Dasyuromorphia

Taxon of carnivorous marsupials From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Dasyuromorphia (/dæsijʊərˈmɔːrfiə/) is an order comprising most of the Australian carnivorous marsupials. The order contains four families: Myrmecobiidae, with just a single living species, the numbat (Myrmecobius fasciatus), Thylacinidae, with one recently extinct species, the thylacine (Thylacinus cynocephalus) and several fossil species, Dasyuridae, with 73 extant species, including quolls, dunnarts, and the Tasmanian devil, and the extinct fossil family Malleodectidae with one genus.

Phylum:Chordata
Class:Mammalia
Infraclass:Marsupialia
Quick facts Scientific classification, Families ...
Dasyuromorphia
Temporal range: Late Oligocene–Present
Clockwise from top left: thylacine, Tasmanian devil, numbat, fat-tailed dunnart, yellow-footed antechinus and tiger quoll
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Infraclass: Marsupialia
Clade: Agreodontia
Order: Dasyuromorphia
Gill, 1872
Families
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Description

The body size of dasyuromorphs varies considerably, from only 4 grams (0.14 oz) in long-tailed planigale, which is the smallest living marsupial, up to 35 kilograms (77 lb) in the recently extinct thylacine (Thylacinus cynocephalus). They show considerable morphological diversity, including the kultarr (Antechinomys laniger), which is adapted for hopping locomotion.[2] Members of the group are mostly carnivorous, either feeding on vertebrate prey or arthropods like insects.[3] The lower molar teeth of dasyuromorphs typically show a carnassial-like morphology.[4]

Phylogeny

Overall phylogeny of Dasyuromorphia (greatly truncated) after Kealy et al. 2017:[2]

Dasyuromorphia
Thylacinidae

Thylacinus (thylacine)

Myrmecobiidae

Myrmecobius (numbat)

Dasyuridae

Sminthopsis (dunnarts)

See also

References

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