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Dunnart
Dunnart is a common name for species of the genus ''Sminthopsis'', narrow-footed marsupials the size of a European mouse. They have a largely insectivorous diet. Taxonomy The genus name ''Sminthopsis'' was published by Oldfield Thomas in 1887, the author noting that the name ''Podabrus'' that had previously been used to describe the species was preoccupied as a genus of beetles. The type species is '' Phascogale crassicaudata'', published by John Gould in 1844. There are 23 species, all of which occur in Australia and New Guinea: * Genus ''Sminthopsis'' ** ''S. crassicaudata'' species-group *** Fat-tailed dunnart, ''Sminthopsis crassicaudata'' ** ''S. macroura'' species-group *** Kakadu dunnart, ''Sminthopsis bindi'' *** Carpentarian dunnart, ''Sminthopsis butleri'' *** Julia Creek dunnart, ''Sminthopsis douglasi'' *** Froggatt's dunnart, ''Sminthopsis froggatti'' *** Stripe-faced dunnart, ''Sminthopsis macroura'' *** Stalker's dunnart, ''Sminthopsis stalkeri'' *** ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stripe-faced Dunnart
The striped-faced dunnart (''Sminthopsis macroura'') is a small, Australian, nocturnal, "marsupial mouse," part of the family Dasyuridae. The species' distribution occurs throughout much of inland central and northern Australia, occupying a range of arid and semi-arid habitats. While the species has a broad distribution range, it has been declining across much of Australia, including the western region of New South Wales (NSW). This is due to several threatening processes, primarily habitat degradation. This has led to the NSW Office of Environment and Heritage listing the species as 'vulnerable'. The species is not listed on the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act). The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species list the species as of 'least concern'. Recent genetic studies have discovered that this dunnart species is in fact three distinct species that over several million years diverged from each ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kangaroo Island Dunnart
The Kangaroo Island dunnart (''Sminthopsis aitkeni'') is a dark sooty-grey coloured dunnart species first described in 1969, with paler underparts of its body. It has an average body length of 170–198 mm, a snout to anus length of 80–93 mm, a tail measurement of 90–105 mm, a hind foot of 17.5 mm, ear length of 18 mm and a weight of 20–25 grams. The thin tail is also gray, but lighter on the bottom. The tail is longer than the body. Kangaroo Island dunnarts are dimorphic, with males larger than females. The Kangaroo Island dunnart is listed as Critically Endangered by International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). The population was believed to be less than 500 before the 2019–2020 Australian bushfires. Following the fires, it is believed that only about 50 individuals exist. Distribution and habitat This dasyurid is found only on the western half of Kangaroo Island in South Australia, the island's only endemic mammal. The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chestnut Dunnart
The chestnut dunnart (''Sminthopsis archeri'') is a dunnart that was described by Van Dyck in 1986 and is named because of its chestnut colour in the upperparts of its body. The length from snout to tail is 167–210 mm, of which head to anus is 85–105 mm and tail is 82–105 mm long. The hind foot size is 17–20 mm, ear length is 17–21 mm and weight is 15–20 g. Distribution and habitat There are a handful of records known from southern Papua New Guinea and in Australia on the east and west coasts of Cape York Peninsula, with one record at Blackbraes National Park west of Townsville. Its habitats in Australia consist of tall stringybark woodlands and tall forests situated in red earth. In Papua New Guinea it is also found in savannah A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficie ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Long-tailed Dunnart
The long-tailed dunnart (''Sminthopsis longicaudata'') is an Australian dunnart that, like the little long-tailed dunnart, has a tail longer than its body. It is also one of the larger dunnarts at a length from snout to tail of 260–306 mm of which head to anus is 80–96 mm and tail 180–210 mm long. Hind foot size is 18 mm, ear length of 21 mm and with a weight of 15-20 g. Distribution and habitat In Western Australia it is known from the Pilbara and eastern coast to the NE goldfields and Gibson desert (Young Ranges) south to the Nullarbor Plain, to central Northern Territory and western South Australia. Its habitat includes Acacia, rocky screes with hummock grass and shrubs, and tall open shrubland and woodlands. Social organisation and breeding A nocturnal species, this marsupial has great agility for jumping. When breeding during October–November, it burrows a hole under logs and makes its nests out of grass. The litter is of up to 6 joeys. It ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Carpentarian Dunnart
The Carpentarian dunnart (''Sminthopsis butleri'') also known as Butler's dunnart is a marsupial with a puffy brown or mouse grey colour above and the underside of white, similar to its close relative the Kakadu dunnart. Head to anus length is 75-88mm with a tail of 72-90mm long for a total length of 147-178mm. Weight varies from 10-20g depending on a variety of factors including sex, food abundance, habitat etc. Distribution and habitat Found in the Northern Kimberley's near Kalumburu in Western Australia and Bathurst and Melville Island in the Northern Territory. Habitat consists of eucalyptus and melaleuca forest with sandy soils up to and including 20 km from the coast. Also present on the island of New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; id, Papua, or , historically ) is the world's second-largest island with an area of . Located in Oceania in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is separated from Australia by the wide Torr .... In New ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gilbert's Dunnart
Gilbert's dunnart (''Sminthopsis gilberti'') is a recently discovered dunnart, described in 1984. The length from snout to tail being of which the head and body are and the tail . The hind foot size is , the ear length is and with the weight is . Distribution and habitat Gilbert's dunnart is found in the southern wheat belt of Western Australia close to Perth and the Swan River, as well as the Roe plain near the South Australian border. The habitat it inhabits consists of heath and heathy forest and is abundant on coastal rangers, dry sclerophyll forest, semi-arid woodlands, and mallee scrub. Social organisation and breeding This nocturnal Nocturnality is an ethology, animal behavior characterized by being active during the night and sleeping during the day. The common adjective is "nocturnal", versus diurnality, diurnal meaning the opposite. Nocturnal creatures generally have ... species nests in hollows above ground or dense bush. Gilbert's dunnart breeds from Sep ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Little Long-tailed Dunnart
The Little long-tailed dunnart (''Sminthopsis dolichura'') is a dunnart that was, along with Gilbert's dunnart, described in 1984. The length from snout to tail is of which head and body are and tail long. Hind foot size is , the ear length is and the weight is . Distribution and habitat There are two separate areas of habitation for this species, but no subspecies have been identified. The Western Australia distribution is in the northern Goldfield's and Geraldton hinterland, northwest coast, southwest coast and western plateau. The South Australian area includes the coastal areas of the Great Australian Bight on the Nullarbor Plain, Eyre Peninsula west of Port Augusta. Habitat the species prefers include dry sclerophyll, forest, semi-arid woodlands, mallee, (tall, tall open and low open) shrublands and open heath vegetation. Social organisation and breeding The species is nocturnal Nocturnality is an ethology, animal behavior characterized by being active during the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
White-tailed Dunnart
The white-tailed dunnart (''Sminthopsis granulipes''), also known as the ash-grey dunnart, is a dunnart native to Australia. Taxonomy A species first named by Gerard Krefft in 1872, using a specimen obtained at Albany by the local collector George Maxwell. The author assigned the name ''Podabrus albocaudatus'' with a description that was published in an Eastern States newspaper, the '' Sydney Mail''. The same specimen, the holotype of the species, was described by Ellis Troughton in 1932 without reference to Krefft's earlier description. Despite the precedence of Krefft's first description, later recognised as a valid and available name, the later name was in widespread use and conserved to ensure taxonomic stability; the name ''Podabrus albocaudatus'' was deemed to be an objective synonym and declared a ''nomen oblitum'' and ''Sminthopsis granulipes'' Troughton 1932 a ''nomen protectum''. Description A species of ''Sminthopsis'' with a head and body length from 70 to 100&nb ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Julia Creek Dunnart
The Julia Creek dunnart (''Sminthopsis douglasi'') is a marsupial with a buffy brown upperside and white underside. This dunnart has a body length of 100–135 mm with a tail of 60–105 mm to make a total length of 160–240 mm. Its weight is between 40 and 70 g. The length of the hind foot is 22–24 mm. The species has a dark brown triangle colour from above and below the eye with the point at the nose, and another dark stripe on top of the skull. A healthy dunnart has a carrot-shaped tail filled with fat stores. Distribution and habitat Julia Creek dunnarts are typically found on 8000 km² in the Mitchel Grass downs of riparian grasslands, between Julia Creek and Richmond in Queensland, it possibly occurs in the Mitchell Plateau of Western Australia. The prickly acacia is a threat to its habitat as it kills native grasslands. Cultivation and introduced species also threaten this dasyurid's habitat. Social organization and breeding During the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Red-cheeked Dunnart
The red-cheeked dunnart (''Sminthopsis virginiae'') is so called because of the distinctive red hair on its cheek. It is an Australasian marsupial. Its total length is ; its average body length is with a tail of . Ear length is . Its weight varies between . Its tail is thin and pale pink. Distribution and habitat The red-cheeked dunnart is distributed in Australia and New Guinea. The nominate subspecies ''S. v. virginiae'' occurs in the Queensland around the North Gulf, NE coasts, Mackay to Cape York. Subspecies ''S. v. nitela'' inhabits the Kimberley's to the top of Northern Territory. Habitat includes woodlands, open rocky forests, savannah grasslands, swamps, soaks and margins of tropical forests. Social organisation and breeding The behaviour of the red-cheecked dunnart, like most ''Sminthopsis'' species, is not well known. They breed from October to March. Young are gestated for 15 days and weaned at 65–70 days with maturity by 4–6 months. Diet Its typical d ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hairy-footed Dunnart
The hairy-footed dunnart (''Sminthopsis hirtipes'') is a dunnart that has silver hairs on the soles of it hind feet accompanied by long hair on the side of its sole. It is an Australian marsupial similar to the Ooldea dunnart, with its upper body yellow-brown and lower body white in colour. Its total length is ; its average body length is with a tail of . Its ear length is . It weighs between . Its tail is thin and pinkish-white and can be thickened at the base. Distribution and habitat This species inhabits three distinct areas; around Monkey Mia Bay and Kilbarri in Western Australia, a large area where the border of South Australia, Northern Territory and Western Australia converge and a small area between the Northern Territory and Queensland border 100 km north of the South Australian border. Its habitat includes arid and semi-arid woodlands, heath, savannah grasslands. Social organisation and breeding The hairy-footed dunnart lives in burrows built by spider ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Slender-tailed Dunnart
The slender-tailed dunnart (''Sminthopsis murina''), also known as the common dunnart in Australia, is a dasyurid marsupial. It has an average body length of 7 to 12 centimeters (2.8–4.7 in) with a tail length of 5.5 to 13 centimetres (2.2–5.1 in). It weighs 25–40.8 grams for males and 16.5–25.4 grams for females. Distribution and habitat The slender-tailed dunnart is native to the east and south-east coast and interior of Australia, from the Cape York Peninsula to the Port Lincoln area of South Australia. There are two subspecies: ''S. m. murina'' is found throughout the distribution, and ''S. mu. tatei'' found between Townsville and Cairns in Queensland. This species is found at altitudes of between 60–360 metres (196.9–1181.1 ft) and preferes habitats with an average rainfall between 30–85 centimetres (11.8–33.5 in) per year. Habitats encountered include Mallee scrub,y forests and woodlands and dry heath, thes ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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