Ooldea dunnart
Kingdom
Phylum
Subphylum
Class
Infraclass
Family
Genus
SPECIES
Sminthopsis ooldea

The Ooldea dunnart (Sminthopsis ooldea ), also called Troughton's dunnart after the person who found the species, is an Australian marsupial similar to the hairy-footed dunnart. It is greyish-yellow on its upper body and white on the underside with dark patches on its crown, forehead and in front of the eyes, and a pink thinly furred carrot shaped tail. Its total length is 115–173 mm; its average body length is 55–80 mm with a tail of 60–93 mm. Its ear length is 14–17 mm. This dunnart weighs between 10 and 18 grams.

Distribution

Geography

Countries
Biogeographical realms

This dasyurid is found from the Tanami Desert in the Northern Territory, south to Ooldea in South Australia and east to neighboring areas of Western Australia. The type of habitat it inhabits includes arid eucalypt and acacia woodlands, heathlands mallee scrub and hummock grasslands, low shrubland, open scrub and tall open shrubland.

Ooldea dunnart habitat map
Ooldea dunnart habitat map
Ooldea dunnart

Diet and Nutrition

It is believed, from evidence gathered, that this species eats insects.

Mating Habits

The Ooldea dunnart has 8 young between September and November but, since the species is not much studied, not much more is known. It is nocturnal and has been found in burrows and hollow logs.

References

1. Ooldea dunnart Wikipedia article - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ooldea_dunnart
2. Ooldea dunnart on The IUCN Red List site - https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/40548/21949221

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