Western Quoll

Taxobox
name = Western Quoll [MSW3 Groves|pages=25]
status = NT
trend = stable
status_system = iucn3.1

---

regnum = Animalia
phylum = Chordata
classis = Mammalia
infraclassis = Marsupialia
ordo = Dasyuromorphia
familia = Dasyuridae
genus = "Dasyurus"
species = "D. geoffroii"
binomial = "Dasyurus geoffroii"
binomial_authority = Gould, 1841
range_

range_map_caption = Western Quoll range

The Western Quoll ("Dasyurus geoffroii"), also known as the Chuditch or Western Native Cat, is a vulnerable Australian dasyuromorph, whose distribution is now confined to south-western Western Australia.

Taxonomy

The Western Quoll was described by John Gould in 1841, when it was still widespread throughout the continent. Its species name, "geoffroii", refers to the prominent French naturalist Étienne Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, who named the genus "Dasyurus" in 1796. The species has sometimes been placed in the genus "Dasyurinus".

The Western Quoll is a member of the family Dasyuridae and is most closely related to the Bronze Quoll ("Dasyurus spartacus"), a recently described species from New Guinea that was for some time believed to be an outlying population of the Western Quoll.

Two subspecies of the Western Quoll are recognised:
*"D. g. geoffroii", found in inland Australia (now extinct)
*"D. g. fortis", found in south-western Western Australia

Description

The Western Quoll is a medium-sized quoll that is coloured a rufous brown on its upperparts with white spots and a creamy white below. It has five toes on its hindfoot and granular pads.Citation|last1=Serena|first1=M.|last2=Soderquist|first2=T.|year=1995|editor-last=Strahan|editor-first=Ronald|contribution=Western Quoll|title=The Mammals of Australia|publisher=Reed Books|pages=62-64]

The Western Quoll is a solitary, nocturnal predator which is mostly terrestrial, although it does climb trees. It has a diet of small vertebrates, carrion, arthropods and freshwater crayfish, among other things. The breeding season is from April-July.cite book|first=Peter|last=Menkhorst|year=2001|title=A Field Guide to the Mammals of Australia|pages=48|publisher=Oxford University Press]

The head and body average about 330 mm in length, with the tail averaging another 280mm. An individual can weight up to 2 kg with males being slightly heavier. [cite web|url=http://www.australianfauna.com/chudditch.php|title=Chudditch (Western Quoll) (Dasyurus geoffroyi)|work=australianfauna.com|accessdate=2008-03-13]

Habitat

The Western Quoll was formerly found throughout most of inland Australia, reaching areas of Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria. It is now restricted to the south-western corner of Western Australia, where it inhabits wet and dry sclerophyll forests and mallee.

References