Dunnart

Dunnarts[1]
Sminthopsis leucopus
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Infraclass:	Marsupialia
Order:	Dasyuromorphia
Family:	Dasyuridae
Subfamily:	Sminthopsinae
Tribe:	Sminthopsini
Genus:	Sminthopsis Thomas, 1887
Type species
Phascogale crassicaudata Gould, 1844
Species
21, see text

Dunnarts are furry narrow-footed marsupials the size of a mouse, members of the genus Sminthopsis. They are mainly insectivorous. A male dunnart's Y chromosome has only 4 genes, making it the smallest known mammalian Y chromosome.^[2]

There are 21 species, all in Australia and some in New Guinea:

• Genus Sminthopsis
  • S. crassicaudata species-group
    • Fat-tailed Dunnart, Sminthopsis crassicaudata
  • S. macroura species-group
    • Kakadu Dunnart, Sminthopsis bindi
    • Carpentarian Dunnart, Sminthopsis butleri
    • Julia Creek Dunnart, Sminthopsis douglasi
    • Stripe-faced Dunnart, Sminthopsis macroura
    • Red-cheeked Dunnart, Sminthopsis virginiae
  • S. granulipes species-group
    • White-tailed Dunnart, Sminthopsis granulipes
  • S. griseoventer species-group
    • Kangaroo Island Dunnart, Sminthopsis aitkeni
    • Boullanger Island Dunnart, Sminthopsis boullangerensis
    • Grey-bellied Dunnart, Sminthopsis griseoventer
  • S. longicaudata species-group
    • Long-tailed Dunnart, Sminthopsis longicaudata
  • S. murina species-group
    • Chestnut Dunnart, Sminthopsis archeri
    • Little Long-tailed Dunnart, Sminthopsis dolichura
    • Sooty Dunnart, Sminthopsis fulginosus
    • Gilbert's Dunnart, Sminthopsis gilberti
    • White-footed Dunnart, Sminthopsis leucopus
    • Slender-tailed Dunnart, Sminthopsis murina
  • S. psammophila species-group
    • Hairy-footed Dunnart, Sminthopsis hirtipes
    • Ooldea Dunnart, Sminthopsis ooldea
    • Sandhill Dunnart, Sminthopsis psammophila
    • Lesser Hairy-footed Dunnart, Sminthopsis youngsoni

References

1. ^ Groves, C. (2005). Wilson, D. E., & Reeder, D. M, eds. ed. Mammal Species of the World (3rd ed.). Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. pp. 33–36. OCLC 62265494. ISBN 0-801-88221-4. http://www.bucknell.edu/msw3. 
2. ^ Toder R., Wakefield M.J., Graves J.A.M. (2000). "The minimal mammalian Y chromosome - the marsupial Y as a model system". Cytogenet Cell Genet 91 (1–4): 285–92. doi:10.1159/000056858. PMID 11173870. 

External links

• Marsupial Society's checklist