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Murexia melanurus

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Taxonomy [top]

Kingdom Phylum Class Order Family
ANIMALIA CHORDATA MAMMALIA DASYUROMORPHIA DASYURIDAE

Scientific Name: Murexia melanurus
Species Authority: (Thomas, 1899)
Common Name/s:
English – Black-tailed Dasyure, Black-tailed Antechinus
French – Souris Marsupiale À Queue Noire
Synonym/s:
Antechinus melanurus (Thomas, 1899)
Antechinus wilhelmina Tate, 1947
Antechinus wilhemina Tate, 1947
Murexechinus melanurus Van Dyck, 2002
Phascogale mayeri Dollman, 1930
Phascogale melanura Thomas, 1899 ssp. melanura
Phascogale melanura Thomas, 1912 ssp. modesta
Taxonomic Notes: Groves (2005) placed this species in the genus Murexechinus following a morphocladistic analysis by Van Dyck (2002). Genetic work, however, strongly supports the placement of this species within Murexia (Armstrong et al. 1998; Krajewski et al. 2000, 2007).

R.F. Peterson collected a specimen in 1956 from highland forest on the island of Normanby in the D'Entrecasteaux Archipelago (Papua New Guinea) that Brass (1959) assigned to Murexia longicaudata. Van Dyck (2002) considered this specimen to be M. melanurus. Given the uncertainty surrounding this specimen, we have not mapped the species on Normanby (see also Flannery 1995).

Assessment Information [top]

Red List Category & Criteria: Least Concern     ver 3.1
Year Assessed: 2008
Assessor/s Leary, T., Seri, L., Wright, D., Hamilton, S., Helgen, K., Singadan, R., Menzies, J., Allison, A., James, R., Dickman, C., Lunde, D., Aplin, K. & Woolley, P.
Evaluator/s: Lamoreux, J. & Hilton-Taylor, C. (Global Mammal Assessment Team)
Justification:
Listed as Least Concern because it has a wide distribution, no major threats to it are known, and it is unlikely to be declining at nearly the rate required to qualify for listing in a threatened category.
History:
1996 – Lower Risk/least concern

Geographic Range [top]

Range Description: The Black-tailed Dasyure has a wide distribution across the Central Cordillera of the island of New Guinea (Indonesia and Papua New Guinea) (Van Dyck 2002). It is also present in the Arfak (Indonesia) and Torricelli (Papua New Guinea) mountain ranges (Van Dyck 2002). This species is found from sea level to mid-montane areas up to 2,800 m (Van Dyck 2002).
Countries:
Native:
Indonesia; Papua New Guinea
Range Map:
(click map to view full version)
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Population [top]

Population: This species is relatively abundant.
Population Trend: Stable

Habitat and Ecology [top]

Habitat and Ecology: It is found in rainforest, mid-montane forest, beech forest, pandanus forest, and mossy forest (Van Dyck 2002). The Black-tailed Dasyure breeds throughout the year; females have up to four young (Woolley 2003).
Systems: Terrestrial

Threats [top]

Major Threat(s): There are no known major threats to this species.

Conservation Actions [top]

Conservation Actions: Black-tailed Dasyures occur in several protected areas. Further studies into the taxonomy of the species are needed.
Citation: Leary, T., Seri, L., Wright, D., Hamilton, S., Helgen, K., Singadan, R., Menzies, J., Allison, A., James, R., Dickman, C., Lunde, D., Aplin, K. & Woolley, P. 2008. Murexia melanurus. In: IUCN 2009. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2009.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 09 February 2010.
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