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 kendricki
Aplin, Cooper, Travouillon & Umbrello
sp. nov.
(
Fig. 10–13
,
Tables 2
,
4
)
urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:
DCFFF2D7-37E8-4DB1-BE82-E4DC10ADCF2D
Formerly referred to as ‘
Planigale
1’ by the following authors:
Blacket
et al.
(2000)
and
Westerman
et al.
(2016)
, and
Planigale
sp. 1
by
Gibson & McKenzie (2009)
and
Umbrello
et al.
(2020)
.
FIGURE 10.
Photo of
Planigale kendricki
sp. nov.
courtesy of R. Teale. Note the rufous, orange-tan colouration of the fur and the orange eye ring.
Holotype
.
WAM
M41812
: subadult male with incompletely erupted P
3
;
Barlee Range Nature Reserve
,
Western Australia
,
23°23’21” S
,
115°53’12” E
. Collected by
P. Kendrick
,
13
th
June 1994
. Spirit and skull. Liver tissue,
ABTC61747
.
Specimen
located in the
Western Australian Museum Mammal
collection,
Welshpool
, Western Australia.
Paratypes
.
WAM
M15160
: adult male,
Mt Bruce
,
Western Australia
,
22°38’15” S
,
118°08’00” E
(note: this location is now the
Marandoo
mine site). Collected by
J. Burt
,
2
nd
February 1976
.
Spirit
and skull
.
WAM
M25773
,
adult female,
Karlamilyi National Park
,
Western Australia
,
22°18’51” S
,
122°03’19” E
. Collected by
R
.
Hart
,
18 April 1986
.
Spirit
and skull
.
WAM
M51581
: adult female,
Mandora
,
Western Australia
,
19°47’52” S
,
121°26’52” E
. Collected by
P. Kendrick
,
18
th
October 1999
.
Spirit
and skull.
Liver
tissue,
ABTC97502
;
ABTC161754
.
Etymology.
Named in honour of Dr Peter Kendrick, in recognition of his major contribution to the understanding of the vertebrate fauna of north-western
Australia
.
Material examined.
See
Table 1
for a list of all
Planigale kendricki
specimens examined in this study, referred to as
Planigale
1 in
the table.
Diagnosis.
Planigale kendricki
(
Fig. 10
) is more rufous than all other members of the genus except perhaps some individuals of
P. ingrami
. It is substantially larger than each of
P. ingrami
,
P. tenuirostris
and
P.
sp. Mt Tom Price, and smaller than
P. novaeguineae
and
P. gilesi
. It is most similar in body size to some populations of
P. maculata
but differs from all populations of this taxon in its brighter dorsal and facial patterning. Craniodentally, it differs from all other
Planigale
species
except
P. tenuirostris
in having more elongate nasals that invade deeply between the frontals. It further differs from typical
P. maculata
, and
P. novaeguineae
in having a more depressed cranium, a longer and narrower snout, and larger entoconids on M
1–3
. It further differs from
P. gilesi
in having three upper premolars (reduced to two in
P. gilesi
). It also differs from
P. tenuirostris
in having less reduced M
1–4
protocones and less reduced entoconids on M
1–3
(usually absent on M
1–2
in
P. tenuirostris
).