Hiding in plain sight: two new species of diminutive marsupial (Dasyuridae: Planigale) from the Pilbara, Australia
Author
Umbrello, Linette S.
0000-0003-2769-8464
School of Biology and Environmental Science, Queensland University of Technology, 2 George Street, Brisbane, QLD 4001, Australia. Linette Umbrello linette. umbrello @ qut. edu. au; https: // orcid. org / 0000 - 0003 - 2769 - 8464 & Collections and Research, Western Australian Museum, Locked Bag 49, Welshpool, WA 6986, Australia.
linette.umbrello@qut.edu.au
Author
Cooper, Norah K.
Collections and Research, Western Australian Museum, Locked Bag 49, Welshpool, WA 6986, Australia.
Author
Adams, Mark
Department of Biological Sciences, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA 5000, Australia. & Evolutionary Biology Unit, South Australian Museum, Adelaide, SA 5000, Australia.
Author
Travouillon, Kenny J.
Collections and Research, Western Australian Museum, Locked Bag 49, Welshpool, WA 6986, Australia.
Author
Baker, Andrew M.
0000-0003-2769-8464
School of Biology and Environmental Science, Queensland University of Technology, 2 George Street, Brisbane, QLD 4001, Australia. Linette Umbrello linette. umbrello @ qut. edu. au; https: // orcid. org / 0000 - 0003 - 2769 - 8464 & Biodiversity and Geosciences Program, Queensland Museum, South Brisbane, QLD 4101, Australia.
linette.umbrello@qut.edu.au
Author
Westerman, Mike
Department of Environment and Genetics, La Trobe University, Bundoora, VIC 3086, Australia.
Author
Aplin, Ken P.
Collections and Research, Western Australian Museum, Locked Bag 49, Welshpool, WA 6986, Australia. & Australian Museum Research Institute, Australian Museum, 1 William Street, Sydney, NSW 2010, Australia.
text
Zootaxa
2023
2023-08-14
5330
1
1
46
http://dx.doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5330.1.1
journal article
10.11646/zootaxa.5330.1.1
1175-5326
8248883
08AA1FEB-6C3E-4C17-AB38-038E7B87E9F4
Planigale tealei
Aplin, Cooper, Travouillon & Umbrello
sp. nov.
(
Fig. 11
,
15–17
,
Tables 2
,
4
)
urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:
ABF8285C-BD8F-4FEE-BE79-0CE5B7995486
Formerly referred to as ‘
Planigale
sp.
Mt Tom Price’ by the following authors:
Blacket
et al.
(2000)
and
Westerman
et al.
(2016)
, and as ‘
Planigale
sp. 2
’ by
Gibson & McKenzie (2009)
and
Umbrello
et al.
(2020)
.
Holotype
.
WAM
M47923
adult male;
Millstream
,
Western Australia
,
21°17’14” S
,
117°15’51” E
. Collected by
W. Manson
,
2
nd
July 1997
.
Spirit
and skull.
Specimen
located in the
Western Australian Museum Mammal
collection,
Welshpool
, Western Australia.
Paratypes
.
WAM
M47841
, adult female;
Tom Price
,
Western Australia
22°48’26” S
,
117°45’00” E
. Collected by
S. Anstee
and
N. K. Cooper
,
12
th
November 1997
.
Spirit
and skull.
Liver
tissue
ABTC161752
; pouch young from M47841 stored at ‒80 °C at
WAM
.
WAM
M47683
, adult female;
Tom Price
,
Western Australia
22°48’25” S
,
117°47’03” E
. Collected by
S. Anstee
,
15
th
May 1997
.
Spirit
and skull, note specimen selected due to intact skull, spirit specimen is in poor condition
.
WAM
M55123
, adult male;
Roy Hill
,
Western Australia
22°25’12” S
,
119°45’34” E
. Collected by
R
.
J. Teale
et al
.,
5
th
July 2004
.
Spirit
specimen with liver and heart tissue stored at ‒80 °C at
WAM
.
Etymology.
Named in honour of Roy Teale, who has supported the work of the Western Australian Museum over many decades and collected many of the specimens used in this study.
Material examined.
Refer to
Table 1
for a list of all
P. tealei
specimens examined in this study, labelled as
Planigale
sp.
Mt Tom Price in
Table 1
.
Diagnosis.
Planigale tealei
is considerably smaller in all external and cranial dimensions than each of
P. kendricki
,
P. maculata
,
P. novaeguineae
and
P. gilesi
. It further differs from each of these taxa in having a more depressed cranium and differs from
P. gilesi
in retaining upper and lower third premolars. It is slightly smaller than
P. tenuirostris
and further differs from this species in having a considerably more depressed cranium with a shorter rostrum. It is most similar in size and craniodental morphology to
P. ingrami
, but it differs from this taxon in having a longer snout and proportionally larger pes, and in lacking a distinct eye ring. The cranium differs from that of all named forms of
P. ingrami
in having a broadly rounded rather than square posterior nasal suture, a broader interorbital region, more rounded and elongate alisphenoid tympanic process that makes broad contact with the rostral tympanic process of the petrosal, a less flattened occiput and proportionally larger premolars.