Ningbing false antechinus

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Ningbing false antechinus [1]
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Infraclass: Marsupialia
Order: Dasyuromorphia
Family: Dasyuridae
Genus: Pseudantechinus
Species:
P. ningbing
Binomial name
Pseudantechinus ningbing
Kitchener 1988
Ningbing False Antechinus area.png
Ningbing false antechinus range

The Ningbing false antechinus (Pseudantechinus ningbing), also known as the Ningbing pseudantechinus, is a small species of carnivorous marsupial found in north-western Australia. It is locally common throughout the Kimberley region of Western Australia and the Northern Territory. [3]

Contents

Taxonomy

The Ningbing false antechinus was first collected by Harry Butler at Ningbing, an abandoned station in the Kimberley region. It was long considered to be a form of the fat-tailed false antechinus (P. macdonnellensis), but was given distinct species status by D. J. Kitchener in 1988. Its common and species names honour the location of its discovery.

The Ningbing false antechinus is a dasyurid marsupial and is closely related to other false antechinuses, particularly the fat-tailed false antechinus.

Description

The Ningbing false antechinus is similar to the fat-tailed false antechinus (Pseudantechinus macdonnellensis) but the females have four and not six teats. [3] It also has a longer tail, with long hairs at the base and the remainder slightly scaly in appearance. [4]

The behaviour of this species is little known. It mates in June and has a comparatively long gestation of 45–52 days. Young are born in July–August and are weaned by October–November. [3]

Habitat

The Ningbing false antechinus is found in the Kimberley region of Western Australia, inhabiting rocky outcrops in a wide range of vegetation types. [3]

Related Research Articles

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The Dasyuridae are a family of marsupials native to Australia and New Guinea, including 69 extant species divided into 21 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.

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

Dibbler is an endangered species of marsupial. It is an inhabitant of the southwest mainland of Western Australia and some offshore islands. It is a member of the order Dasyuromorphia, and the only member of the genus Parantechinus. The dibbler is a small, nocturnal carnivore with speckled fur that is white around the eyes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Little red kaluta</span> Species of marsupial

The little red kaluta, or simply kaluta, is a species of carnivorous nocturnal marsupial. It lives in the arid regions of northwest Australia. Individuals are around 10 cm (3.9 in) long and weigh from 20 to 40 g. They live for about four years in captivity.

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

The yellow-footed antechinus, also known as the mardo, is a shrew-like marsupial found in Australia. One notable feature of the species is its sexual behavior. The male yellow-footed antechinus engages in such frenzied mating that its immune system becomes compromised, resulting in stress related death before it is one year old.

The genus Pseudantechinus are members of the order Dasyuromorphia. They are often called false antechinuses, although this genus includes the sandstone dibbler, which was previously assigned to a different genus.

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

The tribe Dasyurini includes several genera of small carnivorous marsupials native to Australia: quolls, kowari, mulgara, kaluta, dibblers, neophascogales, pseudantechinuses, and the Tasmanian devil.

<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">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">Fat-tailed false antechinus</span> Species of marsupial

The fat-tailed false antechinus, also called the fat-tailed pseudantechinus and red-eared antechinus, is a member of the order Dasyuromorphia. It is an inhabitant of western and central Australia. Its species name, macdonnellensis, refers to the MacDonnell Ranges near Alice Springs, where it was first discovered.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sandstone false antechinus</span> Species of marsupial

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alexandria false antechinus</span> Species of marsupial

The Alexandria false antechinus, also known as the Carpentarian false antechinus or Carpentarian pseudantechinus, is a small carnivorous marsupial, found only in a number of small, isolated localities in northern Australia. It is the smallest and rarest of the false antechinuses.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Woolley's false antechinus</span> Species of marsupial

Woolley's false antechinus, also known as Woolley's pseudantechinus, is a species of small carnivorous marsupial belonging to the family Dasyuridae. It is found in the Australian state of Western Australia, primarily in the Pilbara, Ashburton and Murchison regions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rory Cooper's false antechinus</span> Species of marsupial

Rory Cooper's false antechinus, also known as the tan false antechinus and the tan pseudantechinus, is a recently named species of small carnivorous marsupial which inhabits rocky outcrops in Western Australia. Nothing is known of its behaviour but it is expected that this will be similar to other members of the false antechinus genus. A study published in 2017 found no support for separation as a new species of Pseudantechinus, and the name was proposed to be synonymous with the previously described Pseudantechinus macdonnellensis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fawn antechinus</span> Species of marsupial

The fawn antechinus 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.

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

The scaly-tailed possum is found in northwestern Australia, where it is restricted to the Kimberley.

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. 27. ISBN   0-801-88221-4. OCLC   62265494.
  2. Burbidge, A.; Woinarski, J. (2016). "Pseudantechinus ningbing". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2016: e.T40538A21945674. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-2.RLTS.T40538A21945674.en . Retrieved 11 November 2021.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Menkhorst, Peter (2001). A Field Guide to the Mammals of Australia. Oxford University Press. p. 62.
  4. Woolley, P.A. (1995). "Ningbing Pseudantechinus". In Strahan, Ronald (ed.). The Mammals of Australia. Reed Books. pp. 79–80.