Murexia melanurus

Taxonomy

Assessment Information

Geographic Range

Population

Habitat and Ecology

Threats

Conservation Actions

Bibliography

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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.

Reviewer/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 here to open the map viewer and explore range.

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.

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.

Conservation Actions:

Black-tailed Dasyures occur in several protected areas. Further studies into the taxonomy of the species are needed.

Bibliography [top]

	Armstrong, L. A., Krajewski, C. and Westerman, M. 1998. Phylogeny of the dasyurid marsupial genus Antechinus based on cytochrome-b, 12S-rRNA, and protamine-P1 genes. Journal of Mammalogy 79: 1379–1389. Brass, L. J. 1959. Results of the Archbold Expeditions. No. 79. Summary of the fifth Archbold Expedition to New Guinea (1956-1957). Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 118: 1-69. Flannery, T. F. 1995. Mammals of the South-West Pacific and Moluccan Islands. Comstock/Cornell, Ithaca, Ny, USA. Groves, C. P. 2005. Order Dasyuromorphia. In: D. E. Wilson and D. M. Reeder (eds), Mammal Species of the World, pp. 23-37. The Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, Maryland, USA. Krajewski, C., Torunsky, R., Sipiorski, J. T. and Westerman, M. 2007. Phylogenetic relationships of the dasyurid marsupial genus Murexia. Journal of Mammalogy 88: 696-705. Krajewski, C. , Wroe, S. and Westerman, M. 2000. Molecular evidence for the pattern and timing of cladogenesis in dasyurid marsupials. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 130: 375-404. Van Dyck, S. 2002. Morphology-based revision of Murexia and Antechinus (Marsupialia: Dasyuridae). Memoirs of the Queensland Museum 48: 239-330. Woolley, P. A. 2003. Reproductive biology of some dasyurid marsupials of New Guinea. In: M. E. Jones, C. R. Dickman and M. Archer (eds), Predators with Pouches: the Biology of Carnivorous Marsupials, CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne, Australia.

Armstrong, L. A., Krajewski, C. and Westerman, M. 1998. Phylogeny of the dasyurid marsupial genus Antechinus based on cytochrome-b, 12S-rRNA, and protamine-P1 genes. Journal of Mammalogy 79: 1379–1389.

Brass, L. J. 1959. Results of the Archbold Expeditions. No. 79. Summary of the fifth Archbold Expedition to New Guinea (1956-1957). Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 118: 1-69.

Flannery, T. F. 1995. Mammals of the South-West Pacific and Moluccan Islands. Comstock/Cornell, Ithaca, Ny, USA.

Groves, C. P. 2005. Order Dasyuromorphia. In: D. E. Wilson and D. M. Reeder (eds), Mammal Species of the World, pp. 23-37. The Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.

Krajewski, C., Torunsky, R., Sipiorski, J. T. and Westerman, M. 2007. Phylogenetic relationships of the dasyurid marsupial genus Murexia. Journal of Mammalogy 88: 696-705.

Krajewski, C. , Wroe, S. and Westerman, M. 2000. Molecular evidence for the pattern and timing of cladogenesis in dasyurid marsupials. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 130: 375-404.

Van Dyck, S. 2002. Morphology-based revision of Murexia and Antechinus (Marsupialia: Dasyuridae). Memoirs of the Queensland Museum 48: 239-330.

Woolley, P. A. 2003. Reproductive biology of some dasyurid marsupials of New Guinea. In: M. E. Jones, C. R. Dickman and M. Archer (eds), Predators with Pouches: the Biology of Carnivorous Marsupials, CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne, Australia.

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 2011. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2011.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 10 February 2012.
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