Murexia melanurus (Thomas, 1899)

Russell A. Mittermeier & Don E. Wilson, 2015, Dasyuridae, Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 5 Monotremes and Marsupials, Barcelona: Lynx Edicions, pp. 232-348 : 322-323

41.

Black-tailed Dasyure

Murexia melanurus

French: Murexie a queue noire / German: Schwarzschwanz-Neuguinea-Beutelmaus / Spanish: Dasiuro de cola negra

Other common names: Broad-footed Marsupial Mouse

Taxonomy. Phascogale melanura Thomas, 1899 ,

Moroka , 9° 24° S, 147° 32’ E, 1300 m, Astrolabe Range , Central Prov., Papua New Guinea.

Acceptance of the trans-Torresian distribution of Antechinus prevailed until 1984 when P. A. Woolley’s work on phallic morphology indicated a dubious relationship between Australian and New Guinean members of Antechinus , and thus challenged integrity of Phascogalinae. Antechinus in Australia, meanwhile, were no longer considered monophyletic, including what we now regard as several genera: Dasykaluta rosamondae , Pseudantechinus macdonnellensis , P. ningbing , P. bilarni , and Parantechinus apicalis . This was followed by work clarifying species applicable to “antechinus” of New Guinea ( melanurus , habbema, and naso ). This research indicated that New Guinean species deserved generic reclassification; their inclusion in Antechinus was evidently inappropriate. DNA hybridization and albumin immunology studies confirmed a closer relationship among New Guinea species than with Australian Antechinus . Subsequent DNA work suggested that New Guinean taxa were sister to Australian antechinuses. Then, in 2002, S. Van Dyck’s rigorous morphological study of Australian and New Guinean “antechinuses” concluded that New Guinean taxa assigned to Antechinus (pre-1984) represented three related but morphologically primitive taxa that lacked clear signs of relationship to each other. They were therefore referred to five genera. Monotypic Micromurexia (habbema), Phascomurexia ( naso ), and Murexechinus ( melanurus ) are only distantly related to Australian antechinuses. New Guinea Murexia was rendered monotypic ( M. longicaudata ). Morphologically, this taxon was viewed as having no especially close relationship with the more derived rothschildi , which was then assigned to Paramurexia . Based on morphology, Australian Antechinus appeared to be monophyletic with Phascogale . Nevertheless, in the last decade, there has been additional DNA sequencing suggesting that, notwithstanding distinctive morphological divergences in the group as clarified by Van Dyck, genetic differences among New Guinean species are consistent with recognition ofa single genus, Muprexia. Various phylogenetic analyses of these sequences consistently showed strong support for monophyly of Murexia with respect to other Phascogalines, Australian genera Antechinus and Phascogale , with uncertain status ofsister relationships among the three. This is now apparently the prevailing view, so a single genus, Murexia , for the New Guinean “antechinus” fauna is adopted here. Clearly, a comprehensive revision of the entire group, incorporating genetic and morphological data and a detailed sampling of the fauna in New Guinea,is required, particularly because Australian Antechinus has recently been found to harbor numerous cryptic taxa and the latest work indicates there are also a variety of cryptic taxa residing within the five currently recognized species of Murexia . O. Thomas named M. melanurus (as Phascogale melanura melanura) in 1899 and also a subspecies (modesta, lacking bright patches behind ears of melanura) in 1912. Subsequent collections revealed animals that were drabberstill than modesta. Then in 1930, G. Dollman raised mayeri to a species based on a paler specimen from Irian Jaya. G. H. H. Tate and R. Archbold lowered it to a subspecies of melanurusin 1937, only to return to it full species in 1947 after examining additional comparative material: he synonymized Thomas’s modesta with melanurus . In the same paper, Tate proposed wilhelmina to account for “small replicas of melanurus ,” which Van Dyck in 2002 noted was in fact a junior synonym of melanurus . This convoluted taxonomyis a reflection of the fact that M. melanurus is unrivalled among the Murexia for its incredible range in color, distribution, and size. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the latest genetic results suggest there are multiple cryptic species within M. melanurus ; it is presently under revision. Monotypic.

Distribution. New Guinea, across the Central Range and the Arfak and Torricelli Mts.

Descriptive notes. Head-body 9.1-16.5 cm (males) and 9.5-10.5 cm (females), tail 10-16.5 cm (males) and 11-14.3 cm (females); weight 2669-5 g (males) and 17-44 g (females). The Black-tailed Dasyure is distinguished from all other species of New Guinean Murexia by its chestnut ear patches and black tail. Size of the Black-tailed Antechinus varies with elevation: those from below 300 m can be more than 60 g and those from elevations of ¢.2000 m seem to be much smaller. Particularly large and pale-colored Black-tailed Dasyures have been caught in the North Coastal Range of Papua New Guinea.

Habitat. Widespread and more common in regrowth than primary forest from sea level to mid-montane areas up to elevations of 2800 m. One study reported that of 24 Black-tailed Dasyures taken on Mount Erimbari, only four came from inside rainforest, 15 came from beneath dead fronds of Pandanus (Pandanaceae) , and one female came from a nest at the base of a clump of pitpit grass ( Poaceae ). Another researcher collected a subadult specimen in the Telefomin area from a nest of leaves set c.2 m off the ground.

Food and Feeding. One Black-tailed Dasyure was trapped using a moth as bait in a snap trap placed on the ground in mossy montane forest. Twenty-one Black-tailed Dasyures caught on Mount Missim produced feces that contained, by percent frequency of occurrence in feces examined, 96% beetles, 56% spiders, 56% bugs, 48% grasshoppers/ crickets, 28% unidentified insects, 16% cockroaches, 12% moths and butterflies, 12% flies, 12% earwigs, 12% worms, and 12% vertebrates (including mammal hair).

Breeding. One study of 16 (six male and ten female) wild-caught Black-tailed Dasyures suggested that they breed any time of the year; this idea is supported by the incidence of lactating females, often at different stages of lactation, in most months when adult females were captured, and the presence ofjuveniles in the population at various times of the year. The Black-tailed Dasyure was not successfully bred in captivity despite nine attempted pairings and one observed copulation lasting 1-5 hours, but wild-conceived young were kept in captivity (with only some surviving to weaning). Females have four nipples, and all observed mothers carried four young; pregnancy lasted 22 days. Males have no sternal gland and a scrotal width of 11-5-12-5 mm. Male Black-tailed Dasyures mature at ¢.8 months and females at c.12 months. Other studies report that young leave the pouch when they weigh 7-10 g and are weaned at weights of 15-20 g; young stay with their mothers for some time after this.

Activity patterns. Observations of Black-tailed Dasyures foraging at night are rare, but two individuals captured in the Yapsiei and Thurnwald Range areas of Sandaun Province were seen climbing in low trees or bushes at night. These data and choice of nest sites suggest that the Black-tailed Dasyure is largely arboreal.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. There is no information available for this species.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List. The Blacktailed Dasyure has a wide distribution and faces no major conservation threats. It is unlikely to be declining at nearly the rate required to qualify for listing in a threatened category. Black-tailed Dasyures occur in several protected areas.

Bibliography. Armstrong et al. (1998), Brass (1959), Dollman (1930), Dwyer (1977), Flannery (1995a), Grossek etal. (2010), Helgen (2007a, 2007b), Helgen & Opiang (2011), Krajewski, Torunsky et al. (2007), Krajewski, Wroe & Westerman (2000), Krajewski, Young et al. (1997), Leary, Seri, Wright, Hamilton, Helgen, Singadan, Menzies, Allison, James, Dickman, Lunde, Aplin & Woolley (2008b), Lopez (2011), Menzies (1991), Tate (1947), Tate & Archbold (1937), Thomas (1899, 1912a), Van Dyck (2002), Woolley (1984b, 1989, 2003).

Figures

On following pages: 41. Short-furred Dasyure (Murexia longicaudata); 42. Broad-striped Dasyure (Murexia rothschildi); 43. Long-nosed Dasyure (Murexia naso); 44. Red-tailed Phascogale (Phascogale calura); 45. Northern Brush-tailed Phascogale (Phascogale pirata); 46. Common Brush-tailed Phascogale (Phascogale tapoatafa); 47. Giles's Planigale (Planigale giles); 48. Long-tailed Planigale (Planigale ingrami); 49. Common Planigale (Planigale maculata); 50. Papuan Planigale (Planigale novaeguineae); 51. Narrow-nosed Planigale (Planigale tenuirostris); 52. Wongai Ningaui (Ningauiride); 53. Pilbara Ningaui (Ningaui timealeyi); 54. Southern Ningaui (Ningaui yvonneae); 55. Kultarr (Antechinomys laniger).

Distribution. New Guinea, across the Central Range and the Arfak and Torricelli Mts.