The Dasyuridae are a family of

marsupial 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 r ...

s native to

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

and

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; , fossilized , also known as Papua or historically ) is the List of islands by area, world's second-largest island, with an area of . Located in Melanesia in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is ...

, including 71 extant species divided into 17 genera. Many are small and mouse-like or

shrew Shrews ( family Soricidae) are small mole-like mammals classified in the order Eulipotyphla. True shrews are not to be confused with treeshrews, otter shrews, elephant shrews, West Indies shrews, or marsupial shrews, which belong to dif ...

-like, giving some of them the name marsupial mice or marsupial shrews, but the group also includes the cat-sized

quoll Quolls (; genus ''Dasyurus'') are carnivorous marsupials native to Australia and New Guinea. They are primarily nocturnal, and spend most of the day in a den. Of the six species of quoll, four are found in Australia and two in New Guinea. Anot ...

s, as well as the

Tasmanian devil The Tasmanian devil (''Sarcophilus harrisii''; palawa kani: ''purinina'') is a carnivorous marsupial of the family Dasyuridae. It was formerly present across mainland Australia, but became extinct there around 3,500 years ago; it is now con ...

. 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

placental Placental mammals (infraclass Placentalia ) are one of the three extant subdivisions of the class Mammalia, the other two being Monotremata and Marsupialia. Placentalia contains the vast majority of extant mammals, which are partly distinguished ...

carnivores as

mongoose A mongoose is a small terrestrial carnivorous mammal belonging to the family Herpestidae. This family has two subfamilies, the Herpestinae and the Mungotinae. The Herpestinae comprises 23 living species that are native to southern Europe, A ...

s or mustelids. Many features of dasyurids are considered primitive; that is, they resemble the features of the earliest marsupials, from which other species, such as

kangaroo Kangaroos are marsupials from the family Macropodidae (macropods, meaning "large foot"). In common use, the term is used to describe the largest species from this family, the red kangaroo, as well as the antilopine kangaroo, eastern gre ...

s and

bandicoot Bandicoots are a group of more than 20 species of small to medium-sized, terrestrial, largely nocturnal marsupial omnivores in the order Peramelemorphia. They are endemic to the Australia–New Guinea region, including the Bismarck Archipela ...

s, later diverged. For example, all of the toes in dasyurids are separate, whereas in many other marsupials, the second and third toes are fused. Similarly, many species lack a full marsupial pouch, instead having a simple fold of skin surrounding the

teat A teat is the projection from the mammary glands of mammals from which milk flows or is ejected for the purpose of feeding young. In many mammals, the teat projects from the udder. The number of teats varies by mammalian species and often corr ...

s to provide some protection to the developing young. The dentition of dasyurids is also considered primitive, and differs from that of other marsupials, with a dental formula of: . Their dentition is similar to many carnivores, characterized by bladelike incisors, large, sharp canines, and upper molars modified with large, sharp cusps. Dasyurids are primarily

insectivorous A robber fly eating a hoverfly An insectivore is a carnivorous animal or plant which eats insects. An alternative term is entomophage, which can also refer to the human practice of eating insects. The first vertebrate insectivores we ...

, but they will also eat small lizards, fruit, and flowers. One of the few exceptions to this rule is the Tasmanian devil, which subsists mainly on vertebrate

carrion Carrion (), also known as a carcass, is the decaying flesh of dead animals. Overview Carrion is an important food source for large carnivores and omnivores in most ecosystems. Examples of carrion-eaters (or scavengers) include crows, vultures ...

. They have relatively simple digestive tracts, as is typical of insectivores and other carnivores.

Gestation Gestation is the period of development during the carrying of an embryo, and later fetus, inside viviparous animals (the embryo develops within the parent). It is typical for mammals, but also occurs for some non-mammals. Mammals during pregn ...

lasts from 12–16 days, and results in the birth of from two to 12 young, depending on species. Smaller species typically breed at least twice a year, while the larger forms tend to breed just once. The length of

lactation Lactation describes the secretion of milk from the mammary glands and the period of time that a mother lactates to feed her young. The process naturally occurs with all sexually mature female mammals, although it may predate mammals. The process ...

reflects this, with young

dunnart A dunnart (from Noongar ''donat'') is a narrow-footed marsupial the size of a European mouse, of the genus ''Sminthopsis''. Dunnarts have a largely insectivorous diet. Taxonomy The genus name ''Sminthopsis'' was published by Oldfield Thomas ...

s, for example, being

weaned Weaning is the process of gradually introducing an infant human or other mammal to what will be its adult diet while withdrawing the supply of its mother's milk. In the UK, weaning primarily refers to the introduction of solid foods at 6 mont ...

after 60–70 days, but young quolls only after 8–9 months. Most dasyurid species are sexually mature at one year of age, but, again, the quolls and Tasmanian devil, being larger, take longer to mature and do not reach full adulthood for about two years. Adult dasyurids are typically solitary, or travel in small groups of two to three individuals.

Taxonomy

The listing for extant species is based on The Third edition of Wilson & Reeder's

Mammal Species of the World ''Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference'' is a standard reference work in mammalogy giving descriptions and Bibliographic database, bibliographic data for the known species of mammals. It is now in its third edition, ...

(2005), except where th
Mammal Diversity Database
and

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Founded in 1948, IUCN has become the global authority on the status ...

agree on a change. * Family Dasyuridae ** Genus '' Ganbulanyi'' ** Genus '' Glaucodon'' ** Genus '' Urrayira'' ** Subfamily Barinyainae *** Genus '' Barinya'' ** Subfamily Dasyurinae *** Tribe Dasyurini **** Genus '' Dasycercus'' ***** Brush-tailed mulgara, ''Dasycercus blythi'' ***** Crest-tailed mulgara, ''Dasycercus cristicauda'' **** Genus '' Dasykaluta'' ***** Little red kaluta, ''Dasykaluta rosamondae'' **** Genus '' Dasyuroides'' ***** Kowari, ''Dasyuroides byrnei'' **** Genus '' Dasyurus'':

s ***** New Guinean quoll, ''Dasyurus albopunctatus'' ***** Western quoll, ''Dasyurus geoffroii'' ***** Northern quoll, ''Dasyurus hallucatus'' ***** Tiger quoll, ''Dasyurus maculatus'' ***** Bronze quoll, ''Dasyurus spartacus'' ***** Eastern quoll, ''Dasyurus viverrinus'' **** Genus '' Myoictis'' ***** Woolley's three-striped dasyure, ''Myoictis leucera'' ***** Three-striped dasyure, ''Myoictis melas'' ***** Wallace's dasyure, ''Myoictis wallacii'' ***** Tate's three-striped dasyure, ''Myoictis wavicus'' **** Genus '' Neophascogale'' ***** Speckled dasyure, ''Neophascogale lorentzi'' **** Genus '' Parantechinus'' ***** Dibbler, ''Parantechinus apicalis'' **** Genus '' Phascolosorex'' ***** Red-bellied marsupial shrew, ''Phascolosorex doriae'' *****

Narrow-striped marsupial shrew The narrow-striped dasyure or narrow-striped marsupial shrew (''Phascolosorex dorsalis'') is a species of marsupial in the family Dasyuridae found in West Papua and Papua New Guinea. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical dry forests. ...

, ''Phascolosorex dorsalis'' **** Genus '' Pseudantechinus'' ***** Sandstone false antechinus, ''Pseudantechinus bilarni'' *****

Fat-tailed false antechinus The fat-tailed false antechinus (''Pseudantechinus macdonnellensis''), also called the fat-tailed pseudantechinus and red-eared antechinus, is a member of the order (biology), order Dasyuromorphia. It is an inhabitant of western and central Austr ...

, ''Pseudantechinus macdonnellensis'' ***** Alexandria false antechinus, ''Pseudantechinus mimulus'' ***** Ningbing false antechinus, ''Pseudantechinus ningbing'' ***** Rory Cooper's false antechinus, ''Pseudantechinus roryi'' ***** Woolley's false antechinus, ''Pseudantechinus woolleyae'' **** Genus '' Sarcophilus'' *****

, ''Sarcophilus harrisii'' *** Tribe Phascogalini **** Genus ''

Antechinus ''Antechinus'' (// ('ant-echinus')) is a genus of small dasyurid marsupial endemic to Australia. They resemble mice with the bristly fur of shrews. Names They are also sometimes called 'broad-footed marsupial mice', 'pouched mice', or 'Ante ...

'' ***** Tropical antechinus, ''Antechinus adustus'' ***** Agile antechinus, ''Antechinus agilis'' ***** Fawn antechinus, ''Antechinus bellus'' ***** Yellow-footed antechinus, ''Antechinus flavipes'' ***** Atherton antechinus, ''Antechinus godmani'' *****

Cinnamon antechinus The cinnamon antechinus (''Antechinus leo''), also known as the Iron Ranges antechinus and the Cape York antechinus, is a species of small carnivorous marsupial of the family Dasyuridae. It is the only mammal endemic to Cape York Peninsula, bein ...

, ''Antechinus leo'' ***** Swamp antechinus, ''Antechinus minimus'' ***** Brown antechinus, ''Antechinus stuartii'' ***** Subtropical antechinus, ''Antechinus subtropicus'' ***** Tasmanian dusky antechinus, ''Antechinus swainsonii'' ****Genus '' Murexia'' ***** Habbema dasyure, ''Murexia habbema'' ***** Short-furred dasyure, ''Murexia longicaudata'' ***** Black-tailed dasyure, ''Murexia melanurus'' ***** Long-nosed dasyure, ''Murexia naso'' ***** Broad-striped dasyure, ''Murexia rothschildi'' **** Genus ''

Phascogale The phascogales (members of the eponymous genus ''Phascogale''), also known as wambengers or mousesacks, are carnivorous Australian marsupials of the family Dasyuridae. There are three species: the brush-tailed phascogale (''Phascogale tapoataf ...

'' ***** Red-tailed phascogale, ''Phascogale calura'' ***** Northern brush-tailed phascogale, ''Phascogale pirata'' ***** Brush-tailed phascogale, ''Phascogale tapoatafa'' **Subfamily Sminthopsinae *** Tribe Planigalini **** Genus '' Planigale'' ***** Paucident planigale, ''Planigale gilesi'' ***** Long-tailed planigale, ''Planigale ingrami'' ***** Common planigale, ''Planigale maculata'' ***** New Guinean planigale, ''Planigale novaeguineae'' ***** Narrow-nosed planigale, ''Planigale tenuirostris'' ***Tribe Sminthopsini **** Genus '' Antechinomys'' ***** Kultarr, ''Antechinomys laniger'' **** Genus '' Ningaui'' ***** Wongai ningaui, ''Ningaui ridei'' ***** Pilbara ningaui, ''Ningaui timealeyi'' ***** Southern ningaui, ''Ningaui yvonnae'' **** Genus '' Sminthopsis'' ***** '' S. floravillensis'' ***** ''S. crassicaudata'' species-group ******

Fat-tailed dunnart The fat-tailed dunnart (''Sminthopsis crassicaudata'') is a species of mouse-like marsupial of the Dasyuridae, the family that includes the little red kaluta, quolls, and the Tasmanian devil. Description It has an average body length of ...

, ''Sminthopsis crassicaudata'' ***** ''S. macroura'' species-group ****** Kakadu dunnart, ''Sminthopsis bindi'' ****** Carpentarian dunnart, ''Sminthopsis butleri'' ******

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 ...

, ''Sminthopsis douglasi'' ****** Stripe-faced dunnart, ''Sminthopsis macroura'' ****** Red-cheeked dunnart, ''Sminthopsis virginiae'' ***** ''S. granulipes'' species-group ****** White-tailed dunnart, ''Sminthopsis granulipes'' ***** ''S. griseoventer'' species-group ****** Grey-bellied dunnart, ''Sminthopsis griseoventer'' ***** ''S. longicaudata'' species-group ****** Long-tailed dunnart, ''Sminthopsis longicaudata'' ***** ''S. murina'' species-group ****** Chestnut dunnart, ''Sminthopsis archeri'' ****** Little long-tailed dunnart, ''Sminthopsis dolichura'' ****** Sooty dunnart, ''Sminthopsis fulginosus'' ****** Gilbert's dunnart, ''Sminthopsis gilberti'' ****** White-footed dunnart, ''Sminthopsis leucopus'' ****** Slender-tailed dunnart, ''Sminthopsis murina'' ***** ''S. psammophila'' species-group ****** Hairy-footed dunnart, ''Sminthopsis hirtipes'' ****** Ooldea dunnart, ''Sminthopsis ooldea'' ****** Sandhill dunnart, ''Sminthopsis psammophila'' ****** Lesser hairy-footed dunnart, ''Sminthopsis youngsoni''

References

External links

* * {{Authority control Dasyuromorphs Mammal families