thylacinids

Thylacinids are a family of carnivorous marsupials in the order Dasyuromorphia, native to Australia and New Guinea. They first appeared in the fossil record during the Oligocene or Miocene and diversified through the Neogene. The best-known member is Thylacinus cynocephalus, the Tasmanian tiger or thylacine, which survived on the island of Tasmania until 1936.

The family Thylacinidae includes several extinct genera known from fossils, with Thylacinus as the most famous. Notable fossil taxa include the small-bodied Nimbacinus; others are less well established. The modern Tasmanian tiger is the only member to have persisted into recent times.

Thylacinids had a dog-like build with a pointed muzzle, a body length around 70–130 cm in larger species, and a tail. Their forelimbs were strong; hindlimbs adapted for running. They bore a pouch that opened rearwards in females, typical of marsupials. Coat patterns ranged from plain to striped in some species; the Tasmanian tiger had distinctive vertical stripes. They were carnivorous predators, likely feeding on small to mid-sized vertebrates, and possibly scavenging.

After humans arrived in Australia, thylacinids declined due to habitat modification, hunting pressure, and competition with introduced species. In Tasmania, the last known individual died in 1936. Today, thylacinids are known only from fossils and museum specimens, but their biology and evolution continue to be studied.