| Thylacinus potens | |
|---|---|
| |
| An artist's illustration of Thylacinus potens | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Infraclass: | Marsupialia |
| Order: | Dasyuromorphia |
| Family: | †Thylacinidae |
| Genus: | †Thylacinus |
| Species: | †T. potens |
| Binomial name | |
| †Thylacinus potens Woodburne, 1967 | |
Thylacinus potens (meaning "powerful pouch") was the largest species of marsupials in 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 modern thylacine by 4–6 million years, and was 5% bigger, was more robust and had a shorter, broader skull. Its size is estimated to be similar to that of a gray wolf; the head and body together were around 5 feet long, and its teeth were less adapted for shearing compared to those of the modern thylacine.
More specimens were described in 2014.