The Alexandria false antechinus (''Pseudantechinus mimulus''), also known as the Carpentarian false antechinus or Carpentarian pseudantechinus, is a small carnivorous

marsupial Marsupials are any members of the mammalian infraclass Marsupialia. All extant marsupials are endemic to Australasia, Wallacea and the Americas. A distinctive characteristic common to most of these species is that the young are carried in a po ...

, found only in a number of small, isolated localities in northern

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. It is the smallest and rarest of the

false antechinus The genus ''Pseudantechinus'' are members of the order Dasyuromorphia. They are often called false antechinuses, although this genus includes the sandstone dibbler, which was previously assigned to a different genus. The species of this genus ...

es.

Taxonomy

The Alexandria false antechinus has had a long history of confusion with the

fat-tailed false antechinus The fat-tailed false antechinus (''Pseudantechinus macdonnellensis''), also called the fat-tailed pseudantechinus and red-eared antechinus, is a member of the order Dasyuromorphia. It is an inhabitant of western and central Australia. Its specie ...

(''P. macdonnellensis'') ever since it was first described by

Oldfield Thomas Michael Rogers Oldfield Thomas (21 February 1858 – 16 June 1929) was a British zoologist. Career Thomas worked at the Natural History Museum on mammals, describing about 2,000 new species and subspecies for the first time. He was appoin ...

in 1906. W.D.L. Ride suppressed the species in 1971, placing it with the fat-tailed false antechinus, but it was restored by D.J. Kitchener in 1991. Its scientific name means "little mimic of false-antechinus". The ''P. mimulus'' is classified as an endangered specie due to the decline in habitat quality and extent as a result of fire, introduced predators, and mining.

Description

The Alexandria false antechinus is coloured buff brown above and greyish white below. Its main distinguishing feature from other

es is its small size. The behaviour of this species has not been described.

Habitat

This species is found only in five localities: near

Mount Isa Mount Isa ( ) is a city in the Gulf Country region of Queensland, Australia. It came into existence because of the vast mineral deposits found in the area. Mount Isa Mines (MIM) is one of the most productive single mines in world history, bas ...

in northwestern

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

; Alexandria Station on the

Barkly Tableland The Barkly Tableland is a rolling plain of grassland in Australia. It runs from the eastern part of the Northern Territory into western Queensland. It is one of the five regions in the Northern Territory and covers , 21% of the Northern Terr ...

in the

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory ...

; and three small islands in the

Sir Edward Pellew Group The Sir Edward Pellew Group of Islands is situated in the south-west corner of the Gulf of Carpentaria, off the coast of the Northern Territory, Australia. History They were named in 1802 by Matthew Flinders in honour of Sir Edward Pellew, ...

, in the north-east of the territory. In 2009 it was recorded from

Pungalina-Seven Emu Sanctuary Pungalina-Seven Emu Sanctuary is a 3060 km2 private protected area in the Northern Territory of Australia. It is managed by the Australian Wildlife Conservancy (AWC) which purchased Pungalina Station in 2009, with some assistance from t ...

in the Northern Territory. It inhabits stony hillsides with woodland and spinifex grass. The ''P. mimulus'' is endemic to Australia. More specifically they are restricted to Sir Edward Pellew Group (Northern Territory), Centre and Southwest Islands, and two locations near Queensland. In the 1988 census of the territories the species was found in the Centre and South West Islands, but in the 2003 census it was not located. It is believed that the ''P. mimulus'' still resides within that area, but is yet to be confirmed. In addition, the habitat in which the species resides in is a rocky one with scattered trees and wood.

Conservation status

The Alexandria false antechinus has a very limited distribution, which has resulted in its classification by the

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...

endangered An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and inva ...

. On the offshore islands it inhabits, it is fairly common; however, it is rare and, in 1995, had not been seen on the mainland since 1905, when it was discovered.

Diet

While a lot of details about the species diet is unknown, it is believed that they eat mostly invertebrates as well as some small vertebrates.

References

External links

National Multi-species Recovery Plan for the Carpentarian Antechinus, Butler's Dunnart and Northern Hopping Mouse
{{Taxonbar, from=Q135142 Dasyuromorphs Vulnerable fauna of Australia Mammals of the Northern Territory Marsupials of Australia Mammals described in 1906 Taxa named by Oldfield Thomas