Sarcophilus harrisii Boitard 1841

Wilson, Don E. & Reeder, DeeAnn, 2005, Order Dasyuromorphia, Mammal Species of the World: a Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3 rd Edition), Volume 1, Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, pp. 22-37 : 28

publication ID	https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7316519
DOI	https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.11335969
persistent identifier	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/F869E292-ACC3-E19C-503F-4F7A1E5E3BF7
treatment provided by	Guido (2022-12-13 04:19:09, last updated 2024-11-25 23:12:51)
scientific name	Sarcophilus harrisii Boitard 1841
status

Treatment

Sarcophilus harrisii Boitard 1841 View in CoL

Sarcophilus harrisii Boitard 1841 View in CoL , Le Jardin des Plantes: 290.

Type Locality: Tasmania.

Vernacular Names: Tasmanian Devil.

Subspecies: :

Subspecies Sarcophilus harrisii subsp. harrisii Boitard 1841

Subspecies Sarcophilus harrisii subsp. dixonae Werdelin 1987

Distribution: Australia: Tasmania; known as a subfossil in S Victoria (Mt. Hamilton and Lake Corangamite).

Conservation: IUCN – Lower Risk (lc). Common.

Discussion: Groves (1993) called this species S. laniarius Owen, 1838 , which was based on Pleistocene specimens from Wellington Caves, New South Wales. Werdelin (1987:9) argued that the Pleistocene and recent Sarcophilus were only subspecifically distinct, and as Owen’s name antedates Boitard’s (a replacement name for Didelphis ursina Harris, 1808 [preoccupied by Didelphis ursina Shaw, 1800 ]) by three years, laniarius must take precedence. Inspection of Werdelin (1987, Tables 1 and 2) shows, however, that recent and fossil ranges do not overlap in many variables, so they may be retained as different species. The Victorian subfossil dixonae remains as a subspecies of S. harrisii ; though it is distinctive its measurements overlap with those of the living Tasmanian form.

References

Groves, C. P., and P. Grubb. 1993. The Eurasian suids: Sus and Babyrousa. Taxonomy and description. Pp. 107 - 111, in Action plan for the Suiformes (W. L. R. Oliver, ed.). I. U. C. N., Gland, Switzerland, 202 pp.

Shaw, G. 1800. General zoology or systematic natural history. G. Kearsley, London, 12: 1 - 330.

Werdelin, L. 1987. Some observations on Sarcophilus laniarius and the evolution of Sarcophilus. Records of the Queen Victoria Museum, Launceston, 90: 1 - 27.