Thylacoleo carnifex, which means "Pouch Lion", is an extinct genus of carnivorous marsupials that lived in Australia from around 2 million years ago to about 46000 years ago. Nicknamed the Marsupial Lion, Thylacoleo was the largest mammalian predator to ever set foot in Australia. Thylacoleo was unique for several reasons : for one, it had the strongest bite force of any mammal, pound for pound. A 223 pound animal would've had a bite force comparable to a 550 pound lion. It also lacked canine teeth, instead relying on specialized carnassials to butcher prey. These jaws, along with large, retractable claws and semi-opposable thumbs allowed it to kill animals several times its size like Diprotodon, the giant wombat. In terms of size, Thylacleo measured just over 2 feet tall and around 4 feet long and could weigh anywhere from 223 pounds to 362 pounds. Thylacoleo is largely believed to have died out from climate change but some scientists have said that it was outcompeted to extinction.
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