The Zoochat Photographic Guide to Monotremes and Marsupials

Chlidonias

Chlidonias

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Staff member
15+ year member
A new chapter in the Zoochat Photographic Guides series. Eventually we hope to have all mammal Orders covered, but while @TeaLovingDave is working his way through Carnivores I decided to start at the very beginning with Monotremes and Marsupials. The idea behind these threads is simply to show as many species of mammals as possible, to stimulate discussion in the galleries, and hopefully to encourage the addition of species not yet depicted in the galleries.

Where photos of known subspecies are available I have tried to use these in preference to (or in addition to) photos of "generic" or "unknown" individuals.

In some cases I have used photographs of museum specimens as illustration, mostly for recently-extinct species (e.g. Thylacine).

Of course thanks are given to all the hard-working photographers who make these threads (and the future threads) possible. The list of members whose photos have been used in this thread is here on page 11 - The Zoochat Photographic Guide to Monotremes and Marsupials
 
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MONOTREMATA
MONOTREMES
Five species in two Families: Ornithorhynchidae (Platypus) and Tachyglossidae (Echidnas).

There are four species represented in the Zoochat galleries.


Photo below by @Chlidonias from the Queensland Museum, Australia, showing the skulls of Platypus (left) and Short-beaked Echidna (right).

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Platypus and Echidna skull comparison | ZooChat
 
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ORNITHORHYNCHIDAE
Platypus
One species.



Platypus Ornithorhynchus anatinus
Monotypic.

Found down almost the entire east coast of Australia, from the Cooktown area of northern Queensland south to Victoria and Tasmania. Has also been introduced to Kangaroo Island off South Australia.


Photo by @alexkant at Healesville Sanctuary, Australia.

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Duck-billed platypus/ Ornithorhynchus anatinus | ZooChat
 
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TACHYGLOSSIDAE
Echidnas
Four species in two genera: Tachyglossus and Zaglossus.

Three species are depicted in the Zoochat galleries, representing both genera.


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Tachyglossus
One species.


Short-beaked Echidna Tachyglossus aculeatus
Five subspecies: acanthion, aculeatus, lawesii, multiaculeatus, setosus. All subspecies are represented in the Zoochat galleries.

Found throughout Australia and in parts of New Guinea, with acanthion being from northern, western and inland Australia; aculeatus from eastern Australia; lawesii from southern and western New Guinea, in both coastal and highland regions (some authors would also include the tropical north of Australia within this subspecies' range); multiaculeatus being restricted to Kangaroo Island off South Australia; and setosus restricted to Tasmania and surrounding islands.


Photo by @Chlidonias in the wild, Australia (western Australian subspecies acanthion).

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Short-beaked echidna (Tachyglossus aculeatus) | ZooChat


Photo by @Hix in the wild, Australia (eastern Australian subspecies aculeatus).

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Echidna | ZooChat


Photo by @TeaLovingDave at Berlin Tierpark, Germany (New Guinea subspecies lawesii).

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New Guinea Short-beaked Echidna (Tachyglossus aculeatus lawesii) at Tierpar | ZooChat


Photo by @Blackduiker at Los Angeles Zoo, USA (Kangaroo Island subspecies multiaculeatus).

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Echidna | ZooChat


Photo by @WhistlingKite24 at ZooDoo Wildlife Park, Australia (Tasmanian subspecies setosus, illustrating well the sparse spines and heavy fur of this subspecies).

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Tasmanian Echidna - ZooChat


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Zaglossus
Three species. Until 1998 they were all treated as subspecies of Zaglossus bruijnii.



Attenborough's Long-beaked Echidna Zaglossus attenboroughi
Monotypic.

Known from only one museum specimen, collected in c.1961 from the Cyclops Mountains in western New Guinea. An expedition in 2007 found evidence of its continued survival although no animals were seen.


This species is not represented in the Zoochat galleries.


Eastern Long-beaked Echidna Zaglossus bartoni
Four subspecies: bartoni, clunius, diamondi, smeenki.

Found across the highlands of central and eastern New Guinea, with bartoni in the Highlands Region; clunius on the Huon Peninsula; diamondi through the central ranges from the Paniai Lakes to the Eastern Highlands; and smeenki in the Nanneau Mountains.


Photo by @Hix at Taronga Zoo, Australia (unknown subspecies).

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Long-beaked (New Guinea) Echidna, male | ZooChat


Western Long-beaked Echidna Zaglossus bruijnii
Monotypic.

Found on the Vogelkop Peninsula and in the Foja Mountains, in western New Guinea. A museum specimen said to have been collected in 1901 in the Kimberley may indicate a population having persisted historically in northern Australia.


Photo by @alexkant at Moscow Zoo, Russia.

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Long-nosed echidna/ Zaglossus bruijni | ZooChat


Photo by @Giant Eland at Batu Secret Zoo, Indonesia.

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Western long-beaked echidna (Zaglossus bruijni) | ZooChat
 
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METATHERIA
MARSUPIALS
Divided into Old World Marsupials with four Orders (Notoryctemorphia, Dasyuromorphia, Peramelemorphia, Diprotodontia); and New World Marsupials with three Orders (Microbiotheria, Paucituberculata, Didelphimorphia).


OLD WORLD MARSUPIALS
Four Orders (Notoryctemorphia, Dasyuromorphia, Peramelemorphia, Diprotodontia), with about 270 species in 18 Families. There are 149 species depicted in the Zoochat galleries, representing every Family (although some species are only depicted as museum specimens).

Notoryctemorphia (two species in one Family)
Notoryctidae: Marsupial Moles (two species in one genus, depicted here only by museum specimens)

Dasyuromorphia (about 80 species in three Families, of which 27 species are depicted here)
Myrmecobiidae: Numbat (one species, depicted)
Thylacinidae: Thylacine (one recently-extinct species, depicted here by a museum specimen)
Dasyuridae: Dasyurids (about 80 species in 17 genera, with only 25 species from nine genera depicted here)

Peramelemorphia (about 27 species in three Families, of which twelve species are depicted here)
Thylacomyidae: Bilbies (two species in one genus, of which one species is depicted here)
Chaeropodidae: Pig-footed Bandicoots (two recently-extinct species in one genus, depicted here by a museum specimen of one species)
Peramelidae: Bandicoots (about 23 species in six genera, with ten species in three genera depicted here)

Diprotodontia (about 160 species in eleven Families, of which 109 species are depicted here)
Phascolarctidae: Koala (one species, depicted)
Vombatidae: Wombats (three species in two genera, with all species depicted here)
Phalangeridae: Brushtail Possums and Cuscuses (c.30 species in six genera, with seventeen species from all six genera depicted here)
Burramyidae: Pigmy Possums (five to seven species in two genera, with five species in two genera depicted here)
Pseudocheiridae: Ringtail Possums (18 species in six genera, with eight species in all six genera depicted here)
Petauridae: Striped Possums and Gliders (around fifteen to twenty species in three genera, with nine species in three genera depicted here)
Acrobatidae: Feathertail Gliders (three species in two genera, all three of which are depicted here)
Tarsipedidae: Honey Possum (one species, depicted)
Hypsiprymnodontidae: Musky Rat Kangaroo (one species, depicted)
Potoroidae: Rat Kangaroos (twelve species in four genera, with eight species in four genera depicted here)
Macropodidae: Kangaroos and Wallabies (67 species in thirteen genera, with 53 species in twelve genera depicted here)


NEW WORLD MARSUPIALS
Three Orders (Microbiotheria, Paucituberculata, Didelphimorphia), with about 140 species in three Families. There are only 22 species represented in the Zoochat galleries.

Microbiotheria (one species in one Family)
Microbiotheriidae: Monito del Monte (one species, depicted)

Paucituberculata (seven species in one Family)
Caenolestidae: Shrew-Opossums (seven species in three genera, none of which are depicted here)

Didelphimorphia (about 130 species in one Family)
Didelphidae: New World Opossums (about 130 species in 18 genera, with 21 species in 9 genera depicted here)
 
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Order: NOTORYCTEMORPHIA
Two species in one Family.



NOTORYCTIDAE
Marsupial Moles
Two monotypic species, the Southern Marsupial Mole Notoryctes typhlops and Northern Marsupial Mole Notoryctes caurinus. Neither species is represented in the Zoochat galleries except as museum specimens.


Formerly this family was considered to be monotypic, containing a single species (N. typhlops), but this was split in two in 1988. The two species may occur sympatrically where their ranges meet.


The only photos in the Zoochat galleries are of museum specimens, signed as being N. typhlops although this is likely to simply be due to pre-split labelling.


Northern Marsupial Mole Notoryctes caurinus
Monotypic.

Found in northwestern Australian deserts.


Southern Marsupial Mole Notoryctes typhlops
Monotypic.

Found in west-central Australian deserts.



Photo by @Najade at the South Australian Museum, Australia (taxidermy specimen).

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Marsupial Mole | ZooChat


Photo by @Fishapod at the Zoological Museum of the Russian Academy of Sciences Zoological institute, Russia (taxidermy specimen) (labelled on the museum signage as being Notoryctes typhlops - hence the photo title of "Southern Marsupial Mole" - but formerly the two species were combined under this name).

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Southern marsupial mole | ZooChat
 
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Order: DASYUROMORPHIA
About 77 species in three Families, including Thylacinidae (containing only the extinct Thylacine Thylacinus cynocephalus). There are only 27 species represented in the Zoochat galleries.


Myrmecobiidae: Numbat (one species, depicted)

Thylacinidae: Thylacine (one recently-extinct species, depicted here by a museum specimen)

Dasyuridae: Dasyurids (about 75 species in 21 genera, with only 25 species from nine genera depicted here)
 
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MYRMECOBIIDAE
Numbat
One species.



Numbat Myrmecobius fasciatus
Two subspecies have been described but rufus is probably not valid (and the population so-named, from South Australia, has been extinct since the 1960s).

Originally found across most of arid and semi-arid southern Australia, as far east as western NSW, but now restricted to a very few locations in western Australia.


Photo by @Goura at Perth Zoo, Australia.

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Numbat in display area | ZooChat
 
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THYLACINIDAE
Thylacine
One species, extinct since the early/mid-1900s. Represented in the Zoochat galleries only by museum specimens.



Thylacine Thylacinus cynocephalus
Monotypic.

Originally found throughout Australia and into New Guinea, but historically restricted to Tasmania.


Photo by @Najade at the South Australian Museum, Australia (taxidermy specimens).

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Thylacine (Thylacinus cynocephalus) | ZooChat


Photo by @LaughingDove of an Aboriginal rock art depiction of Thylacine (at Kakadu National Park).

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Rock Art of a Thylacine - Kakadu | ZooChat
 
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DASYURIDAE
Dasyurids
About 75 species in 21 genera.

The dasyurids are divided into two subfamilies: Dasyurinae with the two tribes Dasyurini (including the genera Dasycercus, Dasykaluta, Dasyuroides, Dasyurus, Myoictis, Neophascogale, Parantechinus, Phascolosorex, Pseudantechinus, Sarcophilus) and Phascogalini (Antechinus, Micromurexia, Murexia, Phascogale); and Sminthopsinae with the two tribes Sminthopsini (Antechinomys, Ningaui, Sminthopsis) and Planigalini (Planigale).


There are only 25 species in nine genera represented in the Zoochat galleries: Dasykaluta, Dasyuroides, Dasyurus, Parantechinus, Sarcophilus, Antechinus, Phascogale, Sminthopsis, Planigale.


Three species - the New Guinea Quoll Dasyurus albopunctatus, the Common Dunnart Sminthopsis murina and the Common Planigale Planigale maculata - are currently depicted solely by museum specimens.
 
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Dasyurus
Six species, of which five are represented in the Zoochat galleries (one of these only by an old taxidermy specimen).

The only species not depicted here is the Bronze Quoll Dasyurus spartacus.



New Guinea Quoll Dasyurus albopunctatus
Probably monotypic, although it is poorly-known and there are few genetic studies.

Found across most of northern New Guinea.


Photo by @Tim May at the Tring Natural History Museum (UK) (taxidermy specimen - note that this is an old mount which is badly faded, and hence does not accurately show the true colouration of the species).

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New Guinea quoll; Tring; 29th December 2011 - ZooChat


Western Quoll Dasyurus geoffroii
Two subspecies: fortis and geoffroii. The Bronze Quoll Dasyurus spartacus of New Guinea was formerly treated as a subspecies.

Now restricted to a few localities in southwestern Western Australia (the subspecies T. g. fortis) but was formerly distributed across most of western and inland Australia as far east as western Queensland and NSW. The eastern subspecies T. g. geoffroii is considered to now be extinct.


Photo by @Giant Eland at Perth Zoo, Australia (subspecies fortis).

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western quoll (Dasyurus geoffroii) | ZooChat


Northern Quoll Dasyurus hallucatus
Generally considered to be monotypic, although four subspecies have been used in the past (exilis, hallucatus, nesaeus, predator).

Formerly this species' distribution was probably continuous across northern Australia, but now is separated into disjunct populations from the Pilbara in Western Australia to coastal southeastern Queensland. The four subspecies which have been recognised are from the Kimberley in Western Australia (exilis), the Northern Territory (hallucatus), Groote Eylandt (nesaeus), and Queensland's Cape York Peninsula (predator). Recent genetic studies suggest that these actually are distinct lineages, apart for nesaeus which groups with other Northern Territory populations (hallucatus), and that the unnamed Pilbara population also is distinct genetically.


Photo by @Hix at Healesville Sanctuary, Australia.

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Northern Quoll | ZooChat


Spot-tailed or Tiger Quoll Dasyurus maculatus
Probably should be monotypic, although two subspecies are typically recognised (gracilis and maculatus).

Found in three separate populations, with gracilis in a small area of northern Queensland, and maculatus found from southeastern Queensland to Victoria (formerly also into South Australia), and on Tasmania. The genetics suggest that the two subspecies are not valid. The Tasmanian population may be a distinct (unnamed) subspecies, but genetic studies vary on this matter.


Photo by @Chlidonias at Moonlit Sanctuary, Australia (southeast Australian subspecies maculatus).

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female Spot-tailed quoll (Dasyurus maculatus) | ZooChat


Bronze Quoll Dasyurus spartacus
Monotypic.

Found only in the savannah grasslands of the Trans-Fly region of southern New Guinea. It is known from only a few museum specimens (12 according to IUCN). When first discovered in the late 1970s it was thought to be the same as the (by-then extinct) eastern subspecies of Western Quoll D. geoffroii geoffroii, but was later described in 1987 as a separate species. Genetically it falls within D. geoffroi so may not actually be a valid species at all.


This species is not represented in the Zoochat galleries.


Eastern Quoll Dasyurus viverrinus
Monotypic.

Formerly found in southeastern Australia, from NSW to south-eastern South Australia, and in Tasmania. It had become extinct on the mainland by about the 1960s, but remains common in Tasmania.


Photo by @ro6ca66 at Bristol Zoo, UK (brown form).

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Eastern quoll : Bristol : 22 Sep 2015 | ZooChat


Photo by @Hettie at Linton Zoo, UK (black form).

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Eastern Quoll | ZooChat


The photo of taxidermy specimens below, by @LaughingDove taken at the Queensland Museum, Australia, illustrates the size differences between species (from top: Northern Quoll, Eastern Quoll, Spot-tailed Quoll).

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Quolls - Queensland Museum | ZooChat
 
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Sarcophilus
One species.



Tasmanian Devil Sarcophilus harrisii
One surviving subspecies, harrisii. (The mainland subspecies dixonae is subfossil and doubtfully distinct).

Historically restricted to Tasmania but formerly also found in mainland Australia (probably becoming extinct there before the arrival of Europeans).


Photo by @Tomek at Copenhagen Zoo, Denmark.

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Tasmanial Devil (Sarcophilus harrisii) June 2016 | ZooChat
 
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Antechinus
About fifteen species, of which eight are represented in the Zoochat galleries.

As currently recognised, there are no species of this genus found outside Australia and Tasmania. However the genus was formerly broader due to the physical similarities between all the small dasyurids ("marsupial mice") and therefore included a number of New Guinea species as well. Genetic studies showed that Australian "Antechinus", as then recognised, were not monophyletic and hence several groups were split off as separate genera (e.g. Dasykaluta, Pseudantechinus, etc). All the New Guinea species formerly placed in Antechinus have also been split off, originally to several monotypic genera but now merged into a single genus, Murexia.



Agile Antechinus Antechinus agilis
Monotypic.

From southeast Australia, in Victoria and southern NSW.


Photo by @Giant Eland at Healesville Sanctuary, Australia.

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Healesville Sanctuary 2007 | ZooChat


Fawn Antechinus Antechinus bellus
Monotypic.

Restricted to the Top End of Australia's Northern Territory.


Photo by @AWP at Territory Wildlife Park, Australia.

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Fawn Antechinus | ZooChat


Yellow-footed Antechinus Antechinus flavipes
Three subspecies: flavipes, leucogaster, rubeculus.

The most widespread member of the genus, being found right down eastern Australia (flavipes), in southwestern Australia (leucogaster), and in northeastern Queensland (rubeculus).


Photo by @Hix in the wild, Australia (subspecies flavipes).

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Yellow-footed Antechinus | ZooChat


Photo by @Chlidonias in the wild, Australia (subspecies rubeculus).

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Yellow-footed Antechinus (Antechinus flavipes rubeculus) | ZooChat


Cinnamon Antechinus Antechinus leo
Monotypic.

Restricted to the McIlraith and Iron Ranges on Queensland's Cape York Peninsula.


Photo by @WhistlingKite24 at the Queensland Museum, Australia (taxidermy specimen).

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Cinnamon Antechinus (Antechinus leo) | ZooChat


Photo by @Najade in the wild, Australia.

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Cinnamon Antechinus (Antechinus leo) | ZooChat


Mainland Dusky Antechinus Antechinus mimetes
Two subspecies: insulanus and mimetes.

Found in southeastern Australia from northeastern NSW to Victoria, with insulanus being restricted to the Grampians in Victoria. Formerly treated as subspecies of A. swainsonii, split as a new species in 2015.


Photo by @Terry Thomas of a wild animal, Australia (subspecies mimetes).

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Antechinus swainsonii | ZooChat


Buff-footed Antechinus Antechinus mysticus
Monotypic.

Found in scattered locations down southeastern Queensland. Only described as a new species in 2014.


Photo by @Najade in the wild, Australia.

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Buff-footed Antechinus (Antechinus mysticus) | ZooChat


Brown Antechinus Antechinus stuartii
Monotypic.

From eastern Australia in NSW and southeast Queensland.


Photo by @Chlidonias in the wild, Australia.

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Brown Antechinus (Antechinus stuartii) - ZooChat


Subtropical Antechinus Antechinus subtropicus
Monotypic.

From eastern Australia in the corner of northeast NSW and southeast Queensland. Formerly included within A. stuartii.


Photo by @WhistlingKite24 in the wild, Australia.

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Subtropical Antechinus - ZooChat


Photo by @WhistlingKite24 in the wild, Australia (baby animal not yet independent).

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Subtropical Antechinus joey - ZooChat




The remaining species of Antechinus are not represented in the Zoochat galleries (the taxonomy of this genus is complex, so do not take the list below as definite):


Tropical Antechinus Antechinus adustus
Monotypic.

Found in a small area of northeast Queensland. Formerly included within A. stuartii.


Silver-headed Antechinus Antechinus argentus
Monotypic.

Restricted to three locations in central Queensland. Only described as a new species in 2013.


Black-tailed Antechinus Antechinus arktos
Monotypic.

Restricted to the Tweed Caldera in the Springbrook National Park in the corner of NSW and Queensland. Described as a new species in 2014, having formerly been included within what was then a subspecies of Dusky Antechinus, A. swainsonii mimetes.


Atherton Antechinus Antechinus godmani
Monotypic.

Restricted to a small area of the Atherton Tablelands in northeastern Queensland.


Swamp Antechinus Antechinus minimus
Monotypic.

Found in Tasmania and coastal areas of Victoria and South Australia.


Tasmanian Dusky Antechinus Antechinus swainsonii
Monotypic.

Found only in Tasmania.

Formerly A. swainsonii was treated as having three subspecies (insulanus, mimetes, swainsonii) and a much wider distribution. In 2014 the northernmost population from the southeast corner of Queensland (then included within A. s. mimetes) was split as a full species, A. arktos. In 2015 the mainland subspecies insulanus and mimetes were split off (as A. mimetes) from the Tasmanian subspecies (A. swainsonii), and a distinct population from within A. s. swainsonii was also split as a full species (A. vandycki).


Tasman Peninsula Dusky Antechinus Antechinus vandycki
Monotypic.

Restricted to the Tasman Peninsula in southeastern Tasmania. It was named as a new species in 2015, having formerly been included within the Dusky Antechinus subspecies A. swainsonii swainsonii.
 
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Phascogale
Three species, two of which are represented in the Zoochat galleries.



Red-tailed Phascogale Phascogale calura
Monotypic.

Formerly found across wide areas of inland, southern and western Australia, but now confined to a small area of southwest Western Australia.


Photo by @Giant Eland at Taronga Zoo, Australia.

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Taronga Zoo 2007 | ZooChat


Northern Brush-tailed Phascogale Phascogale pirata
Monotypic. Formerly treated as a subspecies of P. tapoatafa (split in 2015).

Found only in the Top End of Australia's Northern Territory.


This species is not represented in the Zoochat galleries.


Common Brush-tailed Phascogale Phascogale tapoatafa
Three subspecies: kimberleyensis, tapoatafa, wambenger.

Found in scattered populations around coastal Australia, with kimberleyensis in northwest Western Australia; tapoatafa down the east coast; and wambenger in southwest Western Australia.


Photo by @Chlidonias at the Queensland Museum, Australia (taxidermy specimen of the subspecies tapoatafa; this photo shows a more life-like specimen than in the following photo, but shows the brush tail much less clearly, so I have used both photos).

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Brush-tailed Phascogale (Phascogale tapoatafa) - ZooChat


Photo by @WhistlingKite24 at the Queensland Museum, Australia (taxidermy specimen of the subspecies tapoatafa).

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Brush-tailed Phascogale (Phascogale tapoatafa) - ZooChat


Photo by @Najade in the wild, Australia (subspecies wambenger).

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Brush-tailed Phascogale (Phascogale tapoatafa) | ZooChat
 
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Sminthopsis
About 20 species, of which only four are represented in the Zoochat galleries (and one of those only as a museum specimen).

All species are Australian, with only two species (S. archeri and S. virginiae) also being found in New Guinea.



Fat-tailed Dunnart Sminthopsis crassicaudata
Generally two or three subspecies are recognised (centralis, crassicaudata, ferruginea
- the last is the one often dropped) but the genetics show that there are two distinct populations, one in the southeast of Australia and one over the rest of southern/central/western Australia, and these do not correspond to the distributions of the traditional subspecific divisions.


Photo by @Giant Eland at Healesville Sanctuary, Australia (captive animals are not assigned to subspecies, and probably originate from varied wild locations).

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Healesville Sanctuary 2007 | ZooChat


Photo by @Dannelboyz in the wild, Australia (this is of the southeastern population).

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Fat-tailed Dunnart - Sminthopsis crassicaudata - ZooChat


Julia Creek Dunnart Sminthopsis douglasi
Monotypic.

From inland Queensland, between Julia Creek and Richmond.


Photo by @Giant Eland at David Fleay Wildlife Park, Australia.

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David Fleay Wildlife Park 2007 | ZooChat


Stripe-faced Dunnart Sminthopsis macroura
Three subspecies: froggatti, macroura, stalkeri (probably representing three separate species).

Found across most of inland Australia, although the taxonomy is confused and probably this is a complex of species. The subspecies froggatti is found in the Kimberley of Western Australia. The nominate macroura is generally considered to be found in the eastern parts of inland Australia, with stalkeri probably distributed between froggatti and macroura - however the genetics suggest that macroura and stalkeri could well be largely sympatric over most of their distribution.


Photo by @Najade in the wild, Australia (subspecies macroura).

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Stripe-faced Dunnart (Sminthopsis macroura) | ZooChat


Photo by @Najade in the wild, Australia (subspecies stalkeri I think [photo taken at Karijini National Park, WA]).

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Stripe-faced Dunnart (Sminthopsis macroura) | ZooChat


Common or Slender-tailed Dunnart Sminthopsis murina
Two subspecies: murina, tatei.

Found in eastern Australia, with murina distributed from southeast Queensland down across NSW and Victoria to southeastern South Australia; and with tatei restricted to the Atherton Tablelands in northeast Queensland.


Photo by @Chlidonias at the Queensland Museum, Australia (taxidermy specimen of the subspecies murina).

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Common Dunnart (Sminthopsis murina) - ZooChat




The remaining Sminthopsis species are not represented in the Zoochat galleries:


Kangaroo Island Dunnart Sminthopsis aitkeni
Monotypic.

Endemic to Kangaroo Island off South Australia. Formerly treated as a subspecies of S. fuliginosus / griseoventer.


Chestnut Dunnart Sminthopsis archeri
Monotypic.

Found on Queensland's Cape York Peninsula and in the savannah woodlands of southern New Guinea's Trans-Fly region.


Kakadu Dunnart Sminthopsis bindi
Monotypic.

Found only in the Top End of Australia's Northern Territory.


Boullanger Island Dunnart Sminthopsis boullangerensis
Monotypic.

Endemic to Boullanger Island off Western Australia. Formerly treated as a subspecies of S. fuliginosus / griseoventer.


Carpentarian Dunnart Sminthopsis butleri
Monotypic.

Known only from the northern Kimberley, and Bathurst and Melville Islands off Australia's Northern Territory.


Little Long-tailed Dunnart Sminthopsis dolichura
Monotypic.

Found in southern Western Australia and South Australia.


Sooty Dunnart Sminthopsis fulginosus
Monotypic. Grey-bellied Dunnart Sminthopsis griseoventer is a synonym. Formerly also contained S. aitkeni and S. boullangerensis as subspecies.

Restricted to coastal plains of southwest Western Australia.


Gilbert's Dunnart Sminthopsis gilberti
Monotypic.

Found in southern Western Australia.


White-tailed Dunnart Sminthopsis granulipes
Monotypic.

Found in southwestern Western Australia.


Hairy-footed Dunnart Sminthopsis hirtipes
Monotypic.

Found in west-central Australia.


White-footed Dunnart Sminthopsis leucopus
Two subspecies: ferruginifrons and leucopus.

Found in coastal regions of Victoria and southeast NSW (ferruginifrons), and throughout Tasmania (leucopus). An isolated population lives in upland rainforest at Paluma in northeast Queensland which would likely be a separate species.


Long-tailed Dunnart Sminthopsis longicaudata
Monotypic.

Found in west-central Australia.


Ooldea Dunnart Sminthopsis ooldea
Monotypic.

Found in west-central Australia.


Sandhill Dunnart Sminthopsis psammophila
Monotypic.

Known from only a few scattered locations across arid inland Australia.


Red-cheeked Dunnart Sminthopsis virginiae
Three subspecies: nitela, rufigenis, virginiae.

Found across northern Australia (nitela in the Kimberley and the Top End of the Northern Territory, and virginiae in north Queensland) and in southern New Guinea and the Aru Islands (rufigenis). The subspecies nitelais genetically distinct and may be separable as a full species.


Lesser Hairy-footed Dunnart Sminthopsis youngsoni
Monotypic.

Found in north-central Australia.
 
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Planigale
At least seven or eight species, one or two of which are represented in the Zoochat galleries.



Common Planigale Planigale maculata
Originally two subspecies were recognised (maculata and sinualis) but it is now considered to be a species-complex and here I have split them as two full species. Two additional species from Western Australia's Pilbara region were described as splits in 2023 (P. kendricki and P. tealei).

Found down eastern Australia (and across northern Australia if sinualis is not split).


Photo by @Chlidonias at the Queensland Museum, Australia (taxidermy specimen).

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Common Planigale (Planigale maculata) - ZooChat


Northern Planigale Planigale sinualis
Monotypic, although possibly still a species-complex.

Found across northern Australia. While sinualis was originally described from (and restricted to) the island of Groot Eylandt off the Northern Territory, the name is now used for all the northern Australian populations apart for two recently-split species from Western Australia's Pilbara region (P. kendricki and P. tealei).


Photo by @Najade of a wild-caught animal in Darwin, Australia.


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Common Planigale (Planigale maculata) - ZooChat



The remaining Planigale species are not represented in the Zoochat galleries:


Paucident or Giles' Planigale Planigale gilesi
Monotypic.

Found in arid southeast-central inland Australia.


Long-tailed Planigale Planigale ingrami
Now usually considered to be monotypic, although the subspecies brunneus and subtilissima were recognised until the early 2000s. Genetics suggest these two subspecies are actually valid after all. May be a species-complex.

Found in grasslands and savannah woodlands across northern Australia.


Orange-headed Pilbara Planigale Planigale kendricki
Monotypic.

Found in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. Described in 2023 as a split from the Common Planigale P. maculata / P. sinualis.


New Guinean Planigale Planigale novaeguineae
Monotypic.

Found only in southern New Guinea, in the savannah woodlands of the Trans-Fly region.


Cracking-Clay Pilbara Planigale Planigale tealei
Monotypic.

Found in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. Described in 2023 as a split from the Common Planigale P. maculata / P. sinualis.


Narrow-nosed Planigale Planigale tenuirostris
Monotypic.

Found in arid east-central inland Australia.
 
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The remaining eight genera in the family Dasyuridae are not represented at all in the Zoochat galleries. Half of these genera are from Australia and the other half are from New Guinea.



Dasycercus
Two species.

There has been a lot of confusion historically about the taxonomy of this genus, with there either being just a single species of Mulgara recognised (D. cristicauda), or two species - although the two species varied between authors, with some recognising D. cristicauda and D. blythi, and some recognising D. cristicauda and D. hillieri. The Kowari Dasyuroides byrnei has also been placed in Dasycercus in the past. More recent studies have determined that D. hillieri is a synonym of D. cristicauda, and that D. blythi is indeed distinct from (and easily separable visually from) D. cristicauda.


Brush-tailed Mulgara Dasycercus blythi
Monotypic.

Crest-tailed Mulgara Dasycercus cristicauda
Monotypic.

Both species are found across most of arid western and inland Australia, and at least in some areas appear to be sympatric.


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Myoictis
Four species.

The genus has a complicated taxonomic history with a lot of synonyms. Most commonly it has been considered to have either one or two species of extreme variability. A 2005 paper laid out four species as presented here, although it notes that there are probably further species contained in the complex. The type species is M. melas which was described from a melanistic specimen (all species are otherwise brightly-coloured with three dorsal stripes).


Woolley's Three-striped Dasyure Myoictis leucera
Monotypic.

Found in Papua New Guinea, on the southern side of the central ranges.


Northern Three-striped Dasyure Myoictis melas
Currently no subspecies are given but it is unlikely to be monotypic.

Found throughout northern New Guinea, and on the offshore islands of Salawati, Waigeo and Japen.


Wallace's Three-striped Dasyure Myoictis wallacii
Monotypic.

Found in southern New Guinea and in the Aru Islands.


Tate's Three-striped Dasyure Myoictis wavicus
Monotypic.

Known only from the vicinity of Wau in Papua New Guinea, on the northern side of the central ranges.


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Neophascogale
One species.


Speckled or Long-clawed Dasyure Neophascogale lorentzi
Monotypic.

Found in montane habitats across central New Guinea.


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Phascolosorex
Three species.


Short-tailed Marsupial Shrew Phascolosorex brevicaudata
Two subspecies: brevicaudata and whartoni. Previously / still treated as subspecies of P. dorsalis.

Found in the mountains of central New Guinea, with (brevicaudata) from the Weyland Mountains in the west, and (whartoni) eastwards through the central ranges to the Huon Peninsula.


Red-bellied Marsupial Shrew Phascolosorex doriae
Monotypic.

Found in the mountains of western New Guinea, including the Vogelkop Peninsula.


Narrow-striped Marsupial Shrew Phascolosorex dorsalis
Monotypic.

Endemic to the Arfak Mountains in western New Guinea.


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Pseudantechinus
Six species.


Sandstone Dibbler or Sandstone Pseudantechinus Pseudantechinus bilarni
Monotypic.

Found in the Top End of Australia's Northern Territory.


Fat-tailed Pseudantechinus Pseudantechinus macdonnellensis
Monotypic.

Found in west-central inland Australia.


Alexandria or Carpentarian Pseudantechinus Pseudantechinus mimulus
Monotypic.

Known from only a few specimens from northwest Queensland and northeast Northern Territory.


Ningbing Pseudantechinus Pseudantechinus ningbing
Monotypic.

Found in the Kimberley of northwest Western Australia.


Tan or Rory Cooper's Pseudantechinus Pseudantechinus roryi
Monotypic.

Described in 2000 from the Pilbara in Western Australia. It may prove to be a synonym of P. macdonnellensis.


Woolley's Pseudantechinus Pseudantechinus woolleyae
Monotypic.

Found in Western Australia, in the Murchison, Ashburton and Pilbara regions.


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Murexia
About five species.

Originally all members of this genus were included within Antechinus. When genetic studies showed that "Antechinus" - as it was then recognised - was paraphyletic, the New Guinea species were split off. Due to morphological differences between the five New Guinea species they were initially placed into five monotypic genera (Micromurexia, Murexechinus, Murexia, Paramurexia, Phascomurexia); however later genetic work showed them to be monophyletic and hence they were merged into a single genus. Some of the species probably should be split, so there may actually be ten or more in total.


Habbema Dasyure Murexia habbema
Two or three subspecies: habbema, hageni, xenochromus. Some authors would split these into two or three separate species.

Formerly placed in the monotypic genus Micromurexia.

Found through the mountains of central New Guinea, with habbema in the west, in the Snow and Star Mountains, and hageni in the eastern highlands.


Short-furred Dasyure Murexia longicaudata
About four subspecies: aspera, longicaudata, maxima, murex.

Found throughout New Guinea, with aspera in the south, maxima in the north (incuding Japen Island), and murex in the east. The type (and only) specimen of M. l. longicaudata was collected in the Aru Islands, and is the only record from there of any Murexia species. All four of these are distinct in genetics and appearance, and may prove to be full species.


Black-tailed Dasyure Murexia melanura
Currently considered to be monotypic, although several subspecies have been named in the past (including mayeri, modesta and wilhelmina). Given the species' wide range and variability in appearance, it is likely to be a species-complex. Two groups can be distinguished by the size of the molars (large-toothed in melanura and small-toothed in wilhelmina), which may represent two separate species.

Formerly placed in the monotypic genus Murexechinus.

Widespread through the mountains of New Guinea. Both melanura and wilhelmina appear to be found throughout the ranges sympatrically.


Long-nosed Dasyure Murexia naso
Currently considered to be monotypic, although several subspecies have been named in the past (including centralis, naso and tafa). The named taxa naso and tafa are genetically distinct and can be visually separated by the colour of the tail hairs, and are likely to be distinct species.

Formerly placed in the monotypic genus Phascomurexia.

Found throughout the central mountain ranges of New Guinea, with naso mostly in the west and tafa mainly in the east.


Broad-striped Dasyure Murexia rothschildi
Monotypic.

Formerly placed in the monotypic genus Paramurexia.

Known only from a few specimens from the far eastern end of New Guinea.


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Antechinomys
One species.


Kultarr Antechinomys laniger
Two subspecies: laniger and spenceri.

Found across most of arid inland Australia. The subspecies spenceri was an isolated population in the Northern Territory (originally described as a separate species), but is believed to now be extinct.


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Ningaui
Three species.


Wongai Ningaui Ningaui ridei
Monotypic.

Found throughout arid inland Australia.


Pilbara Ningaui Ningaui timealeyi
Monotypic.

Found only in the Pilbara of Western Australia.


Southern Ningaui Ningaui yvonnae
Monotypic.

Found in scattered locations across southern Australia in spinifex grassland.
 
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