Common Planigale

Common Planigale
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Subclass: Marsupialia Order: Dasyuromorphia Family: Dasyuridae Subfamily: Planigalinae Genus: Planigale Species: maculata
Binomial name
Planigale maculata

The Common Planigale (Planigale maculata) is an ferocious predator on a tiny scale: one of the many little-known small marsupial carnivores which, if seen at all, are usually thought to be simply mice.

It is unusual amongst planigales in that it is relatively common, rather large by planigale standards at about 10 to 12 grams, has a head that is only moderately flattened, and occupies a broad range of habitats: from the upper Hunter River valley not far north of Sydney along the coast and hinterland to Cape York, and across the Top End of Australia to the Kimberly and a little beyond. Its range takes in sclerophyll forest, rainforest, marshlands, grasslands and even the outer suburbs of Brisbane.

Although the Common Planigale was first described in 1851, little is known of its behaviour. In captivity, it eats a wide range of foods including insects, eggs, meat, and honey, and females make small, saucer-shaped nests out of bark and grass. It is assumed that they do this in the wild.