Thylacine

The thylacine (; binomial name Thylacinus cynocephalus), also commonly known as the Tasmanian tiger or Tasmanian wolf, is an extinct species of carnivorous marsupial which was native to the Australian mainland and the islands of Tasmania and New Guinea. The thylacine died out in New Guinea and mainland Australia around 3,600–3,200 years ago, possibly because of the introduction of the dingo, whose earliest record dates to around the same time, but which never reached Tasmania. Before European settlement, around 5,000 remained in the wild on the island of Tasmania. Beginning in the 19th century, they were perceived as a threat to the livestock of farmers and bounty hunting was introduced. The last known of its species died in 1936 at Hobart Zoo in Tasmania. The thylacine is widespread in popular culture and is a cultural icon in Australia.

The thylacine was known as the Tasmanian tiger because of the dark transverse stripes that radiated from the top of its back, and it was called the Tasmanian wolf because it resembled a medium- to large-sized canid. The name thylacine is derived from meaning 'pouch' and -ine meaning 'pertaining to', and refers to the marsupial pouch. Both sexes had a pouch. The females used theirs for rearing young, and the males used theirs as a protective sheath, covering the external reproductive organs. The animal had a stiff tail and could open its jaws to an unusual extent. Recent studies and anecdotal evidence on its predatory behaviour suggest that the thylacine was a solitary ambush predator specialised in hunting small- to medium-sized prey. Accounts suggest that, in the wild, it fed on small birds and mammals. It was the only member of the genus Thylacinus and family Thylacinidae to have survived until modern times. Its closest living relatives are the other members of Dasyuromorphia, including the Tasmanian devil, from which it is estimated to have split 42–36 million years ago.

Intensive hunting on Tasmania is generally blamed for its extinction, but other contributing factors were disease, the introduction of and competition with dingoes, human encroachment into its habitat and climate change. The remains of the last known thylacine were discovered at the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery in 2022. Since extinction there have been numerous searches and reported sightings of live animals, none of which have been confirmed.

The thylacine has been used extensively as a symbol of Tasmania. The animal is featured on the official coat of arms of Tasmania. Since 1996, National Threatened Species Day has been commemorated in Australia on 7 September, the date on which the last known thylacine died in 1936. Universities, museums and other institutions across the world research the animal. Its whole genome sequence has been mapped, and there are efforts to clone and bring it back to life.

Taxonomic and evolutionary history

Numerous examples of thylacine engravings and rock art have been found, dating back to at least 1000 BC. Petroglyph images of the thylacine can be found at the Dampier Rock Art Precinct, on the Burrup Peninsula in Western Australia.

By the time the first European explorers arrived, the animal was already extinct in mainland Australia and New Guinea and rare in Tasmania. Europeans may have encountered it in Tasmania as far back as 1642, when Abel Tasman first arrived in Tasmania. His shore party reported seeing the footprints of "wild beasts having claws like a Tyger". Marc-Joseph Marion du Fresne, arriving with the Mascarin in 1772, reported seeing a "tiger cat".

The first definitive encounter was by French explorers on 13 May 1792, as noted by the naturalist Jacques Labillardière, in his journal from the expedition led by d'Entrecasteaux. In 1805, William Paterson, the Lieutenant Governor of Tasmania, sent a detailed description for publication in the Sydney Gazette. He also sent a description of the thylacine in a letter to Joseph Banks, dated 30 March 1805.thumb|The earliest known non-indigenous illustration of a thylacine; from Harris's 1808 description|leftThe first detailed scientific description was made by Tasmania's Deputy Surveyor-General, George Harris, in 1808, five years after first European settlement of the island. Harris originally placed the thylacine in the genus Didelphis, which had been created by Linnaeus for the American opossums, describing it as Didelphis cynocephala, the "dog-headed opossum". Recognition that the Australian marsupials were fundamentally different from the known mammal genera led to the establishment of the modern classification scheme, and in 1796, Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire created the genus Dasyurus, where he placed the thylacine in 1810. To maintain gender agreement with the genus name, the species name was altered to cynocephalus. In 1824, it was separated out into its own genus, Thylacinus, by Temminck. The common name derives directly from the genus name, originally from the Greek (), meaning "pouch" or "sack" and ine meaning "pertaining to". The name is pronounced or .

Evolution

thumb|The thylacine was a basal member of [[Dasyuromorphia, an order comprising most of the Australian carnivorous marsupials]]thumb|Thylacine skull cast (bottom) and [[coyote skull (top), at the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology.]]The earliest records of the modern thylacine are from the Early Pleistocene, with the oldest known fossil record in southeastern Australia from the Calabrian age around 1.77–0.78 million years ago. Specimens from the Pliocene-aged Chinchilla Fauna, described as Thylacinus rostralis by Charles De Vis in 1894, have in the past been suggested to represent Thylacinus cynocephalus, but have been shown to either have been curatorial errors, or ambiguous in their specific attribution. The earliest representative of the family is Badjcinus turnbulli from the Late Oligocene of Riversleigh in Queensland, around 25 million years ago.

A classic example of convergent evolution, the thylacine showed many similarities to the members of the dog family, Canidae, of the Northern Hemisphere: sharp teeth, powerful jaws, raised heels, and the same general body form. Since the thylacine filled the same ecological niche in Australia and New Guinea as canids did elsewhere, it developed many of the same features. Despite this, as a marsupial, it is unrelated to any of the Northern Hemisphere placental mammal predators.

Thylacinidae, including the thylacine, as the earliest divering lineage of Dasyuromorphia, which also includes numbats, dunnarts, and Dasyuridae (which includes wambengers, quolls, and the Tasmanian devil, among numerous others) The cladogram below follows the results of genetic studies:Phylogeny of Thylacinidae after Rovinsky et al. (2019) Because the recorded body mass estimates are scant, it has been suggested that they may have weighed anywhere from , There was slight sexual dimorphism, with the males being larger than females on average. Males weighed on average , and females on average weighed . This was once considered a synapomorphy with sparassodonts, though it is now thought that both groups reduced their epipubics independently. Its yellow-brown coat featured 15 to 20 distinctive dark stripes across its back, rump and the base of its tail, One of the stripes extended down the outside of the rear thigh. Its body hair was dense and soft, up to in length. Colouration varied from light fawn to a dark brown; the belly was cream-coloured.

Its rounded, erect ears were about long and covered with short fur. The early scientific studies suggested it possessed an acute sense of smell which enabled it to track prey, Analysis of the forebrain published in 2023 suggested that it was similar in morphology to other dasyuromorph marsupials and dissimilar to that of canids.

thumb|The thylacine could open its jaws to an unusual extent: up to 80 degrees

The thylacine was able to open its jaws to an unusual extent: up to 80 degrees. This capability can be seen in part in David Fleay's short black-and-white film sequence of a captive thylacine from 1933. The jaws were muscular, and had 46 teeth, but studies show the thylacine jaw was too weak to kill sheep. The tail vertebrae were fused to a degree, with resulting restriction of full tail movement. Fusion may have occurred as the animal reached full maturity. The tail tapered towards the tip. In juveniles, the tip of the tail had a ridge. The female thylacine had a pouch with four teats, but unlike many other marsupials, the pouch opened to the rear of its body. Males had a scrotal pouch, unique amongst the Australian marsupials, into which they could withdraw their scrotal sac for protection. The hindfeet were similar to the forefeet but had four digits rather than five. Their claws were non-retractable.

The thylacine was noted as having a stiff and somewhat awkward gait, making it unable to run at high speed. It could also perform a bipedal hop, in a fashion similar to a kangaroo—demonstrated at various times by captive specimens.

Observers of the animal in the wild and in captivity noted that it would growl and hiss when agitated, often accompanied by a threat-yawn. During hunting, it would emit a series of rapidly repeated guttural cough-like barks (described as "yip-yap", "cay-yip" or "hop-hop-hop"), probably for communication between the family pack members. It also had a long whining cry, probably for identification at distance, and a low snuffling noise used for communication between family members. Some observers described it as having a strong and distinctive smell, others described a faint, clean, animal odour, and some no odour at all. It is possible that the thylacine, like its relative, the Tasmanian devil, gave off an odour when agitated.

Distribution and habitat

The thylacine most likely preferred the dry eucalyptus forests, wetlands, and grasslands of mainland Australia. Recently examined fossilised footprints also suggest historical distribution of the species on Kangaroo Island. The northernmost record of the species is from the Kiowa rock shelter in Chimbu Province in the highlands of Papua New Guinea, dating to the Early Holocene, around 10,000–8,500 years BP. In 2017, White, Mitchell and Austin published a large-scale analysis of thylacine mitochondrial genomes, showing that they had split into eastern and western populations on the mainland before the Last Glacial Maximum and that Tasmanian thylacines had a low genetic diversity by the time of European arrival.

In Tasmania, they preferred the woodlands of the midlands and coastal heath, which eventually became the primary focus of British settlers seeking grazing land for their livestock. The striped pattern may have provided camouflage in woodland conditions, The species had a typical home range of between .

Ecology and behaviour

Reproduction

thumb|right|Thylacine family at Hobart Zoo, 1909

There is evidence for at least some year-round breeding (cull records show joeys discovered in the pouch at all times of the year), although the peak breeding season was in winter and spring. Thylacines only once bred successfully in captivity, in Melbourne Zoo in 1899. Their life expectancy in the wild is estimated to have been 5 to 7 years, although captive specimens survived up to 9 years. One of four specimens kept at Museum Victoria has been serially sectioned, allowing an in-depth investigation of its internal tissues and providing some insights into thylacine pouch young development, biology, immunology and ecology.

Feeding and diet

The thylacine was an apex predator, though exactly how large its prey animals could be is disputed. It was a nocturnal and crepuscular hunter, spending the daylight hours in small caves or hollow tree trunks in a nest of twigs, bark, or fern fronds. It tended to retreat to the hills and forest for shelter during the day and hunted in the open heath at night. Early observers noted that the animal was typically shy and secretive, with awareness of the presence of humans and generally avoiding contact, although it occasionally showed inquisitive traits. At the time, much stigma existed in regard to its "fierce" nature; this is likely to be due to its perceived threat to agriculture.thumb|left|1887 illustration of an emu being chased by two thylacinesHistorical accounts suggest that in the wild, the thylacine preyed on small mammals and birds, with waterbirds being the most commonly recorded bird prey, with historical accounts of thylacines predating on black ducks and teals with coots, Tasmanian nativehens, swamphens, herons (Ardea) and black swans also being likely items of prey. The thylacine may also have preyed upon the now extinct Tasmanian emu. The most commonly recorded mammalian prey was the red-necked wallaby, with other recorded prey including the Tasmanian pademelon and the short-beaked echidna. Other probable native mammalian prey includes other marsupials like bandicoots and brushtail possums, as well as native rodents like water rats. Following their introduction to Tasmania, European rabbits rapidly multiplied and became abundant across the island, with a number of accounts reporting the predation of rabbits by thylacines. Some accounts also suggest that the thylacine may have preyed on lizards, frogs and fish.

European settlers believed the thylacine to prey regularly upon farmers' sheep and poultry. However, analysis by Robert Paddle suggests that there is little evidence that thylacines were significant predators of sheep or poultry (though some accounts suggest that they may have attacked them on occasion), with many sheep deaths likely caused by feral dog attacks instead. Throughout the 20th century, the thylacine was often characterised as primarily a blood drinker; according to Robert Paddle, the story's popularity seems to have originated from a single second-hand account heard by Geoffrey Smith (1881–1916) in a shepherd's hut.

thumb|Analysis of the skeleton suggests that, when hunting, the thylacine relied on stamina rather than speed in the chase

Recent studies suggest that the thylacine was probably not suited for hunting large prey. A 2007 study argued that, while it could open its jaws wide like modern mammalian predators that consume large prey, the canine of the thylacine was not suited for slashing bites like that of large canids, indicating, based on the assumption that the bite was largely derived by its skull, that it hunted small to medium-sized prey as a solitary hunter. Another study in 2020 produced similar results, after estimating the average body mass of thylacine as about rather than , suggesting that the animal did indeed hunt much smaller prey, although it was capable of taking down larger prey when necessary. A 2007 study also suggested that it would have had a much stronger bite force than a dingo of similar size, though this particular study argued that the thylacine would have hunted smaller prey. A 2014 study compared the skull of a thylacine with that of modern dasyurids and an earlier thylacinid taxon Nimbacinus based on biomechanical analysis of their 3D skull models; the authors suggested that while Nimbacinus was suited to hunt large prey with a maximum muscle force of which are similar to that of large Tasmanian devils, the thylacine skull displayed a much higher stress in all areas compared to its relatives due to its longer snout. If the thylacine was indeed specialised for small prey, this specialisation likely made it susceptible to small disturbances to the ecosystem. However, the trappers reported it as an ambush predator hunting alone or in pairs mainly at night. The elbow joint morphology and the forelimb anatomy of the thylacine also suggest that the animal was most likely an ambush predator.

The stomach of a thylacine was very muscular, capable of distending to allow the animal to eat large amounts of food at one time, probably an adaptation to compensate for long periods when hunting was unsuccessful and food scarce. There is a report of a captive thylacine that refused to eat dead wallaby flesh or to kill and eat a live wallaby offered to it, but "ultimately it was persuaded to eat by having the smell of blood from a freshly killed wallaby put before its nose."

Extinction

Dying out on the Australian mainland

Australia lost more than 90% of its megafauna around 50–40,000 years ago as part of the Quaternary extinction event, with the notable exceptions of several kangaroo and wombat species, emus, cassowaries, large goannas, and the thylacine. The extinctions included the even larger carnivore Thylacoleo carnifex (sometimes called the marsupial lion) which was only distantly related to the thylacine. The youngest radiocarbon dates of the thylacine in mainland Australia are around 3,500 years old, with an estimated extinction date around 3,200 years ago, synchronous with that of Tasmanian devil, and closely co-inciding with the earliest records of the dingo, as well as an intensification of human activity. Recent studies have documented additional thylacine depictions in Arnhem Land, including examples in rock art styles that may date to within the last 1,000 years, raising questions about whether the species may have persisted locally later than previously assumed, although this remains uncertain.

A study proposes that the dingo may have led to the extinction of the thylacine in mainland Australia because the dingo outcompeted the thylacine in preying on the Tasmanian nativehen. The dingo is also more likely to hunt in packs than the more solitary thylacine. Examinations of dingo and thylacine skulls show that although the dingo had a weaker bite, its skull could resist greater stresses, allowing it to pull down larger prey than the thylacine. Because it was a hypercarnivore, the thylacine was less versatile in its diet than the omnivorous dingo. Their ranges appear to have overlapped because thylacine subfossil remains have been discovered near those of dingoes. Aside from wild dingoes, the adoption of the dingo as a hunting companion by the indigenous peoples would have put the thylacine under increased pressure. A report published in the Journal of Biogeography detailed an investigation into the mitochondrial DNA and radio-carbon dating of thylacine bones. It concluded that the thylacine died out on mainland Australia in a relatively short time span. A study published in 2025 proposed that gene losses which accumulated throughout the thylacine's evolutionary history made the species more susceptible to extinction. The authors of the study suggest that genetic traits which would have made the thylacine more capable of adapting to environmental changes were lost and that these losses may have contributed to their eventual demise.

Ken Mulvaney has suggested, based on the high number of rock carvings of the thylacine on the Burrup Peninsula, Aboriginal Australians were aware of, and concerned about the thylacine's dwindling numbers around that time.

Dying out on Tasmania

thumb|Killed thylacine, 1869

Although the thylacine had died out on mainland Australia, it survived into the 1930s on the island of Tasmania. At the time of the first European settlement, the heaviest distributions were in the northeast, northwest and north-midland regions of the state.

Aside from persecution, it is likely that multiple factors rapidly compounded its decline and eventual extinction, including competition with wild dogs introduced by European settlers, erosion of its habitat, already-low genetic diversity, the concurrent extinction or decline of prey species, and a distemper-like disease that affected many captive specimens at the time. A study from 2012 suggested that the disease was likely introduced by humans, and that it was also present in the wild population. The marsupi-carnivore disease, as it became known, dramatically reduced the lifespan of the animal and greatly increased pup mortality.

thumb|left|This 1921 photo by Henry Burrell of a thylacine was widely distributed and may have helped secure the animal's reputation as a poultry thief. The circumstances that the photo was taken under have since been questioned, and the animal was likely in captivity or posed for the camera.

A 1921 photo by Henry Burrell of a thylacine with a chicken was widely distributed and may have helped secure the animal's reputation as a poultry thief. The image had been cropped to hide the fact that the animal was in captivity, and analysis by one researcher has concluded that this thylacine was a dead specimen, posed for the camera. The photograph may even have involved photo manipulation.thumb|Alb Quarrell posing for a picture with a thylacine he had recently killed; photo from 1921The animal had become extremely rare in the wild by the late 1920s. Despite the fact that the thylacine was believed by many to be responsible for attacks on sheep, in 1928 the Tasmanian Advisory Committee for Native Fauna recommended a reserve similar to the Savage River National Park to protect any remaining thylacines, with potential sites of suitable habitat including the Arthur-Pieman area of western Tasmania.

By the beginning of the 20th century, the increasing rarity of thylacines led to increased demand for captive specimens by zoos around the world, placing yet more pressure on an already small population. Despite the export of breeding pairs, attempts at rearing thylacines in captivity were unsuccessful, and the last thylacine outside Australia died at the London Zoo in 1931.thumb|Wilf Batty with the last thylacine that was killed in the wild; photo from 1930The last known thylacine to be killed in the wild was shot in 1930 by Wilf Batty, a farmer from Mawbanna in the state's northwest. The animal, believed to have been a male, had been seen around Batty's house for several weeks or months. The last definitive record of a wild thylacine was a young male individual captured in late 1931 by James Millar Kaine and sold to exotic animal dealer James "tiger" Harrison, who sold several other thylacines to various buyers during his career. The animal was caught alive, but had a broken leg and had been beaten with a farm hoe. It was treated for its injuries by a local doctor, after which it was returned to Harrison. Further investigations in 2017 showed evidence that this decline in genetic diversity started long before the arrival of humans in Australia, possibly starting as early as 70–120 thousand years ago.

The thylacine held the status of endangered species until the 1980s. International standards at the time stated that an animal could not be declared extinct until 50 years had passed without a confirmed record. Since no definitive proof of the thylacine's existence in the wild had been obtained for more than 50 years, it met that official criterion and was declared extinct by the International Union for Conservation of Nature in 1982 and by the Tasmanian government in 1986. The species was removed from Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) in 2013.

Last of the species

thumb|A thylacine, potentially the endling, photographed at [[Hobart Zoo in 1933]]The last captive thylacine lived as an endling (the known last of its species) at Hobart Zoo (alternatively Beaumaris Zoo) until its death on the evening or night of 7 September 1936. This sale was not publicly announced because the use of traps was, according to these authors, illegal and Churchill could have been fined. Linnard and Sleightholme have criticized this account, as May 1936 predated the species being protected and thus there would be no need for secrecy, Churchill only recounted a separate instance of catching a thylacine alive during the 1920s, and a report from 1937 notes no reliable wild thylacine sightings for years. This account of the animal's death has been widely publicized since, but has subsequently been questioned in favour of the animal dying of old age. The sleeping quarters of the thylacine exhibit were apparently readily openable from outside, and it was considered a valuable star attraction by the zoo. Visitors near the end of the animal's life also described it as mangy, limping, and old, which is consistent with its appearance in the two last known photographs of the animal from 1936. This implies the animal was near the end of its species' naturally short lifespan.thumb|Footage of Hobar Zoo's thylacine, potentially the endling, filmed in 1935 for Tasmania the WonderlandA 45 second black-and-white motion picture showing the Hobart Zoo's presumed last thylacine in its enclosure was taken in 1933, by naturalist David Fleay. In the film footage, the thylacine is seen seated, walking around the perimeter of its enclosure, yawning, sniffing the air, scratching itself in the same manner as a dog, and lying down. Fleay was bitten on the buttock whilst shooting the film. The last footage of this individual, and of the species, was filmed in 1935 by Sidney Cook for the promotional film Tasmania the Wonderland.

Although there had been a conservation movement pressing for the thylacine's protection since 1901, driven in part by the increasing difficulty in obtaining specimens for overseas collections, political difficulties prevented any form of protection coming into force until 1936. Official protection of the species by the Tasmanian government came all too late; it was introduced on 10 July 1936, 59 days before the last known specimen died in captivity.

Searches and unconfirmed sightings

Between 1967 and 1973, zoologist Jeremy Griffith and dairy farmer James Malley conducted what is regarded as the most intensive search for thylacines ever carried out, including exhaustive surveys along Tasmania's west coast, installation of automatic camera stations, prompt investigations of claimed sightings, and in 1972 the creation of the Thylacine Expeditionary Research Team with Dr. Bob Brown, which concluded without finding any evidence of the thylacine's existence.

thumb|right|Map showing the location of reported sightings between 1936 and 1980 in Tasmania. Black = 1 reported sighting, red = 5 reported sightings.

The Department of Conservation and Land Management recorded 203 reports of sightings of the thylacine in Western Australia from 1936 to 1998.

According to the Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water and Environment, there have been eight unconfirmed thylacine sighting reports between 2016 and 2019, with the latest unconfirmed visual sighting on 25 February 2018.

Since the disappearance and effective extinction of the thylacine, speculation and searches for a living specimen have become a topic of interest to some members of the cryptozoology subculture. The search for the animal has been the subject of books and articles, with many reported sightings that are largely regarded as dubious.

A 2023 study published by Brook et al. compiles many of the alleged sightings of thylacines in Tasmania throughout the 20th century and claims that, contrary to beliefs that the thylacine went extinct in the 1930s, the Tasmanian thylacine may have actually lasted throughout the 20th century, with a window of extinction between the 1980s and the present day and the likely extinction date being between the late 1990s and early 2000s.

In 1983, the American media mogul Ted Turner offered a $100,000 reward for proof of the continued existence of the thylacine. In March 2005, Australian news magazine The Bulletin, as part of its 125th anniversary celebrations, offered a $1.25 million reward for the safe capture of a live thylacine. When the offer closed at the end of June 2005, no one had produced any evidence of the animal's existence. An offer of $1.75 million has subsequently been offered by a Tasmanian tour operator, Stewart Malcolm.

Research

thumb|A specimen at the [[Natural History Museum, Vienna|Natural History Museum in Vienna]]

Research into thylacines relies heavily on specimens held in museums and other institutions across the world. The number and distribution of these specimens has been recorded in the International Thylacine Specimen Database. As of 2022, 756 specimens are held in 115 museums and university collections in 23 countries. In 2017, a reference library of 159 micrographic images of thylacine hair was jointly produced by CSIRO and Where Light Meets Dark.

Possible revival

The Australian Museum in Sydney began a cloning project in 1999. The goal was to use genetic material from specimens taken and preserved in the early 20th century to clone new individuals and restore the species from extinction. Several molecular biologists dismissed the project as a public relations stunt. In late 2002, the researchers had some success as they were able to extract replicable DNA from the specimens. On 15 February 2005, the museum announced that it was stopping the project. In May 2005, the project was restarted by a group of interested universities and a research institute.

In August 2022, it was announced that the University of Melbourne would partner with Texas-based biotechnology company Colossal Biosciences to attempt to re-create the thylacine using its closest living relative, the fat-tailed dunnart, and return it to Tasmania. The university had recently sequenced the genome of a juvenile thylacine specimen and was establishing a thylacine genetic restoration laboratory. The research from the University of Melbourne was led by Andrew Pask. The project was regarded with scepticism by other, uninvolved scientists.

The genomic basis of the convergent evolution between the thylacine and grey wolf was further investigated in 2019, with researchers identifying many non-coding genomic regions displaying accelerated rates of evolution, a test for genetic regions evolving under positive selection. In 2021, researchers further identified a link between the convergent skull shapes of the thylacine and wolf, In October 2024, a 99.9% thylacine genome was sequenced from a well-preserved skull that is estimated to be 110-year-old, allowing for the full genome of the species to be sequenced three months later.

Cultural significance

Official usage

thumb|right|The Tasmanian [[coat of arms features thylacines as supporters.]]

The thylacine has been used extensively as a symbol of Tasmania. The animal is featured on the official Tasmanian coat of arms. It is used in the official logos for the Tasmanian government and the City of Launceston. The thylacine has appeared in postage stamps from Australia, Equatorial Guinea, and Micronesia.

Since 1996, National Threatened Species Day has been commemorated annually in Australia on 7 September, the date on which the last known thylacine died in 1936.

In popular culture

thumb|left|[[John Gould's lithographic plate from The Mammals of Australia]]

The thylacine has become a cultural icon in Australia. The best known illustrations of Thylacinus cynocephalus were those in John Gould's The Mammals of Australia (1845–1863), often copied since its publication and the most frequently reproduced, and given further exposure by Cascade Brewery's appropriation for its label in 1987. The government of Tasmania published a monochromatic reproduction of the same image in 1934, the author Louisa Anne Meredith also copied it for Tasmanian Friends and Foes (1881). A series of postage stamps that feature Mickey Mouse characters with Australian animals features a thylacine stamp in the collection.

In video games, boomerang-wielding Ty the Tasmanian Tiger is the star of his own trilogy during the 2000s. Tiny Tiger, a villain in the popular Crash Bandicoot video game series, is a mutated thylacine. In Valorant, agent Skye has the ability to use a Tasmanian tiger to scout enemies and clear bomb-planting sites.

The animal has made appearance in film and television. Characters in the early 1990s' cartoon Taz-Mania included the neurotic Wendell T. Wolf, the last surviving Tasmanian wolf. The Hunter is a 2011 Australian drama film, based on the 1999 novel of the same name by Julia Leigh. It stars Willem Dafoe, who plays a man hired to track down the Tasmanian tiger. In the 2021 film, Extinct, a thylacine named Burnie, along with a group of other extinct animals, help the movie's main characters travel through time to rescue their species from extinction. In the 2022 science-fiction show The Peripheral the Tasmanian tiger is brought back into existence from DNA extracts. An animated web series titled "De-extincting Tasie" meant to explain the revival of the species by Colossal Biosciences and University of Melbourne features a thylacine named Tasie, a satire of the Mr. DNA character from the Jurassic Park media franchise.

In Aboriginal tradition

Rock art featuring thylacine-like animals are found throughout Northern Australia, particularly in the Kimberley region.

Various Aboriginal Tasmanian names for the thylacine have been recorded, such as coorinna, kanunnah, cab-berr-one-nen-er, loarinna, laoonana, can-nen-ner and lagunta, while kaparunina is used in Palawa kani.

One Nuenonne myth recorded by Jackson Cotton tells of a thylacine pup saving Palana, a spirit boy, from an attack by a giant kangaroo. Palana marked the pup's back with ochre as a mark of its bravery, giving thylacines their stripes. A constellation, "Wurrawana Corinna" (identified as within or near Gemini), was also created as a commemoration of this mythic act of bravery.

An early European record tells how Aboriginals believed bad weather was caused by a thylacine carcass being left exposed on the ground, instead of being covered by a small shelter.