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tiger quoll

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tiger quoll

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Also known as Dasyurus maculatus, spotted-tailed quoll, spotted quoll, spotted-tail dasyure, tiger cat

carnivorous marsupial native to Australia

OverviewAI-generated

The tiger quoll, scientifically named *Dasyurus maculatus*, is a species of quoll. It is also referred to by the common names spotted-tailed quoll and spotted-tailed Quoll. This mammal is endemic to Australia. The species has a bite force quotient of 179.

Reproductive characteristics include a gestation period of 21 days and an average litter size of 5.3. The longest observed lifespan for this animal is 6.8 years. The tiger quoll is classified as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List, a status recorded in 2018.

Synthesized by Vinony from 25 facts across 4 sources: Wikidata, IUCN Red List, iNaturalist, Vinony graph. Generated from structured data (not the Wikipedia text) and checked against those facts — may still contain errors.

Species

Near Threatened

Spotted-tailed Quoll

species

Observations923

Maximum longevity: 6.8 years (captivity) Observations: Females over 3 years of age produce no litters but males over 5 years old can still be fertile. Although these animals reach sexual maturity in about one year, they do not become fully grown until about two years of age (Jones et al. 2001). In the wild, these animals do not typically live more than 3 years. One animal lived 6.8 years in captivity (Richard Weigl 2005).

via IUCN

~13 min read

Encyclopedic overview

The tiger quoll (Dasyurus maculatus), also known as the spotted-tailed quoll, spotted quoll, spotted-tailed dasyure, or tiger cat, is a carnivorous marsupial of the quoll genus Dasyurus native to Australia. With males and females weighing around 3.5 and 1.8 kg (7.7 and 4.0 lb), respectively, it is the world's second-largest extant carnivorous marsupial, behind the Tasmanian devil. Two subspecies are recognised; the nominate is found in wet forests of southeastern Australia and Tasmania, and a northern subspecies, D. m. gracilis, is found in a small area of northern Queensland and is endangered.

The tiger quoll commonly preys on small mammals, insects, birds, domestic poultry and large marsupials such as wombats. It mostly hunts live prey but occasionally scavenges when the opportunity arises. The tiger quoll kills its prey by executing a killing bite to the base of the skull or top of the neck, depending on the size of the prey. The species is listed as near-threatened on the IUCN Red List, and is primarily threatened by habitat loss caused by human activities.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “tiger quoll” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.

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