Swamp Antechinus

About the Swamp Antechinus

The swamp antechinus (Antechinus minimus), also known as the little Tasmanian marsupial mouse, is a species of shrew-like marsupial of the family Dasyuridae and as such is related to dunnarts, quolls and the Tasmanian devil.

The swamp antechinus was first described in 1803 (the first of all the antechinuses) by Étienne Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, who placed it in the genus Dasyurus (quolls), hence its species name minimus, which means "smallest".

There are two recognised subspecies of the Swamp Antechinus: A. m. minimus, found in Tasmania and Bass Strait; A. m. maritimus, found on the mainland; this subspecies is declining and is classed as near threatened. The area inhabited by the subspecies A. m. maritimus is in the south of the central highlands, Wimmera and Alpine areas of Victoria and the extreme south of South Australia around Mount Gambier. For the nominate subspecies A. m. minimus, the range is Tasmania, including Sunday Island, King Island and Flinders Island.

The habitat for all subspecies is closed heath, wet dense heath, open forest, open heath, swampy drainages and tussock grassland with bracken and sedge growth. Wikipedia →