Kingdom Animalia Infraclass Marsupialia Genus Badjcinus Phylum Chordata Order Dasyuromorphia | Class Mammalia Family †Thylacinidae Scientific name Badjcinus turnbulli Rank Species | |
Similar Thylacinus megiriani, Dasyuromorphia, Nimbacinus dicksoni, Thylacinus potens, Thylacinidae | ||
Badjcinus turnbulli is an extinct thylacinid marsupial.
Phylogenetic analysis shows that thylacines are a clade which does not include the dasyurids. Badjcinus was one of the most primitive members of its group, living 23 to 28 million years ago in the late Oligocene.
The generic name is from the Wanyi Aboriginal language "badj", 'expert hunter', and Ancient Greek "kynos", 'dog'
Badjcinus was quite small, averaging 5.2 pounds (2.4 kg) in weight. It was a carnivore, probably eating small vertebrates and insects, as living Dasyurus species do today. The fossils were found at Riversleigh in north-west Queensland, Australia. Since other animals at Riversleigh were rainforest species, it is possible that B. turnbulli was arboreal, like Dasyurus maculatus.