Species Sminthopsis virginiae (Tarragon, 1847)
Red-cheeked Dunnart
- Phascogale virginiae Tarragon, [L.] de 1847. Description du mâle adulte du Colobe guereza et du Phascogale virginiae. Revue de Zoologie, Paris 1847: 177-178 [177].
Type data:
Neotype QM J15890 ♂ spirit specimen & skull, Herbert Vale, on Herbert River, QLD 42.6 m, approximately 18º30´S, 145º50´E. - Sminthopsis rufigenis Thomas, O. 1922. New mammals from New Guinea and neighbouring islands. Annals and Magazine of Natural History 9 9: 261-265 [265].
Type data:
Holotype BMNH 22.2.2.76 ♀ spirit specimen & skull, Aru Ils, Indonesia. - Sminthopsis lumholtzi Iredale, T. & Troughton, E. le G. 1934. A check-list of the mammals recorded from Australia. Memoirs of the Australian Museum 6: i-xii 1-122 [11].
Type data:
Holotype UZMO 2063 ♂ skin & skull, Herbert Vale, QLD (about 40 miles above mouth of Herbert River 18ºS).Type locality references:
Lumholtz, C. 1889. Among Cannibals an account of four years' travels in Australia and of camp life with the Aborigines of Queensland. London : J. Murray xx 395 pp. (Map to illustrate Carl Lumholtz' travels in Queensland and p. 79).
Taxonomic Decision for Synonymy
- Honacki, J.H., Kinman, K.E. & Koeppl, J.W. (eds) 1982. Mammal Species of the World: A taxonomic and geographic reference. Lawrence, Kansas : Allen Press & Assoc. Syst. Coll. ix 694 pp. [33]
- Umbrello, L., Newton, H., Baker, A.M., Travouillon, K. & Westerman, M. 2024. Vicariant speciation resulting from biogeographic barriers in the Australian tropics: The case of the red-cheeked dunnart (Sminthopsis virginiae). Ecology and Evolution 14(e70215): 1-32 [16]
Generic Combinations
- Sminthopsis virginiae rufigenis (Thomas, 1922). —
Archer, M. 1981. Results of the Archbold Expeditions. No. 104 Systematic revision of the marsupial dasyurid genus Sminthopsis Thomas. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 168: 61-224 [139] (new combination) - Sminthopsis virginiae (Tarragon, 1847). —
Thomas, O. 1888. Catalogue of the Marsupialia and Monotremata in the Collection of the British Museum (Natural History). London : British Museum xiii 401 pp. 28 pls. [3 Nov. 1888] [300] (new combination) - Sminthopsis virginiae virginiae (Tarragon, 1847). —
Archer, M. 1981. Results of the Archbold Expeditions. No. 104 Systematic revision of the marsupial dasyurid genus Sminthopsis Thomas. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 168: 61-224 [137]
Introduction
Previously considered to consist of three subspecies (e.g., Jackson & Groves, 2015) however Umbrello et al. (2024) used molecular and morphological data to show that Sminthopsis nitela Collett, 1897 should be treated at the species level (confirming earlier suggestions), and that the New Guinea species Sminthopsis rufigenis Thomas, 1922 should be treated as synonym of Sminthopsis virginiae (Tarragon, 1847). With no subspecies currently recognised CAVS: 1699 is no longer in use
Distribution
States
Queensland
Extra Distribution Information
Cape York through eat coast of QLD to south of Mackay; Papua New Guinea, Aru Islands
IBRA
Qld: Brigalow Belt North (BBN), Central Mackay Coast (CMC), Cape York Peninsula (CYP), Einasleigh Uplands (EIU), Wet Tropics (WT)
Ecological Descriptors
Burrower, insectivorous, low woodland, nocturnal, terrestrial.
Extra Ecological Information
Open rocky forests, riparian grasslands, black-soil plains, diet may include small lizards.
General References
Archer, M. 1981. Results of the Archbold Expeditions. No. 104 Systematic revision of the marsupial dasyurid genus Sminthopsis Thomas. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 168: 61-224
Braithwaite, R.W. & Lonsdale, W.M. 1987. The rarity of Sminthopsis virginiae (Marsupialia: Dasyuridae) in relation to natural and unnatural habitats. Conservation Biology 1: 341-343
Jackson, S. & Groves, C. 2015. Taxonomy of Australian Mammals. Melbourne : CSIRO Publishing 520 pp. [73]
Luckett, W.P. & Woolley, P.A. 1996. Ontogeny and homology of the dentition in dasyurid marsupials: Development in Sminthopsis virginiae. Journal of Mammalian Evolution 3: 327-364
Mahoney, J.A. & Ride, W.D.L. 1988. Dasyuridae. pp. 14-33 in Walton, D.W. (ed.). Zoological Catalogue of Australia Volume 5. Mammalia. Canberra : Australian Government Publishing Service x 274 pp. [Date published 13/Apr/1988] [33]
Morton, S.R., Armstrong, M.D. & Braithwaite, R.W. 1987. The breeding season of Sminthopsis virginiae (Marsupialia: Dasyuridae) in the Northern Territory. Australian Mammalogy 10: 41-42
Taplin, M.E. 1980. Some observations on the reproductive biology of Sminthopsis virginiae (Tarragon)(Marsupialia: Dasyuridae0. The Australian Zoologist 20: 407-418
Umbrello, L., Newton, H., Baker, A.M., Travouillon, K. & Westerman, M. 2024. Vicariant speciation resulting from biogeographic barriers in the Australian tropics: The case of the red-cheeked dunnart (Sminthopsis virginiae). Ecology and Evolution 14(e70215): 1-32
Woolley, P.A. 1995. Red-cheeked Dunnart Sminthopsis virginiae. pp. 156-157 in Strahan, R. (ed.). The Mammals of Australia: The National Photographic Index of Australian Wildlife. Sydney : Reed New Holland 756 pp.
Common Name References
ABRS 2001. Census of Australian Vertebrates. Australian Biological Resources Study. (Red-cheeked Dunnart)
History of changes
| Published | As part of group | Action Date | Action Type | Compiler(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 07-Feb-2024 | DASYUROMORPHIA | 02-Dec-2024 | MODIFIED | |
| 02-Sep-2019 | 29-Oct-2010 | MOVED | ||
| 15-Oct-2010 | 15-Oct-2010 | MOVED | ||
| 07-Feb-2024 | 15-Oct-2010 | MOVED | ||
| 12-Feb-2010 | (import) |