Phascogale
Phascogale | |
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Brush-tailed phascogale (Phascogale tapoatafa) | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Mammalia |
Infraclass: | Marsupialia |
Order: | Dasyuromorphia |
Family: | Dasyuridae |
Subfamily: | Dasyurinae |
Tribe: | Phascogalini |
Genus: | Phascogale Temminck, 1824 |
Type species | |
Species | |
See text |
The phascogales (members of the eponymous
Phylogeny
The following is a phylogenetic tree based on mitochondrial genome sequences:[3]
Dasyuromorphia |
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Species
The genus consists of the following three species:
Image | Scientific name | Distribution |
---|---|---|
Brush-tailed phascogale – Phascogale tapoatafa | southeast Australia from South Australia to mid-coastal Queensland, Western Australia | |
Red-tailed phascogale – Phascogale calura | south-western Western Australia | |
Northern brush-tailed phascogale – Phascogale pirata | northern Australia. |
Life cycle
Mating generally happens between May and July. All males die soon after mating. Females give birth to about 6 young ones about 30 days after mating. Phascogales do not have the true pouch that is found in most other marsupials [1][2]. Instead, they form temporary folds of skin - sometimes called a "pseudo-pouch" [3] around the mammary glands during pregnancy. Young stay in this pseudo-pouch area, nursing for about 7 weeks before being moved to a nest where they stay until they are weaned at about 20 weeks of age. Females live for about 3 years, and generally produce one litter.
References
- ^ A Hollow Victory - The Morabool News
- ^ "Borrowings from Australian Aboriginal Languages". Australian National University. 18 October 2010. Retrieved 7 February 2024.
- PMID 19139089.
- OCLC 62265494.