Antechinus stuartii

1 Brown Antechinus at QPRC LGA

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Identification history

Antechinus stuartii	24 Jan 2024	DonFletcher
Antechinus agilis	24 Jan 2024	DonFletcher
Unidentified	24 Jan 2024	arjay

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4 comments

arjay wrote:

24 Jan 2024

Is the ID based mainly on location? or some other feature? I have been told I have brown antechinus which I think are supposed to come as far south as Kialoa. I have been wondering if I have both brown and agile (being at the southern and northern ends of their respective distributions. I am also wondering how I could possibly tell them apart if I do.

DonFletcher wrote:

24 Jan 2024

Hi ajay,
I haven't IDd a Brown (stuartii) before and the species is not even included in our Canberra list. But you're right. This is a fair bit darker than the local Agiles. According to Menkhorst, Agiles are greyer brown and Browns are more chocolate brown. So I'm unsure but in retrospect I think is it is more likely to be stuartii.

I doubt that the boundary between agilis and stuartii is known well, or even whether the two are exclusive or overlapping. After a few more years when you have a few more records, it may be necessary to go back and revise some of these IDs.

DonFletcher wrote:

24 Jan 2024

However this record of yours is probably correct as agilis Antechinus agilis (Agile Antechinus)

arjay wrote:

24 Jan 2024

Thanks heaps. I thought they looked a little different to each other which is why I queried it and put the second photo up. We also had a wildlife carer looking after some orphans recently and she said those had been identified as browns. I will also ask a local mammals expert (but not a taxonomist) and see what she says and let you know if she comes up with something different. We have a similar problem with the sugar/squirrel gliders both of which I think occur here.

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