Tasmanian tiger's ancestry revealed, scientists aim to clone species

Thylacine, also known as the Tasmanian tiger or Tasmanian wolf, went extinct in the 20th century. However, scientists have solved the mystery of its origins. What's more, they plan to clone it and bring it back to life.

The Tasmanian tiger has much in common with the Tasmanian devil. Both creatures belonged to the dasyurids, and the devil itself once shared ecosystems with the larger thylacine. "Belonged" is the key word here because thylacines are now categorized as a distinct group of Australian predators, not as dasyurids, as they were previously.

It's worth delving into the history of this creature. The thylacine, or Thylacinus cynocephalus, is the largest carnivorous marsupial of modern times. Initially, it was found in Australia and New Guinea, but over time, representatives of this species moved exclusively to Tasmania. When European colonizers arrived there, the Tasmanian tiger was considered a pest. It was such a nuisance to the population that at one time, a financial reward was offered for each thylacine killed. The last known thylacine died in 1936 at the Beaumaris Zoo in Hobart.

With the death of the last member of this peculiar species, the chances of learning more about the thylacine's exact history and identifying its ancestors significantly decreased. Scientists from the University of New South Wales in Sydney decided to change this and gain a better understanding of this mysterious animal.

Many signs indicate that their plans will succeed, thanks to the discovery of fossilized remains of three new species of thylacine ancestors found in the northwestern part of Queensland, described in the journal "Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology." They were named Badjcinus timfaulkneri, Ngamalacinus nigelmarveni, and Nimbacinus peterbridge. Scientists point out that the findings do not entirely resemble thylacines known to humanity from modern times but are certainly their ancestors.

The largest of the Tasmanian tiger's ancestors, Badjcinus timfaulkneri, weighed over 10 kg and had jaws strong enough to crush bones. According to scientists, it is the oldest ancestor of the thylacine. Their findings suggest that each of these three species contributed to the formation of the thylacine, whose past has been a mystery to researchers.

Importantly, each of the mentioned ancestors lived over 20 million years ago. Millions of years of evolution led to the formation of a single species that went extinct not so long ago, just 88 years ago. Other scientists (from Stockholm University) plan to clone the extinct species and bring it back to life. They aim to use isolated RNA of the animal to achieve this.