Antechinus, Macleay, 1841

Baker, Andrew M, Mutton, Thomas Y & Hines, Harry B, 2013, A new dasyurid marsupial from Kroombit Tops, south-east Queensland, Australia: the Silver-headed Antechinus, Antechinus argentus sp. nov. (Marsupialia: Dasyuridae), Zootaxa 3746 (2), pp. 201-239 : 239

Key to the genus Antechinus

NB. A number of antechinus species have discrete geographic ranges and the key makes use of this where possible to aid identification.

1a Found in NT.................................................................................. A. bellus

1b Not found in NT...................................................................................... 2

2a Found in south-west WA............................................................. A. flavipes leucogaster

2b Not found in WA..................................................................................... 3

3a Found in north-east Qld or Cape York Peninsula............................................................ 4

3b Not found in north-east Qld or Cape York Peninsula.......................................................... 7

4a BL <27.9mm; dent <22.0mm; LML <7.30mm ..................................................... A. adustus

4b BL> 27.9mm; dent> 22.0mm; LML> 7.30mm ............................................................ 5

5a TC <2.90mm; UPL <3.90mm; I 1 -P 3 <6.6mm; found in wet tropics of north-east Qld, south of Princess Charlotte Bay......................................................................................... A. flavipes rubeculus

5b TC usually> 2.90mm, but if smaller then only found north of Princess Charlotte Bay on Cape York Peninsula........... 6

6a NW> 2.8mm; IOW <7.4mm; UPL <4.00mm, found only north of Princess Charlotte Bay on Cape York Peninsula... A. leo

6b NW <2.8mm; IOW> 7.4mm; UPL> 3.90mm, found only south of Princess Charlotte Bay in the wet tropics of north-east Qld........................................................................................... A. godmani

7a Has all the following features: R-LC 1 5.40mm or less, APV 4.00mm or more, and reduced stylar cusp B on M 2 and M 3 ................................................................................................ A. swainsonii

7b Without the combination of all features above............................................................... 8

8a Has all the following features: IOW 6.70mm or more, compressed spadelike I 1, lack of slight space between I 1 and I 2; found in damp, lowland, coastal habitat in Tasmania, southern Victoria and south-east SA only...................... A. minimus

8b Without the combination of all features above.............................................................. 9

9a Has all the following features: IPV <3.80mm (mean 2.60mm and usually less than 3.00mm), PPV> 5.00mm, well developed entoconids on M 3, found in the altitudinal rainforest of south-east Qld and north-east NSW only............ A. subtropicus

9b Without the combination of all features above............................................................. 10

10a Has all the following features: R-LC 1> 4.60mm, M 2 W> 2.42mm (usually more than 2.52mm), UML> 6.5mm, LML> 7.15mm, occurs in a range of habitats throughout south-eastern / eastern Australia, including drier areas west of the Great Dividing Range....................................................................... A. flavipes flavipes

10b Without the combination of all features above.............................................................. 11

11a R-LC 1> 4.50mm, BuL> 3.70mm; found in Qld, between near the Qld/NSW border to Mackay (mid-east Qld)......... 13

11b R-LC 1 <5.60mm, BuL <4.60mm; found mostly in south-east SA, Victoria or NSW, known from Qld only in scattered locations near the south-east Qld/NSW border such as Girraween NP and Main Range NP.............................. 12

12a R-LC 1 <4.95mm, PPV <5.1mm; found at the latitude of Sydney in NSW or further south, extending into Victoria and southeast SA....................................................................................... A. agilis

12b R-LC 1> 4.40mm; PPV> 4.40mm; found only in eastern NSW at the latitude of Sydney or further north, extending into far south-east Qld................................................................................ A. stuartii

13a. Has the following features: R-LC 1> 4.60mm, PPV> 4.10mm, Dent> 19.50mm; found in scattered populations between near the Qld/NSW border to Mackay (mid-east Qld).................................................... A. mysticus

13b. Has the following features: R-LC 1 <5.50mm, PPV <4.70mm, Dent <21.90mm; found at Kroombit NP, 60km SSW of Gladstone...................................................................................... A. argentus