Planigale maculata (Gould 1851)

[Antechinus] maculatus Gould 1851, Mamm. Aust., Vol. 1: pl. 44.

Type Locality: Australia, New South Wales, Clarence River.

Vernacular Names: Pygmy Planigale.

Subspecies::

Subspecies Planigale maculata subsp. maculata Gould 1851

Subspecies Planigale maculata subsp. sinualis Thomas 1926

Distribution: E Queensland, NE New South Wales, and N Northern Territory (Australia).

Conservation: IUCN – Lower Risk (lc).

Discussion: Transferred to Planigale from Antechinus by Archer (1976:346). According to Painter et al. (1995), it is the most distinctive species in the genus, and may be closer to Sminthopsis . The subspecies P. m. sinualis (Arnhem Land and Groote Eylandt) is widely divergent in mitochondrial cytochrome b sequences, as well as morphologically, and may be specifically distinct (Painter et al., 1995). A related but distinct species, referred to simply as Planigale 1 by Painter et al. (1995), is known from the Pilbara, Western Australia.