Sminthopsis granulipes Troughton 1932
Creators: name: Russell A. Mittermeier
name: Don E. Wilson
Publisher: name: Lynx Edicions
Year: 2015
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Chordata
Mammalia
Dasyuromorphia
Dasyuridae
Sminthopsis
Sminthopsis granulipes

description: 64.
White-tailed Dunnart
Sminthopsis granulipes
French: Dunnart a queue blanche / German: Kornsohlen-Schmalfu 3beutelmaus / Spanish: Raton marsupial de cola blanca
Other common names: Granularfooted Marsupial Mouse, Ash-grey Dunnart
Taxonomy. Sminthopsis granulipes Troughton, 1932, King George Sound (Albany), Western Australia, Australia.
Phylogenetic relationships among the 28 species comprising the clade Sminthopsinae have been morphologically and genetically considered in detail. Even so, it is telling that a recent genetic phylogeny failed to support monophyly of the genus Smunthopsis with respect to Antechinomys and Ningawi. In the phylogeny, there were three deeply divergent clades of Sminthopsis. In the first, S. longicaudata was sister to A. laniger. The second clade comprised the traditional morphologically based Macroura Group: five Sminthopsis comprised a strongly supported clade including S. crassicaudata, S. bindi, S. macroura, S. douglasi, and S. virginiae. This clade of five dunnarts was only poorly supported as sister to the three species of Ningaui (N. ridei, N. timealeyi, and N. yvonneae). The combined clade of five Sminthopsis and three Ningaui was itself positioned as a poorly supported sister to a well-supported clade containing the remaining species of Sminthopsis (13 species comprising the Murina Group), which included S. granulipes. S. granulipes is distinctive but was not recognized until E. Le G. Troughton’s work in 1932, probably because before then little attention had been paid to cranio-dental characters in the genus. Troughton noted that there were external similarities with S. erassicaudata, and it shared hairy and fused interdigital pads with S. hirtipes, likely in response to arid environments. In 1981, as part of his generic review, M. Archer noted distinctive features of the skull that set S. Aurtipes apart from congeners. Monotypic.
Distribution. SW Australia, in the Avon, Mallee, and Coolgardie, Esperance Plains, and Geraldton bioregions in SW Western Australia.
Descriptive notes. Head-body 6.9-8.8 cm, tail 5:6.6-6 cm; weight 18-37 g. Fur of the White-tailed Dunnart is pale fawn-colored above, mottled by dark brown tipping of hairs, and cream color below. Dorsal and ventral hairs are blue-gray basally. Tail is white with a thin dorsal line of dark brown hairs; paws are white. Hind margins of ears of White-tailed Dunnarts are notched. Pads on palm and sole are finely and evenly granulated, without enlarged granules, smooth areas, or hairs.
Habitat. Semi-arid regions in species-rich proteaceous (evergreen shrubs) shrublands, often with sparse mallee, on sands, gravelly sands, and duricrust (hard soil layer) surfaces. Although the White-tailed Dunnart was regarded as rare for a century following its initial collection at King George Sound, Western Australia, systematic pitfall trapping over the past 25 years have found that although its distribution is restricted, it is easily captured in particular habitats. In the Avon, Mallee, and western Coolgardie bioregions, the White-tailed Dunnart is confined to surfaces associated with, or derived from, the old Tertiary plateau (upper levels of landscape). In the Esperance Plains bioregion at the south-eastern limits of its distribution, the White-tailed Dunnart also occurs on aeolian sandsheets overlaying clay. In the Geraldton Sandplains bioregion in the north-western part ofits distribution, it can be found on sandsheets overlying coastal limestone. Substantial areas of habitats of the White-tailed Dunnart have been cleared for agriculture since European settlement.
Food and Feeding. Based on stomach contents from eight specimens, the White-tailed Dunnart is apparently an opportunistic feeder of mainly arthropods and arachnids. It eats moths, bugs, ants, wasps, sawfly larvae, scarab beetles, weevils, termites, cockroaches, horseflies, centipedes, grasshopper eggs, and spiders.
Breeding. Mating of White-tailed Dunnarts occurs in April-July; young are born in late winter. Females have 8-12 teats; pouch young have been recorded in August—October, with juveniles (weighing less than 10 g) in a captive population by late spring and early summer.
Activity patterns. There is no information available for this species.
Movements, Home range and Social organization. There is no information available for this species.
Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The [UCN Red List. The Whitetailed Dunnart has a wide distribution and presumably a large overall population. Although it does not face any major conservation threats,it is acknowledged that much of its previous distribution has been cleared for agriculture, and increased fire frequency on sand plains and habitat fragmentation will continue to be an issue. Fortunately, White-tailed Dunnarts occur on a variety of Wheatbelt conservation reserves including Dragon Rocks Nature Reserve, Jilbadji Nature Reserve in the eastern Goldfields, and Kalbarri National Park on Western Australia’s mid-western coast.
Bibliography. Archer (1981a), Baverstock et al. (1984), Blacket, Adams et al. (2001), Blacket, Cooper et al. (2006), Kitchener & Chapman (1978), Krajewski et al. (2012), McKenzie (2008b), McKenzie & Kitchener (2008), McKenzie et al. (2004), Thomas (1888b), Troughton (1932b).
description: Published as part of Russell A. Mittermeier & Don E. Wilson, 2015, Dasyuridae, pp. 232-348 in Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 5 Monotremes and Marsupials, Barcelona :Lynx Edicions on pages 340-341, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.6608102