Myoictis wallacei Gray, 1858

Woolley, P. A., 2005, Revision of the Three-striped Dasyures, Genus Myoictis (Marsupialia: Dasyuridae), of New Guinea, With Description of a New Species, Records of the Australian Museum 57 (3), pp. 321-340 : 334

Myoictis wallacei Gray, 1858

Material examined. Holotype BM 58.2 .20.1. Skin and skull of juvenile male. Back of skull damaged, M 2 and M 3 erupted. Collected in 1857 by A. R. Wallace on the Aru Islands, 06°00'S 134°30'E.

Lectotype designation. Synonym: Phascogale pilicauda Peters & Doria, 1881 . SYNTYPES: MCG 3922 (skin and skull of adult female) and ZM 5680 (skin with tip of tail missing and skull of adult female). Both collected by L.M. D’Albertis near the Fly River , 08°25'S 143°10'E. I herein designate the better preserved specimen MCG 3992 as the LECTOTYPE, and ZM 5680 as the PARALECTOTYPE, of Phascogale pilicauda Peters & Doria.

Distribution.Aru Islands and southern mainland New Guinea from Merauke in the west to Avera (Avela), Aroa River in the east. Altitude records range from <30 to 923 m.

Diagnosis. Myoictis wallacei differs from other species of Myoictis in having a bushy, reddish-haired tail.

Description. The general coat colour is a rusty brown, somewhat lighter on the head and tail. The median dorsal stripe is faint on the head. Body dimensions can be found in Table 2. The first interdigital and thenar footpads are generally not fused. The posterior palatal foramina are large, and P 3 is double rooted. Females have six nipples.