Dibbler (''Parantechinus apicalis'') is an endangered species of

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 ...

. It is an inhabitant of the southwest mainland of

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

and some offshore islands. It is a member of the order

Dasyuromorphia Dasyuromorphia (, meaning "hairy tail" in Greek) is an order comprising most of the Australian carnivorous marsupials, including quolls, dunnarts, the numbat, the Tasmanian devil, and the thylacine. In Australia, the exceptions include the omn ...

, and the only member of the

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

''Parantechinus''. The dibbler is a small, nocturnal

carnivore A carnivore , or meat-eater (Latin, ''caro'', genitive ''carnis'', meaning meat or "flesh" and ''vorare'' meaning "to devour"), is an animal or plant whose food and energy requirements derive from animal tissues (mainly muscle, fat and other s ...

with speckled fur that is white around the eyes.

Description

The dibbler is long with a tail; it weighs . Distinctive features include a white eye-ring, gray-brown fur flecked with white hairs, and a short tapering tail. It has strong jaws and large

canine teeth In mammalian oral anatomy, the canine teeth, also called cuspids, dog teeth, or (in the context of the upper jaw) fangs, eye teeth, vampire teeth, or vampire fangs, are the relatively long, pointed teeth. They can appear more flattened howeve ...

for killing prey, which include small vertebrates such as mice, birds and lizards, as well as insects and other

invertebrates Invertebrates are a paraphyletic group of animals that neither possess nor develop a vertebral column (commonly known as a ''backbone'' or ''spine''), derived from the notochord. This is a grouping including all animals apart from the chordat ...

. They are semi-arboreal and will also feed on nectar from flowering plants and berries. Dibblers weigh about 40–135 grams (1.4–3.6 oz).The breeding season for the species is March–April, with the female able to give birth and raise up to eight young. The dibbler is a

solitary Solitary is the state of being alone or in solitude. The term may refer to: * shortened form of solitary confinement * Solitary animal, an animal that does not live with others in its species * Solitary but social, a type of social organization ...

, mostly crepuscular species. The dibbler is found in southwestern

, where it is located on Boullanger Island, Whitlock Island and Escape Island (translocated) off Jurien Bay. They are also found on the South Coast in the

Fitzgerald River National Park Fitzgerald River National Park is a national park in the Shires of Ravensthorpe and the Jerramungup in Western Australia, southeast of Perth. The park is recognised on Australia's National Heritage List for its outstanding diversity of nativ ...

, Peniup Proposed Nature Reserve (where it was re-introduced) and on Gunton Island in the Recherche Archipelago (where it was also re-introduced). They have also recently been released on Dirk Hartog Island as part of the Return to 1616 project run by the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions. There was attempted releases at the

Stirling Range National Park Stirling Range National Park is a national park in the Great Southern region of Western Australia, approximately south-east of Perth. Description It protects the Stirling Ranges, or Koikyennuruff, a range of mountains and hills over wide fr ...

and Waychinicup National Park but it is not thought that they still persist in those locations. A specimen was also captured in Torndirrup National Park south of Albany. The dibbler's habitat is an unburnt vegetation area with a thick litter layer and sandy soils, typically occupying coastal mallee-heath vegetation communities on the south coast.

Taxonomy

Classification

The dibbler is the only member of its genus, ''Parantechinus'', which indicates that it is an " antechinus-like (animal)". The specific epithet, ''apicalis'', means "pointed". This genus formerly included the

sandstone dibbler The sandstone false antechinus (''Pseudantechinus bilarni''), also known as the sandstone pseudantechinus, the sandstone antechinus, the sandstone dibbler, Harney's antechinus and the Northern dibbler, is a species of small carnivorous marsupial, ...

, now placed in the genus ''

Pseudantechinus 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 ...

''. The genus ''Parantechinus'' contains only the single species, ''Parantechinus apicalis'', the dibbler. It was first described in 1842 by

John Edward Gray John Edward Gray, FRS (12 February 1800 – 7 March 1875) was a British zoologist. He was the elder brother of zoologist George Robert Gray and son of the pharmacologist and botanist Samuel Frederick Gray (1766–1828). The same is used for ...

, who placed it in the genus ''

Phascogale The phascogales (members of the eponymous genus ''Phascogale''), also known as wambengers or mousesacks,A Hollow Victory
...

''. He identified the specimen as being Australasian in origin. The genus ''Parantechinus'' was created for the species in 1947 by

George Henry Hamilton Tate George Henry Hamilton Tate (April 30, 1894 – December 24, 1953) was a British-born United States, American zoologist and botanist, who worked as a mammalogist for the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. In his lifetime he wro ...

. The species was also assigned to the genus '' Antechinus'', before being split to its own genus. There are various arrangements of the genera in this section of family

Dasyuridae The Dasyuridae are a family of marsupials native to Australia and New Guinea, including 71 extant species divided into 17 genera. Many are small and mouse-like or shrew-like, giving some of them the name marsupial mice or marsupial shrews, but th ...

, many of which are supported by molecular systematics, and their relationship remains unresolved.

Common name

The name 'dibbler' is used by government and scientific authorities, and in popular usage, to refer to this species exclusively. In the Dibbler Recovery Plan, Senior DBCA scientist, Dr. Tony Friend notes

Strahan (2003) introduced the common name "southern dibbler" for ''P. apicalis'' 'Parantechinus apicalis''and "northern dibbler" for the sandstone antechinus" 'Pseudantechinus bilarni''ref name="DEC"/> ... the well-established use of "dibbler" to refer only to P. apicalis is recommended and is followed in this plan."

A number of common names derive from previous systematic arrangements.

John Gould John Gould (; 14 September 1804 – 3 February 1881) was an English ornithologist. He published a number of monographs on birds, illustrated by plates produced by his wife, Elizabeth Gould, and several other artists, including Edward Lear, ...

gave several names from the Nyoongar/

Noongar The Noongar (, also spelt Noongah, Nyungar , Nyoongar, Nyoongah, Nyungah, Nyugah, and Yunga ) are Aboriginal Australian peoples who live in the south-west corner of Western Australia, from Geraldton on the west coast to Esperance on the so ...

language; Marn-dern and Wy-a-lung are from northern areas, Dib-bler is from the dialect spoken in the

King George Sound King George Sound ( nys , Menang Koort) is a sound on the south coast of Western Australia. Named King George the Third's Sound in 1791, it was referred to as King George's Sound from 1805. The name "King George Sound" gradually came into use ...

region. The practice of restoring traditional names to marsupial species has conserved this common name. Gould referred to the species as the freckled antechinus, and it has also been known as the speckled marsupial mouse. The online edition of ''

Mammal Species of the World ''Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference'' is a standard reference work in mammalogy giving descriptions and bibliographic data for the known species of mammals. It is now in its third edition, published in late 2005, ...

'' gave the name Southern dibbler in 2009. A species known as the Northern ( or sandstone) dibbler, ''Pseudantechinus bilarni'', is found in the

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory shares its borders with Western Aust ...

. This species has been distinguished by the name Southern dibbler, however this name is given in ''The Mammals of Australia'' (2008),The Mammals of Australia 3rd Ed. 2008. Reed New Holland. Edited by Steve Van Dyck & Ronald Strahan. the formative guide for Australian mammal nomenclature worldwide.

Conservation status

In the early 19th century, dibblers were widely distributed across

. By 1884, they were declared extinct, but some were rediscovered at Cheyne Beach on the southern coast of Western Australia in 1967. They are threatened by habitat loss (land clearing, dieback) and predators; they are considered an endangered species. Their predators are mainly feral foxes and feral cats.

Perth Zoo Perth Zoo is a zoological park in South Perth, Western Australia. The zoo first opened in 1898 and by 2011 housed 1258 animals of 164 species and an extensive botanical collection. It is a full institutional member of the Zoo and Aquarium Ass ...

in Western Australia operates a conservation project for the dibbler which is helpful in its survival and breeding, and along with the Department of Environment and Conservation has helped to breed and release more dibblers into the wild.

References

External links

Southern Dibbler
World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA) *ARKive
images and movies of the dibbler ''(Parantechinus apicalis)''entry on dibblers at Australianfauna.com
{{Taxonbar, from=Q734940 Mammals described in 1842 Taxa named by John Edward Gray Dasyuromorphs Endangered fauna of Australia Mammals of Western Australia Marsupials of Australia mt:Parantechinus