Thylacine facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Thylacine |
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†T. cynocephalus
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| Thylacinus cynocephalus (Harris, 1808)
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The thylacine ( binomial name Thylacinus cynocephalus), also commonly known as the Tasmanian tiger or Tasmanian wolf, is an extinct carnivorous marsupial that was native to the 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.
The first detailed scientific description was made by Tasmania's Deputy Surveyor-General, George Harris, in 1808, five years after first European settlement of the island.
The common name derives directly from the genus name, originally from the Greek θύλακος (thýlakos), meaning "pouch" or "sack" and ine meaning "pertaining to". The name is pronounced THY-lə-seen or THY-lə-syne.
The thylacine has been used extensively as a symbol of Tasmania. The animal is featured on the official coat of arms of Tasmania.
The extinction of the thylacine
Thylacines were common across Australia. Fossil remains have been found in Queensland, paintings have been found in Western Australia, and a mummified body was found in cave on the Nullabor Plain in South Australia. The body was dated as being 4,650 years old. The thylacine began to disappear from the Australian mainland about 5,000 years ago. This is about the same time as the arrival in Australia of the dingo. Because of rising sea levels 10,000 years ago, Tasmania was separated from the Australian mainland by Bass Strait which the dingo never crossed. By the time Europeans came to Australia in 1788, the Thylacine was only living in Tasmania.
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.
The first detailed scientific description was made by Tasmania's Deputy Surveyor-General, George Harris, in 1808, five years after first European settlement of the island.
Thylacines were hunted because farmers said they were killing sheep. The Tasmanian government gave money to farmers for each thylacine they killed. The last thylacine shot and killed was at Mawbanna, Tasmania, on 13 May, 1930, by farmer Wilfred Batty. The government brought in laws to protect them a few months before the last one died. They are now extinct, which means there are no thylacines left alive anywhere in the world.
Appearance
The Thylacine was about 1.8 metres (71 inches) long and its tail was up to 53 cms (21 inches) long. It would have been about 58 centimetres (23 inches) tall and could be up to 30 kilograms (66 pounds) in weight. It was grey and brown in colour with 16 black or brown stripes on its back. It had the same shape as a dog, but the back, rump and tail were more like a kangaroo. Its tail was quite stiff. It had very short legs. It had teeth like a dog, but with more incisor teeth. It was able to open its mouth very wide, to about 120 degrees. Only snakes open their jaws as widely. It also had a crescent shaped bag, opening to the back, to carry its young.
The thylacine was a nocturnal (night) hunting animal. They ate wallabies, rats, birds, echidnas, rabbits and sheep.
The thylacines were marsupials, which means the female carried the babies in a pouch. The pouch opened to the rear.
Research
The Australian Museum in Sydney began a cloning project in 1999. The team led by evolutionary biologist Mike Archer wanted to use genetic material from specimens taken and preserved in the early 20th century to clone new individuals and restore the species from extinction. Several molecular biologists have dismissed the project as a public relations stunt.
In late 2002, the researchers had some success as they were able to extract replicable DNA from the specimens. On 15 February 2005, the museum announced that it was stopping the project after tests showed the DNA taken from the specimens was unsuitable for use. In May 2005, Archer, the University of New South Wales Dean of Science at the time, former director of the Australian Museum, announced that the project was being restarted by a group of interested universities and a research institute.
In 2008, researchers Andrew J. Pask and Marilyn B. Renfree from the University of Melbourne and Richard R. Behringer from the University of Texas at Austin reported that they managed to restore functionality of a gene Col2A1 enhancer obtained from 100-year-old ethanol-fixed thylacine tissues from museum collections. The genetic material was found working in transgenic mice. Their results were published in the journal Genome Research in 2009.
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. The university had recently sequenced the genome of a juvenile thylacine specimen and was establishing a thylacine genetic restoration laboratory.
Images for kids
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The skulls of the thylacine (left) and the timber wolf, Canis lupus, are quite similar, although the species are only distantly related. Studies show the skull shape of the red fox, Vulpes vulpes, is even closer to that of the thylacine.
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Thylacine rock art at Ubirr
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Tasmanian devil and thylacine, both labelled as members of Didelphis, from Harris' 1808 description. This is the earliest known non-indigenous illustration of a thylacine.
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Stuffed specimen in Madrid
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The thylacine's footprint is easy to distinguish from those of native and introduced species.
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Thylacine Cast – used as reference cast by Tasmanian Government field biologists
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One of only two known photos of a thylacine with a distended pouch, bearing young. Adelaide Zoo, 1889
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Thylacine family at Beaumaris Zoo in Hobart, 1909
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Thylacine family at Beaumaris Zoo in Hobart, 1910
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Analysis of the skeleton suggests that, when hunting, the thylacine relied on stamina rather than speed in the chase.
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Bagged thylacine, 1869
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This 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. In fact the image is cropped to hide the fenced run and housing, and analysis by one researcher has concluded that this thylacine is a mounted specimen, posed for the camera.
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The last known thylacine photographed at Beaumaris Zoo in 1933. A scrotal sac is not visible in this or any other of the photos or film taken, leading to the supposition that "Benjamin" was a female. Photographic analysis in 2011 suggested "Benjamin" was indeed a male.
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Map showing location of sightings between 1936 and 1980 in Tasmania. Black = 1 sighting, red = 5 sightings
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Map of sightings in the south west of Western Australia
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Thylacine skeleton, Muséum national d'histoire naturelle, Paris
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John Gould's lithographic plate from "Mammals of Australia"
See also
In Spanish: Tilacino para niños
