Quoll: Difference between revisions
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'''Quolls''' or '''native cats''' (genus '''''Dasyurus''''') are [[carnivorous]] [[marsupial]]s, native to [[Australia]] and [[Papua New Guinea]]. Adults are between 25 and {{convert|75|cm|in}} long, with hairy tails about 20 to {{convert|35|cm|in}} long. Females have six to eight nipples and develop a pouch—which opens towards the tail—only during the breeding season, when they are rearing young. Quolls live both in forests and in open valley land. Though primarily ground-dwelling, they have developed secondary [[arboreal]] characteristics. They do not have [[prehensile tails]], but do have ridges on the pads of their feet,to walk the rough ground.<ref name=mammals>{{cite book | title = Mammals | author = McCay, George | publisher = Fog City Press | year = 1999}}</ref> Their [[molar (tooth)|molar]]s and canines are strongly developed. |
'''Quolls''' or '''native cats''' (genus '''''Dasyurus''''') are [[carnivorous]] [[marsupial]]s, native to [[Australia]] and [[Papua New Guinea]]. Adults are between 25 and {{convert|75|cm|in}} long, with hairy tails about 20 to {{convert|35|cm|in}} long. Females have six to eight nipples and develop a pouch—which opens towards the tail—only during the breeding season, when they are rearing young. Quolls live both in forests and in open valley land. Though primarily ground-dwelling, they have developed secondary [[arboreal]] characteristics. They do not have [[prehensile tails]], but do have ridges on the pads of their feet,to walk the rough ground.<ref name=mammals>{{cite book | title = Mammals | author = McCay, George | publisher = Fog City Press | year = 1999}}</ref> Their [[molar (tooth)|molar]]s and canines are strongly developed. |
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Quoll diets are dominated by medium-sized mammals such as brush-tailed possums, rabbits and hares. The exact mix is adaptable based on reduced availability after bushfires, and can include carrion or bandicoots. <ref>{{cite doi|10.1071/WR05101 }}</ref> |
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Quolls are threatened by toxic [[cane toad]]s, but a [[University of Sydney]] project revealed in 2010 is teaching them to avoid eating the invasive amphibians.<ref>{{cite web|title=Taste training for northern quolls |publisher=Australian Geographic|url=http://www.australiangeographic.com.au/journal/quolls-in-danger.htm |accessdate=2010-04-15}}</ref> |
Quolls are threatened by toxic [[cane toad]]s, but a [[University of Sydney]] project revealed in 2010 is teaching them to avoid eating the invasive amphibians.<ref>{{cite web|title=Taste training for northern quolls |publisher=Australian Geographic|url=http://www.australiangeographic.com.au/journal/quolls-in-danger.htm |accessdate=2010-04-15}}</ref> |
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Revision as of 07:49, 22 August 2011
| Quolls[1] | |
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| Tiger Quoll (Dasyurus maculatus) | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | |
| Phylum: | |
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| Infraclass: | |
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| Tribe: | |
| Genus: | Dasyurus É. Geoffroy, 1796
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| Type species | |
| Dasyurus viverrinus Anon., 1791
(= Didelphis viverrina Shaw, 1800) | |
| Species | |
Quolls or native cats (genus Dasyurus) are carnivorous marsupials, native to Australia and Papua New Guinea. Adults are between 25 and 75 centimetres (30 in) long, with hairy tails about 20 to 35 centimetres (14 in) long. Females have six to eight nipples and develop a pouch—which opens towards the tail—only during the breeding season, when they are rearing young. Quolls live both in forests and in open valley land. Though primarily ground-dwelling, they have developed secondary arboreal characteristics. They do not have prehensile tails, but do have ridges on the pads of their feet,to walk the rough ground.[2] Their molars and canines are strongly developed.
Quoll diets are dominated by medium-sized mammals such as brush-tailed possums, rabbits and hares. The exact mix is adaptable based on reduced availability after bushfires, and can include carrion or bandicoots. [3]
Quolls are threatened by toxic cane toads, but a University of Sydney project revealed in 2010 is teaching them to avoid eating the invasive amphibians.[4]
The tribe Dasyurini to which quolls belong also includes the Tasmanian devil, antechinuses, the Kowari, and mulgaras.[1]
Taxonomy
Within the genus Dasyurus, the following species exist:[1]
- New Guinean Quoll, Dasyurus albopunctatus, New Guinea
- Western Quoll or Chuditch, Dasyurus geoffroii, western Australia
- Northern Quoll, Dasyurus hallucatus, northern Australia
- Tiger Quoll or Spotted Quoll, Dasyurus maculatus, eastern Australia
- Bronze Quoll, Dasyurus spartacus, New Guinea
- Eastern Quoll, Dasyurus viverrinus, Tasmania (formerly mainland eastern Australia)
There is at least one fossil species from the Pliocene, that is D. dunmalli, described by Bartholomai in 1971.[5] The name Dasyurus means "hairy-tail",[6] and was coined by Étienne Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire in 1796. The first species described, the Tiger Quoll, was originally placed in the American opossum genus Didelphis.
References
- ^ a b c Groves, C. P. (2005). Wilson, D. E.; Reeder, D. M. (eds.). Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. pp. 24–25. ISBN 0-801-88221-4. OCLC 62265494.
- ^ McCay, George (1999). Mammals. Fog City Press.
- ^ Attention: This template ({{cite doi}}) is deprecated. To cite the publication identified by doi:10.1071/WR05101 , please use {{cite journal}} (if it was published in a bona fide academic journal, otherwise {{cite report}} with
|doi=10.1071/WR05101instead. - ^ "Taste training for northern quolls". Australian Geographic. Retrieved 2010-04-15.
- ^ http://www.helsinki.fi/~mhaaramo/metazoa/deuterostoma/chordata/synapsida/metatheria/notometatheria/dasyuromorphia/dasyurinae.html Mikkos taxonomy
- ^ Serena, M.; Soderquist, T. (1995). "Western Quoll". In Strahan, Ronald (ed.). The Mammals of Australia. Reed Books. pp. 62–64.
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