The Thylacine (Thylacinus cynocephalus), also known as the Tasmanian Wolf or Tassie, was the largest known carnivorous marsupial of modern times. Native to Australia and New Guinea , it is thought to have become extinct in the 20th century.

Intensive hunting encouraged by bounties is generally blamed for its extinction, but other contributory factors may have been disease, the introduction of dogs, and human encroachment into its habitat. Despite being officially classified as extinct, sightings are still reported.

The first detailed scientific description was made by Tasmania’s Deputy Surveyor-General, George Harris in 1808, five years after first settlement of the island. Harris originally placed the Thylacine in the genus Didelphis, which had been created by Linnaeus for the American opposums, describing it as Didelphis cynocephala, the “dog-headed opossum”.