Antechinus flavipes subsp. leucogaster

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 : 40

(10) A. flavipes leucogaster versus A. stuartii

Pelage: A. flavipes leucogaster has a grey head that merges to orange-fawn brown tonings on the rump, flanks and tail base, whereas A. stuartii is more uniformly brownish-grey from head to rump. A. flavipes leucogaster has a darkened tail tip, whereas A. stuartii typically has no evidence of a noticeably darkened tail tip. A. flavipes leucogaster has yellow-orange fur on the upper surface of hind feet, whereas A. stuartii has light brownish fur on the upper surface of the hind feet.

External measurements: There are no absolute (i.e., with no overlap in ranges) or significant differences for external body measures between A. flavipes leucogaster and A. stuartii in either males or females (Table 4).

Skull: A. f. leucogaster differs from A. stuartii in absolute measurement (i.e., with no overlap in ranges) for the following skull / dentary characters: larger R-LM 1 in males and females and larger R-LM 2 in females. A. f. leucogaster has numerous other dentary features that significantly (p<0.01) differ from A. stuartii —8 variables for males and 9 for females, as shown in Table 4.

Other Comments: A. f. leucogaster females have 8–10 pouch nipples, whereas A. stuartii females have 6–10 pouch nipples. A. f. leucogaster is found only in south-western Western Australia, whereas A. stuartii is found in eastern Australia from a southerly latitude of about Sydney, New South Wales north to around Cunningham’s Gap in south-east Queensland. Genetics: uncorrected pairwise range differences at the mitochondrial gene Cytochrome B (CytB) between A. f. leucogaster and A. stuartii are 13.5–14.0%.