What is a Tasmanian Tiger?

The Tasmanian tiger, also called Tasmanian wolf and thylacine, was neither a tiger nor a wolf, but a marsupial, and closely related to the Tasmanian devil. The last known Tasmanian tiger died in 1936, but hundreds of unconfirmed sightings have spurred investigations into whether the animal still lives.

Tasmanian tigers were meat eaters. They hunted Kangaroos, sheep and wallabies, reportedly, though there is little research into the eating habits of these animals. These animals could open their mouths almost 90 degrees, according to the Encyclopedia Britannica. However, a study in the August 2011 Journal of Zoology found that the Tasmanian tiger wouldn't have been able to kill large prey because of its weak jaw. The authors thought that the animal would have hunted for small marsupials like wallabies and possums.

Classification/taxonomy 

Here is the taxonomy information for the Tasmanian tiger, according to the Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS):

Kingdom: Animalia
Subkingdom: Bilateria
Infrakingdom: Deuterostomia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Infraphylum: Gnathostomata
Superclass: Tetrapoda
Class: Mammalia
Subclass: Theria
Infraclass: Metatheria
Order: Dasyuromorphia
Family: Thylacinidae
Genus: Thylacinus
Species: Thylacinus cynocephalus