded in the International Thylacine Specimen Database. As of 2022, 756 samples are kept in 115 museums and university collections across 23 countries. In 2017, a reference library of 159 detailed images of thylacine hair was created together by CSIRO and Where Light Meets Dark.
The Australian Museum in Sydney started a cloning project in 1999. The goal was to use genetic material from samples collected and preserved in the early 20th century to create new individuals and bring the species back from extinction. Some scientists believed the project was more for public attention than real research. In late 2002, researchers successfully extracted usable DNA from the samples. On 15 February 2005, the museum announced it would stop the project. In May 2005, a group of universities and a research institute restarted the effort.
In August 2022, the University of Melbourne announced a partnership with a biotechnology company in Texas, Colossal Biosciences, to try to recreate the thylacine using its closest living relative, the fat-tailed dunnart, and return it to Tasmania. The university recently mapped the complete DNA of a young thylacine sample and is setting up a laboratory to study thylacine genetics. The research is led by Andrew Pask. Other scientists not involved in the project expressed doubt about its success.
A draft of the thylacine’s full DNA sequence was created in 2017 by Feigin and others using DNA from a young thylacine sample preserved in alcohol, provided by Museums Victoria. Scientists also studied the early development of the thylacine by examining preserved young specimens from museum collections. Researchers used the DNA sequence to learn about the thylacine’s evolution, its relationships with other animals, and changes in its population over time.
In 2019, scientists studied how the thylacine and grey wolf evolved to look similar, finding that many parts of their DNA changed quickly, a sign of strong natural selection. In 2021, researchers linked the similar skull shapes of the thylacine and wolf to specific genetic factors. These factors influence the development of skull bones that form from the same group of cells in early life. In 2023, scientists extracted RNA from a 130-year-old thylacine sample in Sweden, the first time RNA was taken from an extinct species. In October 2024, scientists completed a 99.9% DNA sequence of the thylacine from a well-preserved 110-year-old skull. The full DNA sequence of the species was completed three months later.
Cultural significance
The thylacine has been used in many ways as a symbol of Tasmania. It appears on the official Tasmanian coat of arms. It is also used in the logos of the Tasmanian government and the City of Launceston. The University of Tasmania includes the thylacine on its ceremonial mace, and the submarine HMAS Dechaineux has the animal on its badge. Since 1998, the thylacine has been shown on Tasmanian vehicle number plates. The animal has also been on postage stamps from Australia, Equatorial Guinea, and Micronesia.
National Threatened Species Day in Australia is celebrated every year on September 7. This date marks when the last known thylacine died in 1936.
The thylacine has become an important cultural symbol in Australia. One of the most well-known drawings of the animal is from John Gould’s The Mammals of Australia (1845–1863). This image has been copied many times since it was published. Cascade Brewery used it on a label in 1987. In 1934, the Tasmanian government printed a black-and-white version of the same image. Louisa Anne Meredith also used the drawing in her book Tasmanian Friends and Foes (1881). The thylacine is the mascot for the Tasmanian cricket team. Some postage stamps with Australian animals and Mickey Mouse characters include a thylacine.
In video games, a character named Ty the Tasmanian Tiger, who uses a boomerang, is the main character in a series of games from the 2000s. A character named Tiny Tiger, from the Crash Bandicoot game series, is a mutated thylacine. In the game Valorant, an agent named Skye can use a Tasmanian tiger to find enemies and clear areas where bombs are planted.
The thylacine has also appeared in films and television shows. In the 1990s cartoon Taz-Mania, a character named Wendell T. Wolf, who is the last surviving Tasmanian wolf, is shown. The 2011 film The Hunter is based on a book by Julia Leigh. It stars Willem Dafoe, who plays a man trying to find a thylacine. In the 2021 film Extinct, a thylacine named Burnie helps characters travel through time to save extinct animals. In the 2022 science-fiction show The Peripheral, scientists bring the thylacine back to life using DNA. An animated web series called De-extincting Tasie explains how scientists are trying to bring the species back. It features a thylacine named Tasie, inspired by the character Mr. DNA from Jurassic Park.
Artwork showing animals similar to the thylacine has been found in Northern Australia, especially in the Kimberley region.
Aboriginal people in Tasmania have used several names for the thylacine, including coorinna, kanunnah, cab-berr-one-nen-er, loarinna, laoonana, can-nen-ner, lagunta, and kaparunina in Palawa kani.
One Nuenonne myth tells the story of a thylacine pup who saved a spirit boy named Palana from a giant kangaroo. Palana painted the pup’s back with ochre to honor its bravery, which is why thylacines have stripes. A constellation called “Wurrawana Corinna” (near Gemini) was created to remember this story.
An early European record describes how Aboriginal people believed bad weather happened if a thylacine’s body was left outside without being covered.