Thylacoleo: The Marsupial Lion

extinct · australia · marsupial · apex predator

Lion-sized hunter. Thylacoleo carnifex, the largest species, weighed about 101 to 130 kilograms, roughly the same as a modern lioness. This makes it one of the biggest meat-eating marsupials that ever lived.

Marsupial, not a real lion. Even though we call it a marsupial lion, Thylacoleo was not actually a lion at all. It was a marsupial, like modern kangaroos and koalas, meaning it carried its babies in a pouch.

Ruled ancient Australia. Thylacoleo was the top predator in Australian ecosystems, meaning no other animal hunted it. It lived there from millions of years ago until fairly recently in the Pleistocene era.

Specialized hunter. Thylacoleo belonged to a special family of carnivorous marsupials called Thylacoleonidae, all of which are now extinct. It was the last and largest member of this ancient family.