Volume 30, Plate V / Mammalia (Mammals)

Thylacinus

Thylacinus cynocephalus

A large dog headed marsupial of pale brown washed with yellow, marked across the back and haunches by some seventeen transverse black bands, broadest over the rump, with a thick tail furred at base and a small black patch before each eye, adults reaching near six feet including a tail of about two feet. Inhabiting Van Diemen’s Land amid caverns and glens, it preys on kangaroos and small animals and moves slowly by day from imperfect vision.