Antechinus flavipes subsp. rubeculus (Van Dyck, 1982)

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 : 49-50

(6) A. flavipes rubeculus versus A. godmani

Pelage: A. flavipes rubeculus has a greyish head that merges to orange-red tonings on the rump and flanks, whereas A. godmani is more uniformly brown on the head and back with orange toned cheeks.

External measurements: A. f. rubeculus is smaller than A. godmani in absolute measurement (i.e., with no overlap in ranges) for no external body measurements as far as we know. A. f. rubeculus is significantly smaller than A. godmani for head-body length, tail-vent length and hind foot length in males only (Table 6).

Skull: A. f. rubeculus differs from A. godmani in absolute measurement (i.e., with no overlap in ranges) for the following skull / dentary characters: in males: smaller IBW, IOW, PL, TC, I 1 -P 3, I 1 -P 3, UPL and larger NW, and in females: smaller IOW, PPV, PL, TC, I 1 -P 3, I 1 -P 3, UPL and larger R-LC 1, SWR-LC 1 B, BuL. A. f. rubeculus has several other dentary features that significantly (p<0.01) differ from A. godmani —6 variables for males and 6 for females, as shown in Table 6.

Other Comments: Genetics: uncorrected pairwise range differences at the mitochondrial gene Cytochrome B (CytB) between A. f. rubeculus and A. godmani are 14.0–14.7%.