The tropical antechinus (''Antechinus adustus''), also known as the rusty antechinus, is a species of small

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 ...

carnivore, particularly closely related to the

brown antechinus The brown antechinus (''Antechinus stuartii''), also known as Stuart's antechinus and Macleay's marsupial mouse, is a species of small carnivorous marsupial of the family Dasyuridae. The males die after their first breeding season, and the specie ...

(''Antechinus stuartii''). It is found in a small area of tropical vine forest from Paluma (near

Townsville Townsville is a city on the north-eastern coast of Queensland, Australia. With a population of 180,820 as of June 2018, it is the largest settlement in North Queensland; it is unofficially considered its capital. Estimated resident population, 3 ...

) to Mount Spurgeon (near Mossman) in northeastern

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_ ...

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 differs from the

, with which it was previously thought to be

conspecific Biological specificity is the tendency of a characteristic such as a behavior or a biochemical variation to occur in a particular species. Biochemist Linus Pauling stated that "Biological specificity is the set of characteristics of living organis ...

, in its longer and darker fur. It shares the unusual mating behaviour of many of its relatives in that shortly after the breeding season all males die from stress-related disease.

References

Dasyuromorphs Mammals of Queensland Mammals described in 1923 Taxa named by Oldfield Thomas {{marsupial-stub