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Chuditch
The western quoll (''Dasyurus geoffroii'') is Western Australia's largest endemic mammalian carnivore. One of the many marsupial mammals native to Australia, it is also known as the chuditch. The species is currently classed as near-threatened. Taxonomy 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. Its species name, ''geoffroii'', refers to the prominent French naturalist Étienne Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, who named the genus ''Dasyurus'' in 1796. The species has occasionally been placed in the genus ''Dasyurinus''. It is also known as the chuditch () in Western Australia (from Noongar ''djooditj''); ''chuditch'' serves as both the singular and plural form. Other common names include ''atyelpe'' or ''chilpa'' (from Arrernte), ''kuninka'' (from Western Desert language); ' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dasyurus
Quolls (; genus ''Dasyurus'') are carnivorous marsupials native to Australia and New Guinea. They are primarily nocturnal and spend most of the day in a den. Of the six species of quoll, four are found in Australia and two in New Guinea. Another two species are known from fossil remains in Pliocene and Pleistocene deposits in Queensland. Genetic evidence indicates that quolls evolved around 15 million years ago in the Miocene, and that the ancestors of the six species had all diverged by around four million years ago. The six species vary in weight and size, from to . They have brown or black fur and pink noses. They are largely solitary, but come together for a few social interactions such as mating which occurs during the winter season. A female gives birth to up to 18 pups, of which only six survive because she only has six teats with which to feed them. They have a life span from 2 to 4 years. Quolls eat smaller mammals, small birds, lizards, and insects. All species have ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
