Dunnart Explained

A dunnart (from Noongar donat^[1]) is a narrow-footed marsupial the size of a European mouse, of the genus Sminthopsis. Dunnarts have a largely insectivorous diet.

Taxonomy

The genus name Sminthopsis was published by Oldfield Thomas in 1887, the author noting that the name Podabrus that had previously been used to describe the species was preoccupied as a genus of beetles.^[2] The type species is Phascogale crassicaudata, published by John Gould in 1844.

There are 19 species, all of them in Australia or New Guinea:^[3]

• Genus Sminthopsis
  • S. crassicaudata species-group
    • Fat-tailed dunnart, Sminthopsis crassicaudata
  • S. macroura species-group
    • Kakadu dunnart, Sminthopsis bindi
    • Carpentarian dunnart, Sminthopsis butleri
    • Julia Creek dunnart, Sminthopsis douglasi
    • Stripe-faced dunnart, Sminthopsis macroura
    • Red-cheeked dunnart, Sminthopsis virginiae
  • S. granulipes species-group
    • White-tailed dunnart, Sminthopsis granulipes
  • S. griseoventer species-group
    • Grey-bellied dunnart, Sminthopsis griseoventer
  • S. longicaudata species-group
    • Long-tailed dunnart, Sminthopsis longicaudata
  • S. murina species-group
    • Chestnut dunnart, Sminthopsis archeri
    • Little long-tailed dunnart, Sminthopsis dolichura
    • Sooty dunnart, Sminthopsis fuliginosus
    • Gilbert's dunnart, Sminthopsis gilberti
    • White-footed dunnart, Sminthopsis leucopus
    • Slender-tailed dunnart, Sminthopsis murina
  • S. psammophila species-group
    • Hairy-footed dunnart, Sminthopsis hirtipes
    • Ooldea dunnart, Sminthopsis ooldea
    • Sandhill dunnart, Sminthopsis psammophila
    • Lesser hairy-footed dunnart, Sminthopsis youngsoni

Additionally, two species are recognized by the American Society of Mammalogists:

• Froggatt's dunnart, Sminthopsis froggatti^[4]
• Stalker's dunnart, Sminthopsis stalkeri^[5]

The American Society of Mammalogists also lists S. griseoventer as a synonym of S. fuliginosa,^[6] and moved S. longicaudata to the genus Antechinomys.^[7]

Description

A male dunnart's Y chromosome is the smallest known mammalian Y chromosome.^[8]

External links

• Marsupial Society's checklist

Notes and References

1. Abbott . Ian . 2001 . Aboriginal names of mammal species in south-west Western Australia . CALMScience . 3 . 4 . 450–451.
2. Divljan . Anja . Ingleby . Sandy . Parnaby . Harry . 30027103 . Taxonomic status of Podabrus albocaudatus Krefft, 1872 and declaration of Sminthopsis granulipes Troughton, 1932 (Marsupialia: Dasyuridae) as a protected name for the White-tailed Dunnart from Western Australia . Zootaxa . 6 January 2015 . 3904 . 2 . 283–292 . 10.11646/zootaxa.3904.2.7 . 25660785 . en . 1175-5334. free .
3. Web site: Sminthopsis longicaudata . WA Museum Collections . 2017-02-14 . . 2020-12-24.
4. 1000205. Sminthopsis froggatti (E. P. Ramsay, 1887). 20 October 2024.
5. 1000216. Sminthopsis stalkeri O. Thomas, 1906. 20 October 2024.
6. 1000206. Sminthopsis fuliginosa (J. Gould, 1852). 20 October 2024.
7. 1000211. Antechinomys longicaudatus (W. B. Spencer, 1909). 20 October 2024.
8. Toder R. . Wakefield M.J. . Graves J.A.M. . The minimal mammalian Y chromosome - the marsupial Y as a model system . Cytogenet Cell Genet . 91 . 1–4 . 285–92 . 2000 . 11173870 . 10.1159/000056858. 30401023 .