Thylacinus potens

Thylacinus potens
Temporal range: Miocene 10–8 Ma
↓
Upper jaw
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Infraclass: Marsupialia
Order: Dasyuromorphia
Family: †Thylacinidae
Genus: †Thylacinus
Species:
†T. potens
Binomial name
†Thylacinus potens

Thylacinus potens ("powerful pouched dog") was the largest species of the family Thylacinidae, originally known from a single poorly preserved fossil discovered by Michael O. Woodburne in 1967 in a Late Miocene locality near Alice Springs, Northern Territory. It preceded the most recent species of thylacine by 4–6 million years,[2] and was 5% bigger,[3] was more robust and had a shorter, broader skull. Its size is estimated to be similar to that of a grey wolf; the head and body together were around 5 feet long, and its teeth were less adapted for shearing compared to those of the now-extinct thylacine.[2]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference Woodburne1967 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference naturalworlds was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference Wroe2009 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).