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Ningaui
''Ningaui'' is a genus of small species of the marsupial dasyurid family. Along with the planigales, they are among the smallest marsupials. Taxonomy The genus was established in 1975 to accommodate two newly described species of dasyurids, the type species '' Ningaui timealeyi'' and '' Ningaui ridei''. The author, Mike Archer, compared his specimens to those of ''Sminthopsis'' (the dunnarts), distinguishing the new taxon by the structure of the skull, the hindfoot, features of dentition and their smaller size, morphology that was presumed to be specialisations to a more arid environment. The author provided a diagnosis of two species that distinguished the populations by further details of cranial and dental characters. Archer notes the tentative alliance of the species to the genus ''Planigale'' by W. D. L. Ride in 1970, and provided a new definition of that genus to separate the new taxa. The three species of the genus are: * Wongai ningaui, ''Ningaui ridei'' * Pilbara n ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Southern Ningaui
The southern ningaui (''Ningaui yvonneae'') is a tiny marsupial carnivore belonging to the Dasyuridae family. Similar in appearance to '' Ningaui ridei'', found throughout central Australia, this species occurs in spinifex on semi-arid sandplains across the southern coast of the continent. The fur is a tawny or greyish olive colour, light grey below, and distinguished by shades of cinnamon. The southern ningaui prefers smaller prey, including insects and spiders, but is capable of killing and consuming larger animals such as cockroaches and skinks. Their narrow muzzle is used with quick and fierce bites about the head to despatch their meal. The species was first described in 1983, and placed within the genus ''Ningaui''. Taxonomy The first description of the species was published in 1983 in a revision of a genus describing two species. An analysis of skull morphology revealed a third species in the widely distributed populations, which is not evident in examination of external ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ningaui Ridei
The Wongai ningaui (''Ningaui ridei'') is a tiny carnivorous marsupial native to the arid open grasslands of inland Australia. Their diet is mainly small insects, and occasionally larger prey such as spiders, grasshoppers and cockroaches, which they forage for at the ground and in clumps of spinifex. They have long and untidy fur, grey or gingery brown with longer black hairs, small ears, a narrow muzzle, and possess a partially prehensile tail and feet that allow them to climb. The population occurs sparsely across a wide area and common in favourable habitat, especially in years of good rainfall. ''Ningaui ridei'' was first described in 1975, one of two species of a new genus discovered amongst the poorly known mammals of the western regions of Australia. Taxonomy ''Ningaui ridei'' and the Pilbara species, '' Ningaui timealeyi'', were two species of ''Ningaui'' described by Australian biologist Mike Archer when the genus was erected in 1975 (the southern species, ''Ningaui yv ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pilbara Ningaui
The Pilbara ningaui (''Ningaui timealeyi''), sometimes known as Ealey's ningaui, is a tiny species of marsupial carnivore found in Australia. Taxonomy The species was described by Mike Archer in 1975, distinguishing the new taxon from other dasyurids by nominating it as the type species of a new genus. Archer provided a description for a second species of ''Ningaui'', the more widely distributed ''Ningaui ridei''. The holotype is a specimen obtained escaping a fire in spinifex country, a collection made by A. Snell in 1963 at Mount Robinson in the northwest of Australia. Other material examined included a specimen collected in 1957 by E. H. M. Ealey of Monash University, then working as a field officer for the CSIRO, his informal name, 'Tim' Ealey. is the eponym of the specific epithet. Description The Pilbara ningaui is a very small species of marsupial, in length. The fur is spiky and dishevelled in appearance, the upper parts are a mix of ginger and brown hairs, or gre ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dasyuridae
The Dasyuridae are a family of marsupials native to Australia and New Guinea, including 71 extant species divided into 17 genera. Many are small and mouse-like or shrew-like, giving some of them the name marsupial mice or marsupial shrews, but the group also includes the cat-sized quolls, as well as the Tasmanian devil. They are found in a wide range of habitats, including grassland, underground, forests, and mountains, and some species are arboreal or semiaquatic. The Dasyuridae are often called the 'marsupial carnivores', as most members of the family are insectivores. Characteristics Most dasyurids are roughly the size of mice, but a few species are much larger. The smallest species is the Pilbara ningaui, which is from in length, and weighs just , while the largest, the Tasmanian devil, is long, and weighs from . The smaller dasyurids typically resemble shrews or mice in appearance, with long tails and narrow, pointed noses. The larger species bear a resemblance to such pla ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dasyuromorphs
Dasyuromorphia (, meaning "hairy tail" in Greek) is an order comprising most of the Australian carnivorous marsupials, including quolls, dunnarts, the numbat, the Tasmanian devil, and the extinct thylacine. In Australia, the exceptions include the omnivorous bandicoots (order Peramelemorphia) and the marsupial moles (which are insectivorous but are very different and are now accorded an order of their own, Notoryctemorphia). Numerous South American species of marsupials (orders Didelphimorphia, Paucituberculata, and Microbiotheria) are also carnivorous, as were some extinct members of the order Diprotodontia, including extinct kangaroos (such as '' Ekaltadeta'' and '' Propleopus)'' and thylacoleonids, and some members of the partially extinct clade Metatheria and all members of the extinct superorder Sparassodonta. The order contains four families: one, the Myrmecobiidae, with just a single living species (the numbat), two with only extinct species (including the thy ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Marsupials Of Australia
Marsupials are a diverse group of mammals belonging to the infraclass Marsupialia. They are natively found in Australasia, Wallacea, and the Americas. One of marsupials' unique features is their reproductive strategy: the young are born in a relatively undeveloped state and then nurtured within a pouch on their mother's abdomen. Extant marsupials encompass many species, including kangaroos, koalas, opossums, possums, Tasmanian devils, wombats, wallabies, and bandicoots. Marsupials constitute a clade stemming from the last common ancestor of extant Metatheria, which encompasses all mammals more closely related to marsupials than to placentals. The evolutionary split between placentals and marsupials occurred 125-160 million years ago, in the Middle Jurassic-Early Cretaceous period. Presently, close to 70% of the 334 extant marsupial species are concentrated on the Australian continent, including mainland Australia, Tasmania, New Guinea, and nearby islands. The remainin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rodent
Rodents (from Latin , 'to gnaw') are mammals of the Order (biology), order Rodentia ( ), which are characterized by a single pair of continuously growing incisors in each of the upper and Mandible, lower jaws. About 40% of all mammal species are rodents. They are native to all major land masses except for Antarctica, and several oceanic islands, though they have subsequently been introduced to most of these land masses by human activity. Rodents are extremely diverse in their ecology and lifestyles and can be found in almost every terrestrial habitat, including human-made environments. Species can be arboreal, fossorial (burrowing), saltatorial/ricochetal (leaping on their hind legs), or semiaquatic. However, all rodents share several morphological features, including having only a single upper and lower pair of ever-growing incisors. Well-known rodents include Mouse, mice, rats, squirrels, prairie dogs, porcupines, beavers, Cavia, guinea pigs, and hamsters. Once included wi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
