Thought lost for 85 years, the remains of the last known Tasmanian tiger (Thylacine) have been found hidden in the closet of an Australian museum.
The last Thylacine died in captivity at Hobart Zoo in 1936 and its body was given to a local museum.
However, it was later discovered what happened to his skeleton and skin.
The Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery lost track of the remains and it was believed they had been discarded.
New research has discovered that the remains were in the museum all along, preserved but not properly cataloged.
In 2000, Robert Paddle, who published a book on the extinction of the species, said: “For years many museum curators and researchers searched for their remains, but unsuccessfully, as no thylacine material from 1936 had been recorded.”
The skin and skeleton are now on display at the museum in Hobart.
Originally believed to roam Australia, Tasmanian tiger populations declined due to the impacts of humans and dingoes.
Eventually, the last specimen of the marsupial was found on the island of Tasmania, where it became extinct.
