science

Planigalinae

Planigalinae is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Planigalinae rather than just read about it. In short: The former subfamily Planigalinae contained the planigales and the ningauis: very small marsupial carnivores native to Australia which are, like the quolls, antechinuses, dibblers, Tasmanian devil, and many others, part of the biological order Dasyuromorphia: the carnivorous marsupials. The subfamily is now contained in the Sminthopsinae subfamily, and the two genera are split between two different tribes; the plani…

Key takeaways

Planigalinae belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Planigalinae to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Planigalinae from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The former subfamily Planigalinae contained the planigales and the ningauis: very small marsupial carnivores native to Australia which are, like the quolls, antechinuses, dibblers, Tasmanian devil, and many others, part of the biological order Dasyuromorphia: the carnivorous marsupials. The subfamily is now contained in the Sminthopsinae subfamily, and the two genera are split between two different tribes; the planigales are by themselves in their own tribe, while the ningaui are lumped with the dunnarts and the Kultarr. There are 8 species in 2 genera. All members of the subfamily are very small, ranging from the paucident planigale at just over 10 grams to the smallest marsupial of all, the 4.3 gram long-tailed planigale. Most are about 8 grams, or about half the size of an average mouse. Of the 8 species, two are from the tropical northern part of the continent, the other five from the arid or semi-arid centre. Four of the five planigales have been known for many years—John Gould described the common planigale in 1851—but the paucident planigale and all three ningauis were unknown to science until the 1970s and 1980s. All 8 species are nocturnal carnivores which hunt a range of small creatures, typically insects, larvae, insect eggs, small lizards and the young of small mammals. Although tiny, they are very bold, at least some of the species regularly take prey larger than themselves. Even the widespread common planigale, which can be found in the outer suburbs of Brisbane is poorly known. Until the improvements in biochemical analysis methods towards the end of the 20th century, very little was known about the relationships between the smaller carnivorous marsupials: it is only in recent years that it has been possible to discover that the Planigalinae are a distinct group within the Dasyuromorphia. Family Dasyuridae

Subfamily Dasyurinae: quolls, kowari, mulgara, kaluta, dibblers, pseudantechinuses, and the Tasmanian devil Subfamily Phascogalinae: phascogales and antechinuses Subfamily Sminthopsinae: dunnarts and the kultarr Subfamily Planigalinae: Genus Planigale Giles' planigale (Planigale gilesi) Long-tailed planigale (Planigale ingrami) Common planigale (Planigale maculata) New Guinean planigale (Planigale novaeguineae) Narrow-nosed planigale (Planigale tenuirostris) Genus Ningaui Wongai ningaui (Ninguai ridei) Pilbara ningaui (Ninguai timealeyi) Southern ningaui (Ninguai yvonneae)

References

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Planigalinae

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Planigalinae claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Planigalinae before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Planigalinae ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Planigalinae

In research: Planigalinae appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Planigalinae in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Planigalinae is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Dasyuromorphs, Marsupials of Australia, Obsolete mammal taxa, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Planigalinae outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Planigalinae in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Planigalinae means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Planigalinae out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Planigalinae in simple terms?

Why does Planigalinae matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Planigalinae?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Planigalinae.