thylacine
/ˈθʌɪləsiːn
/ /ˈθʌɪləsʌɪn/ /ˈθʌɪləsɪn/noun
A doglike carnivorous marsupial with stripes across the rump, found only in Tasmania. There have been no confirmed sightings since one was captured in 1933, and it is probably now extinct. Also called Tasmanian wolf.
- Thylacinus cynocephalus, family Thylacinidae.
- There are no records of either thylacines or dingoes (Canis lupus dingo) having ever lived on the island.
- Dingoes were originally pack animals and Australia's largest carnivores, and are believed to have caused the extinction of the thylacine and Tasmanian devil on the mainland.
Origin
Mid 19th century: from modern Latin Thylacinus (genus name), from Greek thulakos 'pouch'.