Fawn antechinus
| Fawn antechinus[1] | |
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| File:Fawn Antechinus.JPG | |
| Scientific classification | |
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A. bellus
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| Binomial name | |
| Antechinus bellus (Thomas, 1904)
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| File:Fawn Antechinus.png | |
| Distribution of the fawn antechinus | |
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The fawn antechinus (Antechinus bellus) 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.
Taxonomy
The earliest collection of a fawn antechinus was made by John T. Tunney,[3] and first described in 1904 by the renowned biologist Oldfield Thomas, who gave it the species name bellus, meaning beautiful.[4] It has never been confused with other species.
It is a member of the family Dasyuridae and of the genus Antechinus (meaning "hedgehog-equivalent"), which has nine other members.
Description
The fawn antechinus is unique among antechinuses, being considerably paler than many of its relatives. It is a light grey colour and is distinguished from the only other similar species in the area where it lives (the sandstone dibbler and the red-cheeked dunnart) by its larger size and paler colouring. It is insectivorous and, like many of its relatives, all of the males die after the breeding season .[5]
The fawn antechinus has a breeding season during August. Young are born in September-October in litters of up to ten, and are usually weaned by January.[5]
Distribution and habitat
The fawn antechinus is found in the Top End of the Northern Territory, where it is fairly common.[4] It inhabits tall, fairly open forest in the tropics.
References
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- ↑ Woinarski, J. & Oakwood, M. (2008). Antechinus bellus. In: IUCN 2008. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Retrieved 9 October 2008.
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