Antechinus

Antechinus (/æntɪˈkaɪnəs/ ('ant-echinus')) is a genus of small dasyurid marsupial endemic to Australia. They resemble mice with the bristly fur of shrews.

They are also sometimes called 'broad-footed marsupial mice', 'pouched mice', or 'Antechinus shrews'. However, the majority of those common names are considered either regional or archaic; the modern common name for the animal is antechinus.

Antechinus have short fur and are generally greyish or brownish in colour, varying with species.[1] The fur is dense and generally soft. Their tails are thin and tapering and range from slightly shorter to slightly longer than body length.[1] Their heads are conical in shape and ears are small to medium in size.[1] Some species have a relatively long, narrow snout that gives them a shrew-like appearance.[1] Species vary from 12–31 cm (4.7–12.2 in) in length and weigh 16–170 g (0.56–6.00 oz) when fully grown.[1] A. agilis is the smallest known species, and A. swainsonii the largest.

Sexual dimorphism occurs in most species for both weight and skeletal measurements, with males being typically larger and heavier.[2]

Most species nest communally in tree-hollows.[1] They primarily inhabit all forests, woodlands and rainforest as well as heaths and grasslands in some species.[1] The majority of Antechinus species are located on the eastern coast of Australia along the Great Dividing Range.[1] There is a population of A. flavipes in south west Western Australia.[3] A. bellus lives in northern Australia around the Gulf of Carpentaria.[3]

There are currently 15 recognised species of Antechinus with a number of subspecies.[3] A few species of New Guinean Antechinus were recognised, but they have been reclassified into the genus Murexia.[4] The interspecific relations of the genus Antechinus are still under review.[3] The currently accepted phylogeny is the presence of four clades within the Antechinus genus.[3][5] Generally, the clades are formed by species with similar geographic distributions.[3]

In central Victoria
Illustration from Brehms Tierleben, showing an unknown species of Antechinus
Pouch of agile antechinus (A. agilis), showing offspring inside