biology

Slender-tailed dunnart

Slender-tailed dunnart is a biology 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 Slender-tailed dunnart rather than just read about it. In short: The slender-tailed dunnart (Sminthopsis murina), also known as the common dunnart in Australia, is a dasyurid marsupial. It has an average body length of 7 to 12 centimeters (2.8–4.7 in) with a tail length of 5.5 to 13 centimetres (2.2–5.1 in).

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

The slender-tailed dunnart (Sminthopsis murina), also known as the common dunnart in Australia, is a dasyurid marsupial. It has an average body length of 7 to 12 centimeters (2.8–4.7 in) with a tail length of 5.5 to 13 centimetres (2.2–5.1 in). It weighs 25–40.8 grams for males and 16.5–25.4 grams for females.

Distribution and habitat The slender-tailed dunnart is native to the east and south-east coast and interior of Australia, from the Cape York Peninsula to the Port Lincoln area of South Australia. There are two subspecies: S. m. murina is found throughout the distribution, and S. mu. tatei found between Townsville and Cairns in Queensland. This species is found at altitudes of between 60–360 metres (196.9–1181.1 ft) and preferes habitats with an average rainfall between 30–85 centimetres (11.8–33.5 in) per year. Habitats encountered include Mallee scrub, dry forests and woodlands and dry heath, these areas have sparse ground and shrub cover but have dense leaf and bark litter in Victoria to rainforest edges and swamps in Queensland.

Breeding and socialization

The slender-tailed dunnart's breeding season begins in New South Wales between September and March each year, with the female breeding again after weaning the first offspring (B.J. Fox 1982). The female may live to breed a second year, although the male generally dies after mating. Gestation is for 12.5 days with weaning at 60–65 days. The litter size is usually 8–10 joeys. In unfavourable conditions and to save food, torpor is sometimes a factor in the species' life habit, but it is only documented in areas of extreme environmental conditions. The species is nocturnal.

Diet An opportunistic arthropod feeder, found that a preference for beetles and moths with other prey less eaten than what was available.

References

Bibliography Groves, C. P. (2005). Wilson, D. E.; Reeder, D. M. (eds.). Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 35. ISBN 0-801-88221-4. OCLC 62265494. Menkhorst, Peter W. (1995). Mammals of Victoria. Oxford Press. pp. 66–67. ISBN 0-19-553733-5. Fox, B.J., Whitford, D. 1982. Polyoestry in a predictable coastal environment: Reproduction, Growth and Development in Sminthopsis murina (Dasyuridae, marsupialia). Fox, B.J., Archer, E. 1984. The diets of Sminthopsis murina and Antechinus stuartii (Marsupialia:Dasyuridae) in Sympatry. Australian Wildlife Resources 11:235-248.

External links Common dunnart Museum pictures and footage

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Slender-tailed dunnart

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Slender-tailed dunnart claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In biology, 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 Slender-tailed dunnart 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 Slender-tailed dunnart 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 Slender-tailed dunnart

In research: Slender-tailed dunnart appears in biology 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 Slender-tailed dunnart 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: Slender-tailed dunnart is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Dasyuromorphs, IUCN Red List least concern species, Mammals described in 1838, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Slender-tailed dunnart 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 Slender-tailed dunnart in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Slender-tailed dunnart 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 Slender-tailed dunnart out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Slender-tailed dunnart in simple terms?

Why does Slender-tailed dunnart matter?

Because it connects several biology 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 Slender-tailed dunnart?

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 Slender-tailed dunnart.