12-607: Dasyurinae Sminthopsinae 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
24-524: A marsupial is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Dasyuromorphia Dasyuromorphia ( / d æ s i j ʊər oʊ ˈ m ɔːr f i ə / , meaning "hairy tail" in Greek ) is an order comprising most of the Australian carnivorous marsupials , including quolls , dunnarts , the numbat , the Tasmanian devil , and the extinct thylacine . In Australia, the exceptions include
36-422: A change. Dasyurinae Dasyurini - 10 genera Phascogalini - 7 genera The subfamily Dasyurinae includes several genera of small carnivorous marsupials native to Australia : quolls , kowari , mulgara , kaluta , dibblers , phascogales , pseudantechinuses , and the Tasmanian devil . The subfamily is defined largely on biochemical criteria. Order Dasyuromorphia This article about
48-555: A full marsupial pouch , instead having a simple fold of skin surrounding the teats to provide some protection to the developing young. The dentition of dasyurids is also considered primitive, and differs from that of other marsupials, with a dental formula of: 4.1.2-3.4 3.1.2-3.4 . Their dentition is similar to many carnivores, characterized by bladelike incisors, large, sharp canines, and upper molars modified with large, sharp cusps. Dasyurids are primarily insectivorous , but they will also eat small lizards, fruit, and flowers. One of
60-430: A resemblance to such placental carnivores as mongooses or mustelids . Many features of dasyurids are considered primitive; that is, they resemble the features of the earliest marsupials, from which other species, such as kangaroos and bandicoots , later diverged. For example, all of the toes in dasyurids are separate, whereas in many other marsupials, the second and third toes are fused. Similarly, many species lack
72-491: The omnivorous bandicoots (order Peramelemorphia) and the marsupial moles (which eat meat but are very different and are now accorded an order of their own, Notoryctemorphia). Numerous South American species of marsupials (orders Didelphimorphia , Paucituberculata , and Microbiotheria ) are also carnivorous, as were some extinct members of the order Diprotodontia , including extinct kangaroos (such as Ekaltadeta and Propleopus ) and thylacoleonids , and some members of
84-548: The thylacine was called the Tasmanian tiger or Tasmanian wolf , quolls were called native cats or native foxes , and so on. The primary specialisation among marsupial predators is that of size: prior to the massive environmental changes that came about with the arrival of humans about 50,000 years ago, there were several very large carnivores, none of them members of the Dasyuromorphia and all of them now extinct. Those that survived into historical times ranged from
96-707: The 'marsupial carnivores', as most members of the family are insectivores. Most dasyurids are roughly the size of mice, but a few species are much larger. The smallest species is the Pilbara ningaui , which is from 4.6 to 5.7 cm (1.8 to 2.2 in) in length, and weighs just 2 to 9 g (0.07 to 0.3 oz), while the largest, the Tasmanian devil, is 57 to 65 cm (22 to 26 in) long, and weighs from 6 to 8 kg (13 to 18 lb). The smaller dasyurids typically resemble shrews or mice in appearance, with long tails and narrow, pointed noses. The larger species bear
108-636: The few exceptions to this rule is the Tasmanian devil, which subsists mainly on vertebrate carrion . They have relatively simple digestive tracts, as is typical of insectivores and other carnivores. Gestation lasts from 12–16 days, and results in the birth of from two to 12 young, depending on species. Smaller species typically breed at least twice a year, while the larger forms tend to breed just once. The length of lactation reflects this, with young dunnarts , for example, being weaned after 60–70 days, but young quolls only after 8–9 months. Most dasyurid species are sexually mature at one year of age, but, again,
120-410: The level of gross external form. Just as Northern Hemisphere carnivores like cats, mongooses, foxes and weasels are much more alike in structure than, for example, camels, goats, pigs and giraffes, so too are the marsupial predators constrained to retain general-purpose, look-alike forms—forms which mirror those of placental carnivores. The names given to them by early European settlers reflect this:
132-568: The partially extinct clade Metatheria and all members of the extinct superorder Sparassodonta . The order contains four families: one with just a single living species (the numbat), two with only extinct species (including the thylacine and Malleodectes ), and one, the Dasyuridae , with 73 extant species. Unlike herbivores, which tend to become highly specialized for particular ecological niches and diversify greatly in form, carnivores tend to be broadly similar to one another, certainly on
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#1732790326147144-538: The quolls and Tasmanian devil, being larger, take longer to mature and do not reach full adulthood for about two years. Adult dasyurids are typically solitary, or travel in small groups of two to three individuals. The listing for extant species is based on The Third edition of Wilson & Reeder's Mammal Species of the World (2005), except where the Mammal Diversity Database and IUCN agree on
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