biology

Thylacinus

Thylacinus is a biology topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Thylacinus rather than just read about it. In short: Thylacinus is a genus of extinct carnivorous marsupials in the family Thylacinidae. The only recent member was the thylacine (Thylacinus cynocephalus), commonly also known as the Tasmanian tiger or Tasmanian wolf.

Key takeaways

Thylacinus belongs to biology; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Thylacinus to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Thylacinus from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Thylacinus is a genus of extinct carnivorous marsupials in the family Thylacinidae. The only recent member was the thylacine (Thylacinus cynocephalus), commonly also known as the Tasmanian tiger or Tasmanian wolf. The last known Tasmanian tiger was in the Beaumaris Zoo in Tasmania, eventually dying in 1936. The earliest known member of the genus, Thylacinus macknessi appeared during the Early Miocene, around 16 million years ago, and was smaller than the modern thylacine, with a body mass of about 6.7–9.0 kilograms (14.8–19.8 lb). Thylacinus represented the only extant genus of the family after the beginning of the Pliocene around 5 million years ago. Over time members of the genus saw an increase in body mass and a greater adaption to hypercarnivory in their dental morphology. A tooth referable to Thylacinus was collected from the Late Oligocene Wayne's Wok site at the Riversleigh World Heritage Area, making it the oldest record of the genus.

Phylogeny Below is a phylogeny by Yates (2015) on the relationships of Thylacinus.

References

[1]

External links Prehistoric range of the Thylacinidae Australian Thylacine Various Links

Tasmanian Tiger

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Thylacinus

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Thylacinus claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In biology, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Thylacinus before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Thylacinus ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Thylacinus

In research: Thylacinus appears in biology research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Thylacinus in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Thylacinus is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Dasyuromorphs, Extinct animals of Australia, Extinct marsupials, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Thylacinus outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

Affiliate

Preply — study more efficiently by working with a personal tutor. 50% off.

How to study Thylacinus in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Thylacinus means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Thylacinus out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Thylacinus in simple terms?

Why does Thylacinus matter?

Because it connects several biology ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Thylacinus?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Thylacinus.