Kangaroo Island dunnart
| Kangaroo Island dunnart | |
|---|---|
| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Infraclass: | Marsupialia |
| Order: | Dasyuromorphia |
| Family: | Dasyuridae |
| Genus: | Sminthopsis |
| Species: | S. aitkeni |
| Binomial name | |
| Sminthopsis aitkeni Kitchener, Stoddart and Henry 1984 | |
 | |
| Kangaroo Island Dunnart range | |
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 170mm-198mm, a snout to anus length of 80-93 mm, a tail measurement 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.
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. Only 22 of the species have ever been found.
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. Female Kangaroo Island dunnarts are oestrous.
References
- ↑ van Weenen, J. (2008). Sminthopsis aitkeni. In: IUCN 2008. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Retrieved 28 December 2008. Database entry includes justification for why this species is listed as critically endangered
- Menkhorst, P.; Knight, F. (2001). A field Guide to the Mammals of Australia. Oxford Press. p. 68. ISBN 0-19-550870-X.
- Groves, C. P. (2005). Wilson, D. E.; Reeder, D. M, eds. Mammal Species of the World (3rd ed.). Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 34. OCLC 62265494. ISBN 0-801-88221-4.
External links
- Threatened Species
- Australian fauna .com
- Dataset description
- 'Kangaroo%20Island%20Dunnart' The Distribution and Ecology