Antechinus flavipes subsp. flavipes, flavipes

Baker, Andrew M. & Dyck, Steve Van, 2013, Taxonomy and redescription of the Yellow-footed Antechinus, Antechinus flavipes (Waterhouse) (Marsupialia: Dasyuridae), Zootaxa 3649 (1), pp. 1-62 : 25

(11) A. flavipes flavipes versus A. subtropicus

Pelage: A. flavipes flavipes has a grey head that merges to medium orange-yellow tonings on the rump, flanks and tail base, whereas A. subtropicus is more uniformly brown from head to rump. A. flavipes flavipes has a darkened tail tip, whereas A. subtropicus typically has no noticeably darkened tail tip. A. flavipes flavipes has yellow-orange fur on the upper surface of the hind feet, whereas A. subtropicus has light brownish fur on the upper surface of the hind feet.

External measurements: There are no absolute (i.e., with no overlap in ranges) or significant differences for external body measures between A. flavipes flavipes and A. subtropicus in either males or females ( Table 2).

Skull: A. f. flavipes differs from A. subtropicus in absolute measurement (i.e., with no overlap in ranges) for the following skull / dentary characters: larger IPV and smaller PPV in males and females. A. f. flavipes has numerous other dentary features that significantly (p<0.01) differ from A. subtropicus — 15 variables for males and 12 for females, as shown in Table 2.

Other Comments: A. f. flavipes females have 10–14 pouch nipples, whereas A. subtropicus females have 8 pouch nipples. A. f. flavipes is found in south-eastern Australia, across 4 states: Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia. A. subtropicus is found usually in closed forest at altitude ranging from about Kyogle in north-east New South Wales to Gympie in south-east Queensland. Genetics: uncorrected pairwise range differences at the mitochondrial gene Cytochrome B (CytB) between A. f. flavipes and A. subtropicus are 13.5– 14.8%.