Phascogale
Genus of marsupials
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The phascogales (members of the eponymous genus Phascogale), also known as wambengers or mousesacks,[1] are carnivorous Australian marsupials of the family Dasyuridae. There are three species: the brush-tailed phascogale (Phascogale tapoatafa), the red-tailed phascogale (P. calura), and the northern brush-tailed phascogale (P. pirata). As with a number of dasyurid species, the males live for only one year, dying after a period of frenzied mating. The name wambenger comes from the Nyungar language.[2] The term Phascogale was coined in 1824 by Coenraad Jacob Temminck in reference to the brush-tailed phascogale, and means "pouched weasel". All three species are listed as either Near Threatened or Vulnerable by the IUCN.
| Phascogale | |
|---|---|
| |
| Brush-tailed phascogale (Phascogale tapoatafa) | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Infraclass: | Marsupialia |
| Order: | Dasyuromorphia |
| Family: | Dasyuridae |
| Subfamily: | Dasyurinae |
| Tribe: | Phascogalini |
| Genus: | Phascogale Temminck, 1824 |
| Type species | |
| Didelphis penicillata | |
| Species | |
|
See text | |
Phylogeny
The following is a phylogenetic tree based on mitochondrial genome sequences:[3]
| Dasyuromorphia |
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
_(white_background).jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
Species
.jpg)
The genus consists of the following three species:
| Image | Scientific name | Distribution |
|---|---|---|
 | Brush-tailed phascogale – Phascogale tapoatafa | southeast Australia from South Australia to mid-coastal Queensland, Western Australia |
 | Red-tailed phascogale – Phascogale calura | south-western Western Australia |
| Northern brush-tailed phascogale – Phascogale pirata | northern Australia. | |
Life cycle
Mating generally happens between May and July. All males die soon after mating. Females give birth to about 6 young ones about 30 days after mating. Phascogales do not have the true pouch that is found in most other marsupials . Instead, they form temporary folds of skin - sometimes called a "pseudo-pouch" around the mammary glands during pregnancy. Young stay in this pseudo-pouch area, nursing for about 7 weeks before being moved to a nest where they stay until they are weaned at about 20 weeks of age. Females live for about 3 years, and generally produce one litter.
