Thylacine

The Thylacine, Tasmanian Tiger or Tasmanian Wolf (Thylacinus cynocephalus) is an extinct carnivorous marsupial that was native to the Australian mainland and the islands of Tasmania and New Guinea.

Etymology

In 1824, it was separated out into its own genus, Thylacinus, by Coenraad Jacob Temminck. The common name derives directly from the genus name, originally from the Ancient Greek θύλακος (thýlakos), meaning "pouch" or "sack" and -ine meaning "pertaining to". The name is pronounced THY-lə-seen or THY-lə-syne.

Singular: Thylacine, Tasmanian Wolf, Tasmanian Tiger, Marsupial Wolf
Plural: Thylacines, Tasmanian Wolves, Tasmanian Tigers, Marsupial Wolves

Physical Appearance

The animal was a predatory marsupial that lived 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 because of the striped markings of the pelage. Thylacinus is a genus that superficially resembles the dogs and foxes of the family Canidae.

The thylacine's characteristics have been described using preserved specimens, fossil records, skins, skeletal remnants, and black-and-white images and footage of the animal in the wild and in captivity. The thylacine looked like a huge, short-haired dog with a stiff tail that curved smoothly away from the body as a kangaroo's would. The mature thylacine had a tail that was approximately 50–65 cm (20–26 in) long and was between 100–130 cm (39–51 in) in length.

Adults might weigh anywhere between 8 and 30 kg (18 to 66 lb) and stand around 60 cm (24 in) tall. There was a very modest sexual dimorphism, with males generally larger than females. The average weight of a guy was 19.7 kilograms (43 lb), and the average weight of a female was 13.7 kilograms (30 lb). The red fox's skull is the one that most closely resembles the canids' skulls in terms of convergence.

Thylacines, uniquely for marsupials, had largely cartilaginous epipubic bones with a highly reduced osseous element. This was once considered a synapomorphy with sparassodonts, 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, which earned the animal the nickname "tiger". The stripes were more pronounced in younger specimens, fading as the animal got older. One of the stripes extended down the outside of the rear thigh. Its body hair was dense and soft, up to 15 mm (0.6 in) in length. The coloration varied from light fawn to a dark brown; the belly was cream-colored.

The thylacine was sandy yellowish-brown to grey in color and had 15 to 20 distinct dark stripes across the back from shoulders to tail. Although the large head was dog- or wolf-like, the tail was stiff and the legs were relatively short. Body hair was dense, short, and soft, up to 15mm in length.

The pouch on the female thylacine's back opened. The number of babies in the litter might reach four, and they needed their mother until they were at least halfway grown. Interestingly, males possessed a partial pouch with a back opening as well.

Abilities

The majority travel in packs or with at least one other thylacine. They can cover even big distances very quickly in both smooth and rocky terrain thanks to their good land speed. Packs of up to 5–9 thylacines are not unusual in the icy or desert plains, so whenever you fight one, make sure you have killed the entire pack before turning around.

Thylacine smells for nearby wounded non-allied survivors and wild creatures (50% below health), perfect if the survivor or creature is hiding in areas not so easily detectable by naked eyes.

Ecology

Thylacine apparently located its prey by scent and hunted mainly at night, singly or in pairs. Its main food items were reported to be kangaroos and wallabies. Lairs were often located among rocks, but litter was discovered among dense vegetation.

The animal, both in the wild and in captivity, was seen to growl and hiss when aroused, frequently followed by a threatening yawn. It would make a series of quickly repeated guttural barks that resembled coughs during hunting (reported as "yip-yap," "cay-yip," or "hop-hop-hop"), perhaps to communicate with other family pack members.

Additionally, it made a low snuffling sound that was probably used for family communication as well as a long whining cry that was probably used for identification at a distance. Some witnesses said it smelled powerful and distinctive; others said it smelled clean and animal-like; and some said there was no scent at all. The thylacine might have given off an odor when disturbed, like its relative, the Tasmanian devil.

The thylacine was exclusively carnivorous. In captivity, thylacines had a clear preference for birds (particularly chickens). In the wild, large ground-dwelling birds (such as Tasmanian nativehens) may have been their primary prey, since they are documented to have hunted a wide range of them, and their comparatively moderate bite force was more suited to hollow avian bones. During its peak occupation of the mainland, such prey would have been bountiful, and studies of their Pleistocene habitat point to a more suitable diet consisting of a range of megapodes (such as the giant malleefowl), ratites (such as the emu), and possibly dromornithids (most of which became extinct prior to European settlement).

Behavior

Although mostly nocturnal or semi-nocturnal, thylacines were also active during the day. The animal moved slowly and stiffly throughout its movements. The thylacines mostly hunted at night, either alone or in pairs.

Small pack animals, thylacines. If a Tasmanian tiger appears to be roaming the area alone, be sure to look around for the rest of its pack if you don't want to become its next meal. Given that Tasmanian wolves are carnivorous pack animals with vision that is almost as good as a human's, it is best to exercise caution around them. They are generally weak when regarded as a whole; they have characteristics with sabertooths, hens, sheep, cattle, goats, monitor lizards, terror birds, or theropods; they are swift and have deadly fangs; yet, even a basic bola and bow may easily dispatch them. They are typically present in moderate numbers, but when encountered in packs, they might possibly be considered the top of the food chain in the snow biome.

The thylacine was shy, evasive, and easily agitated; it wasn't hostile unless it was cornered. With the exception of Megalania and dingoes, this species coexisted peacefully with Aboriginal Australians and Tasmanians for tens of thousands of years in Tasmania. However, Africans, Asians, and Europeans saw thylacines as a pest and a threat to livestock and children in general during the 18th and 20th centuries.

Distribution and Habitat

It occurred in most habitat types from low (east) to high (north-west) rainfall, but at low densities in the south-west, where rainfall is very high, soil fertility is very low, and vegetation is hummock grassland (button grass), wet scrub, or wet forest. The thylacine was once found in New Guinea and was widespread on the Australian mainland, but disappeared from the latter by at least 2000 years ago, probably because of predation by and competition from dingoes to goannas, including others and humans before Tasmania.

Most likely, the thylacine favored the grasslands, wetlands, and dry eucalyptus forests of continental Australia. Indigenous Australian paintings on rocks suggest that the thylacine once roamed both New Guinea and mainland Australia. Desiccated remains of the animal that were found in a cave in the Nullarbor Plain of Western Australia in 1990 and were carbon dated to be about 3,300 years old provided evidence of its existence on mainland Australia.

Fossilized footprints that have recently undergone examination indicate the species' historical distribution on Kangaroo Island. The Kiowa rock shelter in Chimbu Province in the highlands of Papua New Guinea, which dates to the Early Holocene, roughly 10,000–8,500 years before the present, contains the species' northernmost record. Many captured for zoos (Australia, Europe, the U.S.), but they failed to breed successfully due to stress and poor understanding of care, and now this species is extinct.

Movement Pattern: Nomadic/Random
Individual Type: Solo, later pack
Population Trend: Stable
Population:
- Earth: 0
- Berbania: 5,000,000
- Reinachos: 45,000,000
- Sawintir: 30,000
- Delphia: 100,000
Locomotion: Terrestrial
Habitat: Montane Grasslands and Shrublands; Temperate Coniferous Forests; Temperate Broadleaf and Mixed Forests; Temperate Deciduous Forests; Temperate Grasslands, Savannas, and Shrublands; Subtropical Coniferous Forests; Subtropical Moist Broadleaf Forests; Subtropical Dry Broadleaf Forests; Subtropical Grasslands, Savannas, and Shrublands; Salt Flats; Stone Forest; Tropical Coniferous Forests; Tropical Moist Broadleaf Forests; Tropical Dry Broadleaf Forests; Tropical Grasslands, Savannas and Shrublands; Mediterranean Forests, Woodlands, and Scrub; Mushroom Forests; Mushroom Fields; Deserts and Xeric Shrublands; Badlands; Fallow Airbase; Flooded Grasslands and Savannas; Swamp; Bayous/Billabongs; Riparian; Wetland; Mangrove Forest; Cold Bamboo Forests; Tropical Bamboo Forests; Air-breathing Coral Reefs; Graveyard Vale; Mountain; Volcanic Crater Lake; Lava Field; Lava Tube; Volcano; Lava Trench; Basalt Delta; Warm Ghost Town; Cold Ghost Town; Ruined Skyscraper.
Earth:
- Prehistoric: Australia; Papua New Guinea
- Extinct: Australia (Tasmania)

Tamed

Thylacines were kept in zoos or as semi-tame animals, but they remained nocturnal and shy. Rarely displayed love or trust for people, and their nocturnal, feral tendencies, specialized carnivorous diet, and sensitivity to stress make them unsuitable as pets.

Even if they were extinct today, keeping them would be prohibited by current wildlife laws.

Lore

Thylacine was one of the largest known carnivorous marsupials (the largest in the world prior to its extinction), evolving about 2 million years ago. The last known live animal was captured in Tasmania in 1930. It is commonly known as the Tasmanian tiger (because of its striped lower back) or the Tasmanian wolf (because of its canid-like characteristics).

Scientists are making significant strides in the "de-extinction" of the Tasmanian tiger (thylacine), with researchers at the University of Melbourne's TIGRR lab, in collaboration with Colossal Biosciences, aiming to resurrect the species using gene-editing technology and stem cells from the fat-tailed dunnart. While Colossal Biosciences' CEO believes a thylacine could be produced within the next five years, University of Melbourne's Andrew Pask believes it could take a decade to create a thylacine-like cell, and potentially decades before a real thylacine is born.