Antechinus bellus (Thomas, 1904)

Dyck, Steve Van, 2013, Taxonomy and redescription of the Fawn Antechinus, Antechinus bellus (Thomas) (Marsupialia: Dasyuridae), Zootaxa 3613 (3), pp. 201-228 : 208-211

(2) A. bellus versus A. flavipes flavipes

Pelage: Antechinus bellus is a strikingly pale animal: pale to medium grey above, sometimes with a faun tinge, whereas A. flavipes flavipes has a greyish head that merges to buff-yellow on the rump and flanks.

External measurements: Antechinus bellus is larger than A. flavipes flavipes in absolute measurement (i.e., with no overlap in ranges) for the following external character for females: ear length, Moreover, A. bellus males and females are significantly larger than A. flavipes flavipes in tail length and hindfoot length, and A. bellus males are significantly larger in head-body length (Table 2).

Skull: Antechinus bellus differs from A. flavipes flavipes in absolute measurement (i.e., with no overlap in ranges) for the following 2 skull/dentary characters for males: R-LM 1 and R-LM 2 and the following 2 skull/dentary characters for females: R-LM 1 and R-LM 2. Moreover, A. bellus has a range of other dentary features that significantly (p<0.01) differ from A. flavipes flavipes —11 variables for males and 15 variables for females, as shown in Table 2.

Other comments: Antechinus bellus is found in savannah woodlands of the Top End, Northern Territory, whereas A. flavipes flavipes is found in south-eastern Australia. A. bellus possesses a distally thickened and twisted supratragus of the ear rather than the simple, uncurled structure found in A. flavipes flavipes . Genetics: uncorrected pairwise range differences at the mitochondrial gene Cytochrome B (CytB) between A. bellus and A. flavipes flavipes are 9.7–10.9%.