It is characterised by its stocky and muscular build, black fur, pungent odour, extremely loud and disturbing 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.

Believing it to be a type of opossum, naturalist George Harris wrote the first published description of the Tasmanian devil in 1807, naming it Didelphis ursina,[4] due to its bearlike characteristics such as the round ear.

[8] A later revision of the devil's taxonomy, published in 1987, attempted to change the species name to Sarcophilus laniarius based on mainland fossil records of only a few animals.

[10] Related names that were used in the 19th century were Sarcophilus satanicus ("Satanic flesh-lover") and Diabolus ursinus ("bear devil"), all due to early misconceptions of the species as implacably vicious.

According to Pemberton, the possible ancestors of the devil may have needed to climb trees to acquire food, leading to a growth in size and the hopping gait of many marsupials.

[14] Fossil deposits in limestone caves at Naracoorte, South Australia, dating to the Miocene include specimens of S. laniarius, which were around 15% larger and 50% heavier than modern devils.

They also point out that caves inhabited by Aborigines have a low proportion of bones and rock paintings of devils, and suggest that this is an indication that it was not a large part of indigenous lifestyle.

[23] According to a study by Menna Jones, "gene flow appears extensive up to 50 km (31 mi)", meaning a high assignment rate to source or close neighbour populations "in agreement with movement data.

[47] The devil has long claws that allow it to dig burrows and seek subterranean food easily and grip prey or mates strongly.

[26] In late 2020, Tasmanian devils were reintroduced to mainland Australia in a sanctuary run by Aussie Ark in the Barrington Tops area of New South Wales.

They choose to travel through lowlands, saddles and along the banks of creeks, particularly preferring carved-out tracks and livestock paths and eschewing steep slopes and rocky terrain.

During this time, the devil drank water and showed no visible signs of discomfort, leading scientists to believe that sweating and evaporative cooling is its primary means of heat dissipation.

[77] A study of devils showed a loss of weight from 7.9 to 7.1 kg (17 to 16 lb) from summer to winter, but in the same time, daily energy consumption increased from 2,591 to 2,890 kJ (619,000 to 691,000 cal).

[78] In terms of its body mass, the devil eats only a quarter of the eastern quoll's intake,[78] allowing it to survive longer during food shortages.

[63] Other unusual matter observed in devil scats includes collars and tags of devoured animals, intact echidna spines, pencil, plastic and jeans.

[60] Despite their lack of extreme speed, there have been reports that devils can run at 25 km/h (16 mph) for 1.5 km (0.93 mi), and it has been conjectured that, before European immigration and the introduction of livestock, vehicles and roadkill, they would have had to chase other native animals at a reasonable pace to find food.

[63] Pemberton has reported that they can average 10 km/h (6.2 mph) for "extended periods" on several nights per week, and that they run for long distances before sitting still for up to half an hour, something that has been interpreted as evidence of ambush predation.

[84] In this respect, devils have earned the gratitude of Tasmanian farmers, as the speed at which they clean a carcass helps prevent the spread of insects that might otherwise harm livestock.

[61] Much of the noise attributed to the animal is a result of raucous communal eating, at which up to 12 individuals can gather,[39] although groups of two to five are common;[87] it can often be heard several kilometres away.

[82] Digestion is very fast in dasyurids and, for the Tasmanian devil, the few hours taken for food to pass through the small gut is a long period in comparison to some other dasyuridae.

[108] Brown has also proposed that the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) grew stronger during the Holocene, and that the devil, as a scavenger with a short life span, was highly sensitive to this.

[27] A selective culling program has taken place to remove individuals affected with DFTD, and has been shown to not slow the rate of disease progression or reduced the number of animals dying.

To alleviate the problem, traffic slowing measures, man-made pathways that offer alternative routes for devils, education campaigns, and the installation of light reflectors to indicate oncoming vehicles have been implemented.

Work by scientist Menna Jones and a group of conservation volunteers to remove dead animals from the road resulted in a significant reduction in devil traffic deaths.

Field monitoring involves trapping devils within a defined area to check for the presence of the disease and determine the number of affected animals.

Live cancer cells that were treated with IFN-γ to restore MHC-I expression, were injected into the infected devils to stimulate their immune system to recognise and fight the disease.

[145] In 2020 it was reported that one of the last DFTD-free wild population of Tasmanian devils was suffering from inbreeding depression and has undergone a significant decline in reproductive success in recent years.

[163] In October 2005 the Tasmanian government sent four devils, two male and two female, to the Copenhagen Zoo, following the birth of the first son of King Frederik X of Denmark and his Tasmanian-born wife Mary.

Debate followed, and a delegation from the Tasmanian government met with Warner Bros.[184] Ray Groom, the Tourism Minister, later announced that a "verbal agreement" had been reached.