The animal had large, powerful jaws, which secured the predator a place atop the local food chain. It comes from the dark striping on its back that runs nearly shoulder to tail. The Tasmanian tiger’s Latin designation, Thylacinus cynocephalus, or "dog-headed pouched-dog," makes it redundantly clear that the marsupial’s feline nickname is a misnomer. Among other things, the work raises questions about the nature of extinction itself. But researchers behind that door are working to bring the animal back to life by cloning it, using DNA extracted from specimens preserved decades ago. "Danger," says the sign on the door of a laboratory at the Australian Museum in Sydney: "Tasmanian Tiger, Trespassers will be eaten!" The joke is that the Tasmanian tiger-a beloved symbol of the island state that appears on its license plate-has been extinct for nearly seven decades.
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