This document may be used, with this header included, for noncommercial purposes within a subscribed institution . No copies of this work may be distributed electronically outside of the subscribed institution, in whole or in part, without written permission from the JHU Press . The upper parts are grayish brown, there are chestnut patches behind the ears, and the underparts are grayish white. The tail tapers and becomes very thick at the base for purposes of fat storage. The Ningbing antechinus is similar in general coloration and form but is smaller, and its tail is longer and has long hairs covering the base.
Females have six mammae.
P. macdonnellensis is found mainly on rocky hills and breakaways but also lives in termite mounds in some areas. It is predominantly nocturnal but may emerge from shelter among the rocks to sunbathe. The diet consists mainly of insects. Females produce a single litter of up to six young annually. Mating occurs in winter and spring, and the young are born from July to September.