Quick facts
Where it lived: Australia (including Tasmania) and New Guinea
When it went extinct: 1936
What its species name means: Thylacinus cynocephalus means "dog-headed pouched dog."
The Tasmanian tiger, also known as the thylacine or Tasmanian wolf, is an extinct carnivorous marsupial that once roamed Australia (including the island of Tasmania) and New Guinea. Tasmanian tigers looked a bit like striped dogs, with big jaws; yellow fur with black stripes; stumpy legs; and a long, skinny tail. But they were not closely related to dogs. Instead, their closest living relatives are other meat-eating marsupials, like Tasmanian devils and quolls. Like other marsupials, they carried their young in pouches.
