ulventhylacine

Ulventhylacine is a fictional taxon created for speculative zoology and science fiction. It is not recognized by any scientific authority and has no fossil record. The name is constructed to evoke a wolf-like canid form fused with thylacine affinities.

Taxonomy (fictional): Kingdom Animalia; Phylum Chordata; Class Mammalia; Order Dasyuromorphia; Family Thylacinidae; Genus Ulvithylacinus; Species Ulvithylacinus ferox. Note that this is a fictional designation.

Description: In fiction, ulventhylacine is described as a midsized carnivorous marsupial roughly the size of a gray wolf. It has a robust build, a long blunt snout, and a short tail. Its coat is typically depicted as brindled or striped, with a mix of tawny and black markings. Like other marsupials in speculative contexts, females are depicted as pouch-bearing.

Ecology and behavior: Primarily nocturnal; preys on small to mid-sized mammals and birds; uses ambush and stealth; territorial and known to mark its territory with scent.

Distribution and habitat: In fictional works, inhabited temperate forests and coastal scrub of a landmass analogous to Pleistocene Australia. The range is often described as neighboring the historical Tasmanian region.

Origins in fiction: The term first appeared in speculative biology essays and later in role-playing games and alternate-history fiction, where it serves as a stand-in for a Tasmanian predator in a diverged history.

Conservation status: Not applicable; no real specimens exist.