Sandhill dunnart
| Sandhill dunnart | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Infraclass: | Marsupialia |
| Order: | Dasyuromorphia |
| Family: | Dasyuridae |
| Genus: | Sminthopsis |
| Species: | S. psammophila |
| Binomial name | |
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Sminthopsis psammophila Spencer, 1895 |
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| Sandhill dunnart range | |
The sandhill dunnart (Sminthopsis psammophila) is a species of small carnivorous Australian marsupial of the family Dasyuridae. It is known from four scattered arid areas of Australia: near Lake Amadeus in Northern Territory, the central Eyre Peninsula in South Australia, the southwestern edge of the Great Victoria Desert in Western Australia, and at Yellabinna in South Australia.
Sandhill dunnarts are most commonly known as the marsupial mouse and they are usually 10 to 16 cm long. Most dunnarts have fine gray or black fur. They also have large ears and thick tails with short stiff hairs. It is known that the dunnart stores all its fat in its tail. They usually move about by running smoothly on all four legs, sometimes with sudden short stops, during which they often squat with the forebody slightly elevated.
The sandhill dunnart is the second largest of the 19 dunnart (Sminthopsis) species, with an adult body mass of 35g (females) to 44g (males); only the Julia Creek dunnart (S. douglasi; 40–70 g) is larger. Their thermoneutral body temperature is around (34.4 °C.) Penile morphology and molecular biology suggest that the Sandhill dunnart is a basal Sminthopsis, without a clear relationship to any other species. The Sandhill Dunnart's physiology also resembles that of other dunnarts.
The sandhill dunnart is so rare, little is known about its appearance. At around 1 to 2 inches, it is very small. It is one of the largest and rarest of all dunnarts. It is coloured grey to buff and is found in low parallel sand dunes, particularly near hummock grass.
The sandhill dunnart is one of the largest species of dunnarts, weighing in from 30 to 55 g. One might assume that the size would result in a fondness for larger invertebrates, but it is recorded that the medium-sized marsupial prefers to eat smaller prey, such as ants, beetles, spiders, grasshoppers, termites, wasps and centipedes. The species is known to be generalist feeders and extremely opportunistic. Being a voracious predator, its diet remains high in all seasons, varying only slightly in proportion.
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Wikipedia