Western quoll

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Western quoll[1]
A western quoll at Caversham Wildlife Park, Western Australia.
Conservation status
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Infraclass: Marsupialia
Order: Dasyuromorphia
Family: Dasyuridae
Genus: Dasyurus
Species: D. geoffroii
Binomial name
Dasyurus geoffroii
Gould, 1841
Western Quoll range

The western quoll (Dasyurus geoffroii) is also known as the chuditch (especially Western Australia, from Noongar djooditj[3]), atyelpe or chilpa (from Arrernte[4]), kuninka (from Western Desert language[5]) and western native cat. It is a medium-sized predator and has a white-spotted brown coat and a long tail like its eastern and northern relatives. It differs from the closely related eastern quoll in possessing a first toe on the hind foot and a darker tail. It is classed as a near-threatened Australian dasyuromorph, whose distribution is now confined to south-western Western Australia.

Description

The western quoll is a medium-sized quoll coloured a rufous brown on its upper parts with white spots and a creamy white below. It has five toes on its hind feet and granular pads.[6]

The western quoll is a solitary, nocturnal predator which is mostly terrestrial, although it does climb trees. It has a diet of small vertebrates, carrion, arthropods, and freshwater crayfish, among other things. The breeding season is from April to July.[7]

The head and body average about 330 mm in length, with the tail averaging another 280 mm. An individual can weigh up to 2 kg, with males being slightly heavier.[8]

Behaviour

The western quoll moves swiftly on the ground, climbs efficiently, and may dig or occupy existing holes in the ground. Activity is greatest around dusk and dawn with the animal being crepuscular.

Habitat

The western quoll was formerly found throughout most of inland Australia, reaching areas of Queensland, New South Wales, and Victoria. It is now restricted to the south-western corner of Western Australia, where it inhabits wet and dry sclerophyll forests and mallee.[7]

Taxonomy

The western quoll was described by John Gould in 1841, when it was still widespread throughout the continent. Its species name, geoffroii, refers to the prominent French naturalist Étienne Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, who named the genus Dasyurus in 1796. The species has sometimes been placed in the genus Dasyurinus.[6]

The western quoll is a member of the family Dasyuridae and is most closely related to the bronze quoll (Dasyurus spartacus), a recently described species from New Guinea that was for some time believed to be an outlying population of the western quoll.

Popular culture

References

  1. ↑ Groves, C. P. (2005). Wilson, D. E.; Reeder, D. M, eds. Mammal Species of the World (3rd ed.). Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 25. OCLC 62265494. ISBN 0-801-88221-4. 
  2. ↑ Morris, K., Burbidge, A. & Hamilton, S. (2008). Dasyurus geoffroii. In: IUCN 2008. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Retrieved 28 December 2008. Database entry includes justification for why this species is listed as near threatened
  3. ↑ Rooney, Bernard (2011). Nyoongar Dictionary. Batchelor Press. p. 20. ISBN 9781741312331. 
  4. ↑ Henderson, John; Henderson, Veronica (1994). Eastern and Central Arrernte to English Dictionary. IAD Press. p. 326. ISBN 0949659746. 
  5. ↑ Goddard, Cliff (1996). Pitjantjatjara/Yakunytjatjara to English Dictionary. IAD Press. p. 48. ISBN 0949659916. 
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Serena, M.; Soderquist, T. (1995). "Western Quoll". In Strahan, Ronald. The Mammals of Australia. Reed Books. pp. 62–64. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Menkhorst, Peter (2001). A Field Guide to the Mammals of Australia. Oxford University Press. p. 48. 
  8. ↑ "Chudditch (Western Quoll) (Dasyurus geoffroyi)". australianfauna.com. Retrieved 2008-03-13. 
  9. ↑ "About the Chuditch". switchthefuture.com.au. Retrieved 2012-07-29. 
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