The thylacine was the extinct Australian marsupial also known as the Tasmanian tiger.
Its striped back and dog-like body inspired the nickname, but it was not a canine. The thylacine belonged to the marsupial order Dasyuromorphia and carried young in a rear-opening pouch.
It once lived across mainland Australia and New Guinea, but survived longest in Tasmania. European settlers blamed it for attacks on livestock, and persecution, habitat change, competition, and disease contributed to its decline.
The last known thylacine died at Hobart Zoo in 1936. Although unconfirmed sightings continue, no accepted scientific evidence has shown that the species survives. The thylacine is therefore generally treated as extinct.