Antechinus mimetes
| Antechinus mimetes | ||||||||||||
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Antechinus mimetes , male |
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Antechinus mimetes | ||||||||||||
| ( Thomas , 1924) |
Antechinus mimetes is a bag species from the genus of antechinus that occurs on the south east coast of Australia in the Australian states of New South Wales and Victoria.
features
Antechinus mimetes differs from the Swainson's broad- footed pouch ( A. swainsonii ), from Antechinus vandycki and the black-tailed broad- footed pouch ( Antechinus arktos ) mainly in the brownish color of the head and shoulders, while these are gray in the first two species and the Black-tailed broad- footed pouch mouse ( Antechinus arktos ) shows an orange tint on the trunk. The feet and tail of Antechinus mimetes are also brown; they are black in the black-tailed broad-footed pouch mouse. It differs from most of the other broad-footed pouch mice mainly in its significantly larger size and longer and narrower snout.
The tail is thin, shorter than the head and body and tapers more and more towards the tip. The hind feet are 2.5 cm long. The claws are very long. The longest rear foot claw is 3.1 mm long, the longest claw on the front foot is 4.3 mm long. The balls of the hind feet are strongly corrugated. For a broad-footed pouch mouse of its size, Antechinus mimetes has relatively small ears. The animal has 24 black whiskers up to 16 mm long on each side of its snout .
habitat
The habitat of Antechinus mimetes includes sand dunes on the coast, temperate rainforest with hard-leaf vegetation and dense undergrowth, swamps, wet gorges, as well as mountain forests and alpine heaths in the Great Dividing Range up to heights of 1,800 meters. The annual amount of rain in the entire habitat is more than 800 mm.
Systematics
The shape was first described in 1924 by the British zoologist Oldfield Thomas under the scientific name Phascogale swainsonii mimetes , i.e. as a subspecies of the Swainson's broad-footed pouch mouse . The Swainson broad-footed pouch mouse was later placed in the genus Antechinus . In 2015 Antechinus swainsonii mimetes was newly described and raised to the rank of an independent species. In addition to the widespread nominate form A. mimetes mimetes, there is another subspecies. Antechinus mimetes insulanus has a geographically separated small distribution area from A. mimetes mimetes in the Grampians National Park and in the immediate vicinity of the park.
source
- Baker AM et al. 2015. A taxonomic assessment of the Australian Dusky Antechinus Complex: a new species, the Tasman Peninsula Dusky Antechinus (Antechinus vandycki sp. Nov.) And an elevation to species of the Mainland Dusky Antechinus (Antechinus swainsonii mimetes (Thomas)). Memoirs of the Queensland Museum - Nature, vol. 59, p. 75-126; doi: 10.17082 / j.2204-1478.59.2015.2014-10