Thylacine

The thylacine (Thylacinus cynocephalus), more commonly known as the Tasmanian wolf or Tasmanian tiger, was the largest modern marsupial carnivore until it went extinct in 1936.ICUN on Tylacinus cynocephalus Thylacines first evolved around 23 million years ago and had become practically marsupial dogs,Richard Dawkins once said in The Ancestor's Tale "...the skeleton [of a thylacine] is harder to distinguish [from a dog]. Zoology students at Oxford had to identify 100 zoological specimens as part of the final exam. Word soon got around that, if ever a 'dog' skull was given, it was safe to identify it as Thylacinus on the grounds that anything as obvious as a dog skull had to be a catch." both having adapted to similar niches. In their prime, thylacines were the apex predators of New Guinea, Australia, and Tasmania, although Tasmanian devils likely preyed on their young.Australian Museum: The Thylacine More than 4000 years ago, Asian traders introduced dingoes to Australia.Mitochondrial DNA data indicate an introduction through Mainland Southeast Asia for Australian dingoes and Polynesian domestic dogs Dingoes and thylacines occupied different ecological niches (like the opossum eating in your trash can live in harmony with the raccoon also eating from your trash), but apparently shared diseases, Lauren C. White; Frédérik Saltré; Corey J. A. Bradshaw; Jeremy J. Austin (2018). "High-quality fossil dates support a synchronous, Late Holocene extinction of devils and thylacines in mainland Australia". Biology Letters. 14 (1): 20170642. doi:10.1098/rsbl.2017.0642. PMC 5803592 Freely accessible. PMID 29343562. and thylacines became extinct on mainland Australia. A population persisted on Tasmania, but hunting continued, and in 1936, the species became extinct.
==Cryptozoology==
Despite its extinction, some 3800 unconfirmed sightings of the thylacine have been reported.Australian Rare Fauna Research Association FAQ In addition, there are the usual dubious photographs and government funded searches that turn up nothing.The Sydney Morning Herald:Tourist claims to have snapped Tasmanian tigerThe Sydney Morning Herald:Mystery that burns so bright Some sightings apparently even come from mainland Australia and New Guinea,The Cryptid Zoo:ThyacineScientists investigate Tasmanian tiger sightings by Mindy Weisberger (March 31, 2017, 1:25 PM) CBS News. where thylacines have been extinct for literally thousands of years.Paddle, Robert (2000). The Last Tasmanian Tiger: the History and Extinction of the Thylacine. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-53154-2
==Cloning and genetics==
In 1999, a project to clone the thylacine began, and even claimed a breakthrough.The Guardian:Back from the dead Unfortunately, the project was canceled in 2005.ABC News Online: Museum ditches thylacine cloning project via the Wayback Machine Some work has been done since on thylacine genetics, including the sequencing of the thylacine mitochondrial genome, and possibly getting the nuclear genome for $1 million.NCBI:The mitochondrial genome sequence of the Tasmanian tiger (Thylacinus cynocephalus)
==Gallery==
File:"Benjamin".jpg|The last captive thylacine
File:Thylacine footage compilation.ogv|Compilation of all known videos of captive thylacines
File:Thylacine rock art at Ubirr.jpg|Rock art of a thylacine in Ubirr, Northern Territory, Australia
==See also==
*Convergent evolution
==Notes==
==References==
Category:Animals
Category:Australia