DNA PHYLOGENY OF THE MARSUPIAL WOLF RESOLVED

The phylogenetic position of the recently extinct marsupial 'wolf', or thylacine (Thylacinus cynocephalus), has been a source of contention in mammalian systematics for nearly a century. Thylacines were endemic to Australasia, but possessed striking anatomical similarities to Oli go-Miocene borhyaenid marsupials of South America. At issue has been w hether these features are indicative of common ancestry or convergent adaptation to carnivory. Recent morphological studies have supported b oth conclusions. Although current marsupial classifications group thyl acines with Australian dasyuromorphians, this putative clade is charac terized by mostly primitive morphological features. Attempts to determ ine thylacine affinities with ancient protein and DNA analyses have su pported, but not resolved, a dasyuromorphian placement. We report 1546 bp of mitochondrial DNA sequence (from cytochrome b and 12S rRNA gene s) and 841 bp of nuclear protamine gene sequence from the thylacine an d representatives of all or most other marsupial orders. Phylogenetic analysis of these sequences shows unambiguously that thylacines are me mbers of Dasyuromorphia, and suggests a late Oligocene or very early M iocene divergence of familial lineages.