Badjcinus fossil map
Where fossils of Badjcinus have been found, shown on the Earth as it looked about 30 million years ago and on today’s map.
Dots are fossil collections recorded in the Paleobiology Database. The “then” view moves today’s fossil sites back to their positions 30 million years ago (the time slice nearest the median age of the fossils) using the Merdith et al. (2021) plate model; positions are approximate. Open on the timeline map →
| Group | Early mammals |
|---|---|
| Lived | 27.3–23.04 million years ago (Chattian) |
| Periods | Paleogene |
| Family | Thylacinidae |
| Named by | Muirhead and Wroe 1998 |
| Fossil records | 2 occurrences at 1 locations (PBDB) |
| Found in | Australia |
| Rock formations | Carl Creek Limestone |
About Badjcinus
Badjcinus is an extinct thylacinid marsupial. It is the earliest and most primitive known thylacinid, living 23 to 28 million years ago in the late Oligocene.
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.
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.
Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Badjcinus (revision 1308797634), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0; introduction excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Ages, family, authority and fossil records: Paleobiology Database, accessed 23 October 2026. Ages are those of the rock layers the fossils were found in. Wikidata: Q21446212.
