NL·0408Herbarium of the Nature Library
- Name
- Sarcophilus harrisii
- Family
- Dasyuridae
- Native to
- Tasmania; extinct on the Australian mainland for about 3,000 years (small reintroduced populations in New South Wales sanctuaries since 2020)
- Habitat
- Temperate forest, Coastal scrub, Woodland, Farmland
Tasmanian devil
Sarcophilus harrisii
Also calledDevil · Diablo de Tasmania (Spanish) · Diabo-da-tasmânia (Portuguese)
The largest surviving carnivorous marsupial, a stocky, black scavenger with a bone-crushing bite and a spine-tingling screech. Since the 1990s a transmissible cancer, devil facial tumour disease, has killed the majority of wild devils, spread directly by bites. Insurance populations on Maria Island and in mainland sanctuaries now help safeguard the species.
The Tasmanian devil is a carnivorous marsupial of the family Dasyuridae. It was formerly present across mainland Australia, but became extinct there around 3,500 years ago; it is now confined to the island of Tasmania. The size of a small dog, the Tasmanian devil became the largest carnivorous marsupial in the world following the extinction of the thylacine in 1936. It is related to quolls, and distantly related to the thylacine. It is characterised by its stocky and muscular build, black fur, pungent odour, extremely loud screech, keen sense of smell, and ferocity when feeding. The Tasmanian devil's large head and neck allow it to generate among the strongest bites per unit body mass of any extant predatory land mammal. It hunts prey and scavenges on carrion. Wikipedia
What it can do
- iAmong the strongest bites for its size of any living mammal, crushing bone and eating almost every part of a carcass
- iiClears carcasses and suppresses feral cats, helping protect small native mammals
- iiiTravels up to about 16 km a night foraging
In the field
Field marks
- aStocky, dog-sized black marsupial with a large head and short legs
- bWhite band across the chest and often white patches on the rump
- cEars flush pink-red when the animal is stressed
- dTracks: five-toed front, four-toed hind; signs include large scats full of bone and fur fragments on tracks
- Voice
- Unearthly screeches, growls and high-pitched screams, especially at shared carcasses at night.
- Not to be confused with
- Spotted-tailed quoll is smaller, slimmer and covered in white spots. Feral cats have pointed ears and long tails.
- Where to see it
- Cradle Mountain–Lake St Clair National Park and Narawntapu National Park (Tasmania); Maria Island (insurance population); Bonorong and Devils@Cradle sanctuaries; Aussie Ark, Barrington Tops (NSW)
- When
- Resident; breeding in March; juveniles disperse in late summer
Listen
Looking for field recordings…
Life & habits
- Diet
- Mainly carrion (wallabies, possums, wombats, livestock); also hunts small animals
- Habitat
- Forest, woodland, coastal heath and farmland across Tasmania
- Size
- Body 52–80 cm, tail 23–30 cm; 6–12 kg (males larger)
- Lifespan
- About 5–6 years in the wild
Solitary but gathers noisily at carcasses, sorting out feeding order with screams, growls and gaping displays. Young spend about 100 days in the pouch.
Where it lives
Recorded sightings
—
geo-referenced records in GBIF, from museums, herbaria and field observers.
Native range
Tasmania; extinct on the Australian mainland for about 3,000 years (small reintroduced populations in New South Wales sanctuaries since 2020)
Drag the globe to turn it. Dots are where records exist, not a range map; darker means more records.
In the stacks
Searching the stacks…
Every page naming Sarcophilus harrisii in the Biodiversity Heritage Library →
Marginalia
Early European settlers in Tasmania named it the 'devil' after its unearthly nocturnal screams. With the extinction of the thylacine in 1936, it became the world's largest surviving carnivorous marsupial.
Curiosity
Devil facial tumour disease is one of very few known contagious cancers: the tumour cells themselves are transmitted between animals.
Kinship
Photographs: iNaturalist contributors under the licences shown. Records: GBIF.org. Historical plates: Source Library (CC BY-SA 4.0; originals public domain). Summary text: Nature Library editors and Wikipedia (CC BY-SA). Medicinal and edibility notes are historical and educational, not advice. iNaturalist taxon 40232.