A dunnart (from Noongar donat) is a narrow-footed marsupial the size of a European mouse, of the genus Sminthopsis. Dunnarts have a largely insectivorous diet.
Taxonomy
The genus name Sminthopsis was published by Oldfield Thomas in 1887, the author noting that the name Podabrus that had previously been used to describe the species was preoccupied as a genus of beetles. The type species is Phascogale crassicaudata, published by John Gould in 1844.
There are 19 species, all of them in Australia or New Guinea:
- Genus Sminthopsis
- S. crassicaudata species-group
- S. macroura species-group
- S. granulipes species-group
- S. griseoventer species-group
- S. murina species-group
- S. psammophila species-group
Additionally, three species are recognized by the American Society of Mammalogists:
- Froggatt's dunnart, Sminthopsis froggatti
- Stalker's dunnart, Sminthopsis stalkeri
- Western Red-cheeked Dunnart, Sminthopsis nitela
The American Society of Mammalogists also lists S. griseoventer as a synonym of S. fuliginosa, and moved S. longicaudata to the genus Antechinomys.
Description
A male dunnart's Y chromosome is the smallest known mammalian Y chromosome.
