Fawn antechinus
| Fawn antechinus[1] | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Infraclass: | Marsupialia |
| Order: | Dasyuromorphia |
| Family: | Dasyuridae |
| Genus: | Antechinus |
| Species: | A. bellus |
| Binomial name | |
| Antechinus bellus (Thomas, 1904) | |
 | |
| Distribution of the fawn antechinus | |
The fawn antechinus (Antechinus bellus) is a species of small carnivorous marsupial found in northern Australia. It is the only Antechinus to be found in the Northern Territory and has a patchy, restricted range.
Taxonomy
The earliest collection of a fawn antechinus was made by John T. Tunney,[3] and first described in 1904 by the renowned biologist Oldfield Thomas, who gave it the species name bellus, meaning beautiful.[4] It has never been confused with other species.
It is a member of the family Dasyuridae and of the genus Antechinus (meaning "hedgehog-equivalent"), which has nine other members.
Description
The fawn antechinus is unique among antechinuses, being considerably paler than many of its relatives. It is a light grey colour and is distinguished from the only other similar species in the area where it lives (the sandstone dibbler and the red-cheeked dunnart) by its larger size and paler colouring. It is insectivorous and, like many of its relatives, all of the males die after the breeding season .[5]
The fawn antechinus has a breeding season during August. Young are born in September-October in litters of up to ten, and are usually weaned by January.[5]
Distribution and habitat
The fawn antechinus is found in the Top End of the Northern Territory, where it is fairly common.[4] It inhabits tall, fairly open forest in the tropics.
References
- ↑ Groves, C. P. (2005). Wilson, D. E.; Reeder, D. M, eds. Mammal Species of the World (3rd ed.). Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 29. OCLC 62265494. ISBN 0-801-88221-4.
- ↑ Woinarski, J. & Oakwood, M. (2008). Antechinus bellus. In: IUCN 2008. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Retrieved 9 October 2008.
- ↑ Kristofer M. Helgen, Roberto Portela Miguez, James Kohen and Lauren Helgen (2012). "Twentieth century occurrence of the Long-Beaked Echidna Zaglossus bruijnii in the Kimberley region of Australia". ZooKeys 255: 103–132. doi:10.3897/zookeys.255.3774.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Calaby, J.H. (1995). "Fawn Antechinus". In Strahan, Ronald. The Mammals of Australia. Reed Books. pp. 85–86.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Menkhorst, Peter (2001). A Field Guide to the Mammals of Australia. Oxford University Press. p. 54.