Tasmanian devil, extremely voracious marsupial marsupial , member of the order Marsupialia, or pouched mammals. With the exception of the New World opossums and an obscure S American family (Caenolestidae), marsupials are now found only in Australia, Tasmania, New Guinea, and a few adjacent islands.
..... Click the link for more information. , or pouched mammal, of the dasyure dasyure , name for several small, predatory marsupials, or pouched mammals, of the family Dasyuridea, found in Australia, Tasmania, and New Guinea. Typical dasyures, known in Australia as native cats, are furry animals with large eyes, pointed snouts, and long tails.
..... Click the link for more information. family, now found only on the island of Tasmania. The Tasmanian devil, Sarcophilus harrisi, formerly found also in Australia, is about 2 ft (60 cm) long, excluding the 12-in. (30-cm) tail. It has a large head, with powerful jaws, and weak hindquarters. Its blackish fur is marked with white patches on the throat, on each side, and on the rump. The animal has a fierce appearance. It is very strong for its size and preys on animals larger than itself, such as small kangaroos, as well as on rodents, lizards, and other small animals. It lives in burrows in rocky areas. Like the related thylacine thylacine or Tasmanian wolf, carnivorous marsupial, or pouched mammal, of Tasmania. The thylacine is often cited as an example of convergent evolution: It is superficially quite similar to a wolf or dog, although it has evolved entirely
..... Click the link for more information. , or Tasmanian wolf, the Tasmanian devil has been relentlessly hunted because of its inroads on domestic livestock and poultry. Although it has survived in sizable numbers in remote areas of the island, it is now threatened by a fatal facial cancer that has spread steadily and decimated infected populations since the late 1990s. It is classified in the phylum Chordata Chordata , phylum of animals having a notochord, or dorsal stiffening rod, as the chief internal skeletal support at some stage of their development. Most chordates are vertebrates (animals with backbones), but the phylum also includes some small marine invertebrate
..... Click the link for more information. , subphylum Vertebrata, class Mammalia, order Marsupialia, family Dasyuridae.
Marsupial species (Sarcophilus harrisii or S. ursinus, family Dasyuridae), now extinct on the Australian mainland, that survives in remote rocky areas of Tasmania. It is 30–40 in. (75–100 cm) long, with a stocky body, large head and jaws, and long bushy tail. The coat is usually black and brown with a white-marked breast. Named for its devilish expression and husky snarl, it is mainly a scavenger of wallaby and sheep carcasses but also eats beetle larvae and occasionally poultry. Its three or four young remain in the mother's pouch about five months.
Tasmanian devil
Tasmanian Devil
..... Click the link for more information. , or pouched mammal, of the dasyure dasyure , name for several small, predatory marsupials, or pouched mammals, of the family Dasyuridea, found in Australia, Tasmania, and New Guinea. Typical dasyures, known in Australia as native cats, are furry animals with large eyes, pointed snouts, and long tails.
..... Click the link for more information. family, now found only on the island of Tasmania. The Tasmanian devil, Sarcophilus harrisi, formerly found also in Australia, is about 2 ft (60 cm) long, excluding the 12-in. (30-cm) tail. It has a large head, with powerful jaws, and weak hindquarters. Its blackish fur is marked with white patches on the throat, on each side, and on the rump. The animal has a fierce appearance. It is very strong for its size and preys on animals larger than itself, such as small kangaroos, as well as on rodents, lizards, and other small animals. It lives in burrows in rocky areas. Like the related thylacine thylacine or Tasmanian wolf, carnivorous marsupial, or pouched mammal, of Tasmania. The thylacine is often cited as an example of convergent evolution: It is superficially quite similar to a wolf or dog, although it has evolved entirely
..... Click the link for more information. , or Tasmanian wolf, the Tasmanian devil has been relentlessly hunted because of its inroads on domestic livestock and poultry. Although it has survived in sizable numbers in remote areas of the island, it is now threatened by a fatal facial cancer that has spread steadily and decimated infected populations since the late 1990s. It is classified in the phylum Chordata Chordata , phylum of animals having a notochord, or dorsal stiffening rod, as the chief internal skeletal support at some stage of their development. Most chordates are vertebrates (animals with backbones), but the phylum also includes some small marine invertebrate
..... Click the link for more information. , subphylum Vertebrata, class Mammalia, order Marsupialia, family Dasyuridae.
Tasmanian devil
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Tasmanian devil (Sarcophilus harrisii).
(credit: John Yates/Shostal Associates)
Tasmanian devil
a small ferocious carnivorous marsupial, Sarcophilus harrisi, of Tasmania, having black fur with pale markings, strong jaws, and short legs: family Dasyuridae
Tasmanian Devil
(Sarcophilus harrisii), a mammal of the family Dasyuridae. The body length varies from 52 to 80 cm, and the tail length, from 23 to 30 cm. The head is disproportionately large. The body is covered with short black hairs. There are white patches on the snout, chest, and sides. The pouch opens posteriorly. The Tasmanian devil is distributed in Tasmania, where it inhabits forests. A nocturnal animal, it shelters during the day in rock crevices and in cavities beneath fallen trees. It feeds on a variety of vertebrates. It reproduces once a year, producing up to four young per litter. Its numbers are few.
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