Whether there will be enough time to save the species from extinction is hard to say. The cancer has wiped out 70% of the population in a relatively short period of time.
The surprise finding, reported in Friday's edition of the journal Science, has led to development of a test to help diagnose this tumor.
Next, scientists are hunting the mutations that turned these cells rogue, work they hope could one day lead to a vaccine to protect remaining Tasmanian devils, or perhaps treatments.
"The clock's ticking," lead researcher Elizabeth Murchison of the Australian National University said by phone from Tasmania. "It's awful to think there could be no devils here in 50 years because they're dying so quickly."
