Ningbing False Antechinus
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The Ningbing false antechinus (''Pseudantechinus ningbing''), also known as the Ningbing pseudantechinus, is a small species of carnivorous
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 ...
found in north-western
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 ...
. It is locally common throughout the
Kimberley Kimberly or Kimberley may refer to: Places and historical events Australia Queensland * Kimberley, Queensland, a coastal locality in the Shire of Douglas South Australia * County of Kimberley, a cadastral unit in South Australia Ta ...
region of
Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...
and the
Northern Territory The Northern Territory (abbreviated as NT; known formally as the Northern Territory of Australia and informally as the Territory) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian internal territory in the central and central-northern regi ...
.


Taxonomy

The Ningbing false antechinus was first collected by
Harry Butler William Henry Butler (25 March 1930 – 11 December 2015) was an Australian naturalist and environmental consultant, best known as the presenter of the popular ABC television series '' In the Wild'' from 1976 to 1981. He was a household name ...
at Ningbing, an abandoned station in the Kimberley region. It was long considered to be a form of the
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 ...
(''P. macdonnellensis''), but was given distinct species status by D. J. Kitchener in 1988. Its common and species names honour the location of its discovery. The Ningbing false antechinus is a
dasyurid 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 th ...
marsupial and is closely related to other false antechinuses, particularly the fat-tailed false antechinus.


Description

The Ningbing false antechinus is similar to the
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'') but the females have four and not six teats. It also has a longer tail, with long hairs at the base and the remainder slightly scaly in appearance. The behaviour of this species is little known. It mates in June and has a comparatively long gestation of 45–52 days. Young are born in July–August and are weaned by October–November.


External links


Image of the type specimen's skull


Habitat

The Ningbing false antechinus is found in the
Kimberley region of Western Australia The Kimberley is the northernmost of the nine regions of Western Australia. It is bordered on the west by the Indian Ocean, on the north by the Timor Sea, on the south by the Great Sandy and Tanami deserts in the region of the Pilbara, and on ...
, inhabiting rocky outcrops in a wide range of vegetation types.


References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q137643 Dasyuromorphs Mammals of Western Australia Mammals of the Northern Territory Marsupials of Australia Mammals described in 1988 Taxa named by Darrell Kitchener