Saint-Hilaire (1772-1844) was a French naturalist. He took part in the debate on the biology and classification of the platypus. In 1803 he grouped both the platypus and echidna in a new classificatory taxon, which he named Monotremata. He also established the genus Dasyurus for Australian marsupi-carnivores in 1796, into which he placed the thylacine (1810).