Cracking-clay Pilbara planigale | |
---|---|
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Mammalia |
Infraclass: | Marsupialia |
Order: | Dasyuromorphia |
Family: | Dasyuridae |
Genus: | Planigale |
Species: | P. tealei
|
Binomial name | |
Planigale tealei Aplin, Cooper, Travouillon & Umbrello, 2023
|
The cracking-clay Pilbara planigale (Planigale tealei), formerly known as Planigale sp. Mt Tom Price,[1][2] is a species of planigale first described in 2023.[3] It is one of the smallest planigales, making it one of the smallest of all marsupials and mammals. The cracking-clay Pilbara planigale lives in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, where it co-occurs with the similar and also newly recognised orange-headed Pilbara planigale (P. kendricki). Both species had historically been mistaken for either the common planigale (P. maculata), or long-tailed planigale (P. ingrami); neither of which are now known to occur in the Pilbara.