What killed off the Tasmanian tiger? For a long time, it was believed this enigmatic marsupial went extinct due to being exterminated as a “pest” and competition with newly introduced dingoes. However, new research suggests there may have been another factor at play: the animal’s genetic diversity. The rest of this article is behind a paywall. Please sign in or subscribe to access the full content.

Tasmanian tigers, or Thylacines ( Thylacinus cynocephalus ), sometimes known as the Tasmanian wolf, were closely related to the Tasmanian devil ( Sarcophilus harrisii ). They were carnivores that sported a sandy cultured fur with distinct dark stripes running down their backs to their tails. For millions of years, the marsupial was native to the Australian mainland, Tasmania and New Guinea,

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