antechinus

antechinus

See also: Antechinus

English

A brown antechinus (Antechinus stuartii)

Etymology

From the genus name.

Noun

antechinus (plural antechinuses)

1. Any species of the genus Antechinus of small carnivorous marsupials that resemble shrews.
   • 1970, W. D. L. Ride, Ella Fry, A Guide to the Native Mammals of Australia, page 116,

     Smaller than the wambengers, the antechinuses are secretive and are seldom seen by people unless they are caught and brought into houses by domestic cats.

   • 1998, Deirdre Slattery, chapter I, in The Australian Alps: Kosciuszko, Alpine and Namadgi National Parks‎, page 67:

     I thought it was my fault until I consulted the experts, and found that antechinus die naturally at this time of the year. […] Antechinus eat beetles, spiders and cockroaches, which they find in decaying litter and topsoil in their habitat of dense ground cover.

   • 2007, Stephen Jackson, Australian Mammals: Biology and Captive Management, unnumbered page,

     If held as a colony outside the breeding season, antechinus show relatively little aggression while still forming a linear hierarchy.

Derived terms

• agile antechinus (Antechinus agilis)
• Atherton antechinus (Antechinus godmani)
• brown antechinus (Antechinus stuartii)
• buff-footed antechinus (Antechinus mysticus)
• cinnamon antechinus (Antechinus leo)
• dusky antechinus (Antechinus swainsonii)
• fawn antechinus (Antechinus bellus)
• subtropical antechinus (Antechinus subtropicus)
• Swainson's artechinus (Antechinus swainsonii)
• swamp antechinus (Antechinus minimus)
• tropical antechinus (Antechinus adustus)
• yellow-footed antechinus (Antechinus flavipes)

Translations

marsupial

Navajo: naʼatsʼǫǫsí bizaʼazis hólóní