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Dasyuromorphia

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Dasyuromorphia

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Dasyuromorphia () is an order comprising most of the Australian carnivorous marsupials. The order contains four families: Myrmecobiidae, with just a single living species, the numbat (Myrmecobius fasciatus), Thylacinidae, with one recently extinct species, the thylacine (Thylacinus cynocephalus) and several fossil species, Dasyuridae, with 73 extant species, including quolls, dunnarts, and the Tasmanian devil, and the extinct fossil family Malleodectidae with one genus.

AI overview

Dasyuromorphia is an order of Australian marsupials that mostly hunt meat, including well-known animals like the Tasmanian devil and quolls as well as the now-extinct thylacine. It matters because it represents a major group of carnivorous marsupials that have played important ecological roles in Australia, though some species like the thylacine have been lost to extinction.

AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.

Species

Dasyuromorphia

ORDER

  1. KingdomAnimalia
  2. PhylumChordata
  3. ClassMammalia
  4. OrderDasyuromorphia
Observations recorded303,557

via GBIF

Wikidata facts

Image
Dasyurus viverrinus.jpg
Show 3 more facts
taxon name
Dasyuromorphia
Commons category
Dasyuromorphia
taxon common name
rovlevende pungdyr
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Article

5 sections
Contents
  • Description
  • Phylogeny
  • See also
  • References
  • External links

Dasyuromorphia () is an order comprising most of the Australian carnivorous marsupials. The order contains four families: Myrmecobiidae, with just a single living species, the numbat (Myrmecobius fasciatus), Thylacinidae, with one recently extinct species, the thylacine (Thylacinus cynocephalus) and several fossil species, Dasyuridae, with 73 extant species, including quolls, dunnarts, and the Tasmanian devil, and the extinct fossil family Malleodectidae with one genus.

== Description == The body size of dasyuromorphs varies considerably, from only in long-tailed planigale, which is the smallest living marsupial, up to in the recently extinct thylacine (Thylacinus cynocephalus). They show considerable morphological diversity, including the kultarr (Antechinomys laniger), which is adapted for hopping locomotion. Members of the group are mostly carnivorous, either feeding on vertebrate prey or arthropods like insects. The lower molar teeth of dasyuromorphs typically show a carnassial-like morphology.

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