Grey-bellied dunnart

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Grey-bellied dunnart [1]
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Infraclass: Marsupialia
Order: Dasyuromorphia
Family: Dasyuridae
Genus: Sminthopsis
Species:
S. griseoventor
Binomial name
Sminthopsis griseoventor
(Kitchener, Stoddart & Henry, 1984)
Grey-bellied Dunnart area.png
Grey-bellied dunnart range

The grey-bellied dunnart (Sminthopsis griseoventer), alternately spelled gray-bellied dunnart, was described by Kitchener, Stoddart and Henry along with the Kangaroo Island dunnart, Gilbert's dunnart and little long-tailed dunnart in 1984. [2] They also described the Mallee ningaui in 1983.

Contents

The average body length of a specimen can vary between 130–192 mm with a tail of 65–98 mm and body to anus of 65–95 mm. The olive grey ears have a length of between 17–18 mm. The hind feet have an average length of between 16–17 mm. Its weight varies between 15-25 grams.[ citation needed ]

Distribution and habitat

Found in Western Australia on the coastal south west fringes and associated ranges. From north to south then to east, Gairdner Ranges to Cape Arid National Park, its habitat rarely stretches 100 km (62 mi) inland from the coast.[ citation needed ] A population was discovered in December 2003 in South Australia during a Department for Environment and Heritage Biological Survey on Eyre Peninsula [3] in the Hincks and Bascombe Well conservation parks. [4] Habitat includes heathy forests, woodland, melaleuca swamplands dense mature heathland. No subspecies is identified.[ citation needed ]

Social organisation and breeding

They are nocturnal and inhabit leaf litter and burrows. [2] Breeding is done in a nest below ground a few centimetres, with 8 born in August for Boulenger Island and October of other areas. [2] Only 1 litter is born. [2]

Diet

This dunnart is a nocturnal omnivorous marsupial that eats insects, small mammals, reptiles and amphibians as well as soft fruit.[ citation needed ]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dasyuridae</span> Family of marsupials

The Dasyuridae are a family of marsupials native to Australia and New Guinea, including 71 extant species divided into 17 genera. Many are small and mouse-like or shrew-like, giving some of them the name marsupial mice or marsupial shrews, but the group also includes the cat-sized quolls, as well as the Tasmanian devil. They are found in a wide range of habitats, including grassland, underground, forests, and mountains, and some species are arboreal or semiaquatic. The Dasyuridae are often called the 'marsupial carnivores', as most members of the family are insectivores.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dunnart</span> Genus of mammals (Sminthopsis; marsupials)

Dunnart is a common name for species of the genus Sminthopsis, narrow-footed marsupials the size of a European mouse. They have a largely insectivorous diet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sminthopsinae</span> Subfamily of marsupials

The subfamily Sminthopsinae includes several genera of small, carnivorous marsupials native to Australia: kultarrs, ningauis, dunnarts, and planigales.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sminthopsini</span> Tribe of marsupials

Smintopsini is a tribe of marsupial in the family Dasyuridae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fat-tailed dunnart</span> Species of mammal

The fat-tailed dunnart is a species of mouse-like marsupial of the Dasyuridae, the family that includes the little red kaluta, quolls, and the Tasmanian devil.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">White-footed dunnart</span> Species of marsupial

The white-footed dunnart is a marsupial that occurs on Tasmania and mainland Australia. It occurs along the coast and in inner Gippsland and Alpine areas up to 400 metres near Narbethong. In southern New South Wales, the white-footed dunnart is known to occur at elevations at least as high as 1000 metres. The length from snout to tail tip is 14–20 cm (5.5–7.9 in) of which head and body are 7–11 cm (2.8–4.3 in) and the tail 7–9 cm (2.8–3.5 in) long. They weigh 19–27 g (0.67–0.95 oz).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Slender-tailed dunnart</span> Species of marsupial

The slender-tailed dunnart, also known as the common dunnart in Australia, is a dasyurid marsupial. It has an average body length of 7 to 12 centimeters (2.8–4.7 in) with a tail length of 5.5 to 13 centimetres (2.2–5.1 in). It weighs 25–40.8 grams for males and 16.5–25.4 grams for females.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gilbert's dunnart</span> Species of marsupial

Gilbert's dunnart is a recently discovered dunnart, described in 1984. The length from snout to tail being 15.5–18 cm (6.1–7.1 in) of which the head and body are 8–9 cm (3.1–3.5 in) and the tail 7.5–9 cm (3.0–3.5 in). The hind foot size is 18 mm (0.71 in), the ear length is 21 mm (0.83 in) and with the weight is 14–25 g (0.49–0.88 oz).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Little long-tailed dunnart</span> Species of marsupial

The Little long-tailed dunnart is a dunnart that was, along with Gilbert's dunnart, described in 1984. The length from snout to tail is 15–20 cm (5.9–7.9 in) of which head and body are 6.5–5 cm (2.6–2.0 in) and tail 8.5–10.5 cm (3.3–4.1 in) long. Hind foot size is 16–17 mm (0.63–0.67 in), the ear length is 17–19 mm (0.67–0.75 in) and the weight is 10–20 g (0.35–0.71 oz).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chestnut dunnart</span> Species of marsupial

The chestnut dunnart is a dunnart that was described by Van Dyck in 1986 and is named because of its chestnut colour in the upperparts of its body. The length from snout to tail is 167–210 mm, of which head to anus is 85–105 mm and tail is 82–105 mm long. The hind foot size is 17–20 mm, ear length is 17–21 mm and weight is 15–20 g.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Long-tailed dunnart</span> Species of marsupial

The long-tailed dunnart is an Australian dunnart that, like the little long-tailed dunnart, has a tail longer than its body. It is also one of the larger dunnarts at a length from snout to tail of 260–306 mm of which head to anus is 80–96 mm and tail 180–210 mm long. Hind foot size is 18 mm, ear length of 21 mm and with a weight of 15-20 g.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stripe-faced dunnart</span> Species of marsupial

The striped-faced dunnart is a small, Australian, nocturnal, "marsupial mouse," part of the family Dasyuridae. The species' distribution occurs throughout much of inland central and northern Australia, occupying a range of arid and semi-arid habitats.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">White-tailed dunnart</span> Species of marsupial

The white-tailed dunnart, also known as the ash-grey dunnart, is a dunnart native to Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Red-cheeked dunnart</span> Species of marsupial

The red-cheeked dunnart is so called because of the distinctive red hair on its cheek. It is an Australasian marsupial. Its total length is 167–270 mm (6.6–10.6 in); its average body length is 80–135 mm (3.1–5.3 in) with a tail of 87–135 mm (3.4–5.3 in). Ear length is 12–13 mm (0.47–0.51 in). Its weight varies between 18 and 75 g. Its tail is thin and pale pink.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kakadu dunnart</span> Species of marsupial

The Kakadu dunnart is a dunnart first described in 1994 and whose closest relative is the Carpentarian dunnart. It typically has a body length of 50-85mm with a tail 60-105mm long, for a total length between 110-190mm. It weighs between 10-25g, placing it in the mid-range of dunnarts. Its colour is grey, gingery on the upper body and underbelly, with white feet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carpentarian dunnart</span> Species of marsupial

The Carpentarian dunnart also known as Butler's dunnart is a marsupial with a puffy brown or mouse grey colour above and the underside of white, similar to its close relative the Kakadu dunnart. Head to anus length is 75-88mm with a tail of 72-90mm long for a total length of 147-178mm. Weight varies from 10-20g depending on a variety of factors including sex, food abundance, habitat etc.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Julia Creek dunnart</span> Species of marsupial

The Julia Creek dunnart is a marsupial with a buffy brown upperside and white underside. This dunnart has a body length of 100–135 mm with a tail of 60–105 mm to make a total length of 160–240 mm. Its weight is between 40 and 70 g. The length of the hind foot is 22–24 mm. The species has a dark brown triangle colour from above and below the eye with the point at the nose, and another dark stripe on top of the skull. A healthy dunnart has a carrot-shaped tail filled with fat stores.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kangaroo Island dunnart</span> Species of marsupial

The Kangaroo Island dunnart 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 170–198 mm, a snout to anus length of 80–93 mm, a tail measurement of 90–105 mm, a hind foot of 17.5 mm, ear length of 18 mm and a weight of 20–25 grams. The thin tail is also gray, but lighter on the bottom. The tail is longer than the body. Kangaroo Island dunnarts are dimorphic, with males larger than females.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ooldea dunnart</span> Species of marsupial

The Ooldea dunnart, also called Troughton's dunnart after the person who found the species, is an Australian marsupial similar to the hairy-footed dunnart. It is greyish-yellow on its upper body and white on the underside with dark patches on its crown, forehead and in front of the eyes, and a pink thinly furred carrot-shaped tail. Its total length is 11.5–17.3 cm (4.5–6.8 in); its average body length is 5.5–8 cm (2.2–3.1 in) with a tail of 6–9.3 cm (2.4–3.7 in). Its ear length is 14–17 mm (0.55–0.67 in). It weighs between 10 and 18 g.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sandhill dunnart</span> Species of marsupial

The sandhill dunnart is a species of carnivorous Australian marsupial of the family Dasyuridae. It is known from four scattered semi-arid areas of Australia: near Lake Amadeus in Northern Territory, the central and eastern Eyre Peninsula in South Australia, the southwestern and western edges of the Great Victoria Desert in Western Australia, and at Yellabinna in South Australia.

References

  1. Groves, C. P. (2005). Wilson, D. E.; Reeder, D. M. (eds.). Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 34. ISBN   0-801-88221-4. OCLC   62265494.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 McKenzie, N.; Kemper, C. (2016). "Sminthopsis griseoventer". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2016: e.T41510A21948615. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-2.RLTS.T41510A21948615.en .
  3. Kemper, Catherine M.; Cooper, Steven J. B.; Medlin, Graham C.; Adams, Mark; Stemmer, David; Saint, Kathleen M.; McDowell, Matthew C.; Austin, Jeremy J. (23 November 2011). "Cryptic grey-bellied dunnart (Sminthopsis griseoventer) discovered in South Australia: genetic, morphological and subfossil analyses show the value of collecting voucher material". Australian Journal of Zoology. 59 (3): 127–144. doi:10.1071/ZO11037. ISSN   1446-5698.
  4. Brandle, R. (2010), "A Biological Survey of the Eyre Peninsula South Australia" (PDF), Biological Survey South Australia, Science Resource Centre Information, Science and Technology Directorate Department for Environment and Heritage