Badjcinus turnbulli is an extinct thylacinid marsupial.[1] The only species in the genus Badjcinus, it is the earliest and most primitive known thylacinid, living 23 to 28 million years ago in the late Oligocene.[1]
| Badjcinus Temporal range: Late Oligocene | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Upper jaw fragment including the premaxilla and maxilla | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Infraclass: | Marsupialia |
| Order: | Dasyuromorphia |
| Family: | †Thylacinidae |
| Genus: | †Badjcinus |
| Species: | †B. turnbulli |
| Binomial name | |
| †Badjcinus turnbulli | |
The generic name combines the Wanyi Aboriginal language "badj", 'expert hunter', and a word from Ancient Greek "kynos", meaning 'dog', from which the Thylacinidae name was originally derived. The specific epithet was proposed by the authors to honour the contributions of William D. Turnbull to palaeontology.[1]
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.[1]
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