Kangaroo Island Dunnart
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| Sminthopsis aitkeni Kitchener, Stoddart and Henry 1984 |
The Kangaroo Island Dunnart (Sminthopsis aitkeni) is a dark sooty grey coloured dunnart species, with paler underparts of its body. It has an average body length of 170mm-198mm, a snout to anus length of 80-93 mm, a tail measurment of 90-105 mm, a hind foot of 17.5mm, ear length of 18mm and a weight which varies between 20-25 grams. The thin tail has the same colouring as described above.
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[edit] 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 species inhabits mallee heath on laterite soils.
[edit] Social organisation and breeding
Little is known of the behavior of the Kangaroo Island Dunnart, but the mating season is thought to be from September to January with more than one birth recorded.
[edit] References
- Australasian Marsupial & Monotreme Specialist Group (1996). Sminthopsis granulipes. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 12 May 2006.
- Menkhorst, P.; Knight, F. (2001). A field Guide to the Mammals of Australia. Oxford Press, 68. ISBN 0-19-550870-X.
- Groves, Colin (16 November 2005). in Wilson, D. E., and Reeder, D. M. (eds): Mammal Species of the World, 3rd edition, Johns Hopkins University Press, 34. ISBN 0-801-88221-4.
