Thylacine
| Thylacine[1] | |
|---|---|
| |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Missing taxonomy template (fix): | Thylacinus |
| Species: | †T. cynocephalus
|
| Binomial name | |
| †Thylacinus cynocephalus (Harris, 1808)
| |
| |
| Historic Thylacine range in Tasmania | |
| Synonyms | |
|
List
| |
The Thylacine (Thylacinus cynocephalus) is an extinct species of mammal. It was a carnivorous marsupial animal. The Thylacine was also known as Tasmanian tiger, Tasmanian wolf and Tasmanian hyena. The last known Thylacine died in a Hobart zoo on 7 September 1936.[2] They once lived across Australia and New Guinea. There are paintings of the animals in the north of Western Australia, and in the Northern Territory.[3] At Riversleigh in north Queensland, scientists have discovered the fossil bones of thylacines that are at least 30 million years old.[4]
Extinction
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.[5] 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.
Sailors on Abel Tasman's ship in November 1642 reported seeing "tiger" footprints.[6] The French explorer, Antoine Bruni d'Entrecasteaux, found a thylacine jaw bone in 1792.[6] On May 13, 1792, he made the first confirmed sighting, which was described as being the size of a large dog, streaked with black. In 1805, Lieutenant Governor Paterson sent a description of a Thylacine to Sydney. He said the animal was rare and uncommon.[6]
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.[5] The government brought in laws to protect them a few months before the last one died.[5] They are now extinct, which means there are no Thylacines left alive anywhere in the world.[7]
Background
The Thylacine, also known as the Tasmanian tiger, was Tasmania's biggest marsupial and its apex predator. In 1936, the last Thylacine, Benjamin, Was killed due to exposure (Cold weather) . But, was this actually the demise of the Thylacine? Well, not exactly. You see, 2 breeding's pairs of the Thylacine Specimen were headed towards the Bronx Zoo, NY, But, the Transport Ship collided into the docks and, you guessed it, most upon all of the animals, including the breeding's pairs, ESCAPED into New York and possibly elsewhere. As of today, there is no proof of Thylacine in North America, but there is a great possibility that the beloved Thylacine is in fact, not extinct. It is widely believed that people mistook the Thylacine for the Chubacabra, a Myth/legend. There is also speculation, as of now, I do not know for sure about this topic, that a Thylacine or Thylacines may have escaped from a railroad in Texas while being transported. Even so this is a chance to prove that us humans did not fully kill off the Thylacine. But anyways, here's some basic background knowledge I snapped from another page, go visit it here if you want full info: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thylacine
The Thylacine (/ˈθaɪ.lə.siːn/, 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. They had almost died out out on the Australian mainland from around 2,000 years ago, most likely because of the introduction of dingoes or due to climate change. Prior to European settlement around 5,000 remained in the wild on Tasmania. Beginning in the nineteenth century they were perceived as a threat to the livestock of farmers and bounty hunting was introduced. The last known of its species died in 1936 at Hobart Zoo in Tasmania. The Thylacine is widespread in popular culture and is a cultural icon in Australia.
The Thylacine was known as the Tasmanian tiger because it displayed dark transverse stripes that radiated from the top of its back, and it was known as the Tasmanian wolf because it had the general appearance of a medium-to-large-size canid. The name Thylacine is derived from thýlakos meaning "pouch" and ine meaning "pertaining to", and refers to the marsupial pouch. Both genders had a pouch. The females used theirs for rearing young and the males used theirs as a protective sheath, covering the external reproductive organs. It also had a stiff tail and could open its jaws to an unusual extent. The Thylacine was an apex predator, though exactly how large its prey had been is disputed. Its closest living relatives are the other members of Dasyuromorphia including the Tasmanian devil.
The Thylacine had died out on New Guinea and very few were left on the Australian mainland before European settlement of the continent. Intensive hunting on Tasmania is generally blamed for its extinction, but other contributing factors were disease, the introduction of and competition with dingoes, human encroachment into its habitat and climate change. The remains of the last known Thylacine were discovered at the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery in 2022. Since extinction there have been numerous searches and reported sightings of live animals, none of which have been confirmed.
The Thylacine has been used extensively as a symbol of Tasmania. The animal is featured on the official coat of arms of Tasmania. On 7 September, the date in 1936 on which the last known Thylacine died, National Threatened Species Day is commemorated in Australia. Universities, museums and other institutions across the world research the animal. Its whole genome sequence has been mapped and there are efforts to clone and bring them back to life.
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.[8] It had teeth like a dog, but with more incisor teeth. The thylacine was able to open its mouth about 120 degrees.[5]
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.[5]
Other websites
References
 |
Wikispecies has information related to Thylacinus cynocephalus |
- ↑ Groves, C. P. (2005). Wilson, D. E.; Reeder, D. M., eds. Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 23. ISBN 0-801-88221-4. OCLC 62265494. Search this book on
- ↑ "Tasmanian Wildlife - Thylacine, or Tasmanian Tiger". Archived from the original on 2008-07-21. Retrieved 2008-06-01. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "Indigenous Peoples and the Thylacine" (htm). Australia's Thylacine. Australian Museum Online. 2002. Retrieved August 5, 2008.
- ↑ "Is there a fossil Thylacine?" (htm). Australia's Thylacine. Australian Museum Online. 2002. Retrieved August 5, 2008.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 Beresford ,Quentin & Bailey, Garry (1981). Search for the Tasmanian tiger. Hobart, Tasmania: Blubber Head Press. ISBN 0-908528-06-X.CS1 maint: Multiple names: authors list (link) Search this book on
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Paddle, Robert (2000). The Last Tasmanian Tiger: The history and extinction of the thylacine. Melbourne, Australia: Cambridge University Press. Search this book on
- ↑ The last known Tasmanian tiger was named "Benjamin" Archived 2012-08-19 at the Wayback Machine; retrieved 2012-7-5.
- ↑ "What did the thylacine look like?" (htm). Australia's Thylacine. Australian Museum Online. 2002. Retrieved August 5, 2008.
This article "Thylacine" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical and/or the page Edithistory:Thylacine. Articles copied from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be seen on the Draft Namespace of Wikipedia and not main one.
|
This page exists already on Wikipedia. |
