thylacine

thylacine (thī'lusīn") [key]or Tasmanian wolf,carnivorous marsupial, or pouched mammal, of Tasmania. The thylacine is often cited as an example of convergent evolution: It is superficially quite similar to a wolf or dog, although it has evolved entirely independently of these animals. About the size of a collie, it has a long tail and a wolflike head with short ears and strong jaws and teeth. Its coat is brownish with a series of black stripes across the back; it is also known as the Tasmanian tiger. A nocturnal hunter, the thylacine preys on animals up to the size of small kangaroos. The female gives birth to very undeveloped young, which are then carried in a pouch surrounding the teats. Thylacines have been hunted nearly to extinction because of their attacks on sheep and poultry. The last thylacine in captivity died in the Hobart Zoo in 1936, but a few individuals are believed to survive in wild areas of W Tasmania. They are classified in the phylum Chordata, subphylum Vertebrata, class Mammalia, order Marsupialia, family Dasyuridae.

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2007, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

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