Brown Antechinus - Australian Museum

ANIMAL SPECIES:Brown Antechinus

The Brown Antechinus is a small native carnivorous marsupial sometimes confused with the introduced House Mouse.

Alternative Name/s

Marsupial Mouse

Identification

The Brown Antechinus can be distinguished by the following characteristics:

Front teeth Four pairs of small sharp incisors.
Head Long pointed head with bulging eyes.
Ears Large thin crinkly ears, with a notch in the margin.
Colouring Greyish brown above, paler below.
Tail Sparsely haired tail, same length as body or shorter, at 65 mm - 110 mm long.
Body weight 17-71 g.

Size range

Body: 70 mm - 140 mm

Similar Species

Sometimes mistaken for House Mouse.

Distribution

There are two subspecies of Brown Antechinus: the northern and the southern. The northern subspecies is found in northern coastal Queensland, while the southern subspecies is found from southern Queensland through to southern New South Wales.

Habitat

The Brown Antechinus prefers forest habitats, sheltering in spherical nests in hollow log or crevice. They are sometimes found in furniture in bush areas or farms but are not found often in urban areas.

Classification

Species:: stuartii
Genus:: Antechinus
Family:: Dasyuridae
Order:: Dasyuromorphia
Subclass:: Marsupialia
Class:: Mammalia
Subphylum:: Vertebrata
Phylum:: Chordata
Kingdom:: Animalia

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Ondine Evans , Web Researcher/Editor
Last Updated: 6 December 2011

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11 comments

ChlBby
7.01 PM, 30 January 2012

I have a family of antechinuses living with me on the northern bank of the Hawkesbury River near Wisemans Ferry (Dharug National Park) and I'm wondering if there is some natural or harmless repellant I can employ for cupboards and nooks where I routinely find their scat? My latest experiment is naphthalene flakes but I don't much like the smell either! Pepper? Cayenne? Any ideas gratefully appreciated!

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lizzie
11.12 AM, 21 December 2011

Hi Chris, I caught the little creature today. It is an antichinus. WIRES are coming to collect it as I have 2 cats and I want it to survive.

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Chris Hosking
12.12 PM, 06 December 2011

Hi Lizzie,

Based on your description the animal sounds more likely to be a Common Ring-tail Possum, Pseudocheirus peregrinus . The best way to confirm what species the animal is would be to send an image to Search & Discover; sand@austmus.gov.au if you see it again.

Thanks,

Chris

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lizzie
3.11 PM, 27 November 2011

I have seen a small creature in our backyard in West Ryde, Sydney. Our neighbours have seen a similar creature that has a nest, made of leaves, in a large tree near their sun-room window. Could it be a Brown Antechinus? It looks like the pictures I've seen.

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Chris Hosking
12.06 PM, 05 June 2011

Hi Jan,

The holes sound more like the work of Bandicoots and even Kangaroos.

Thanks,

Chris

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Chris Hosking
12.06 PM, 05 June 2011

Antechinus do hop a little more than mice and rats, however the legs do not look like a Kangaroo's. The best way to confirm what species the animal is would be to send an image to Search & Discover; sand@austmus.gov.au if you see it again.

Thanks,

Chris

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Sally-Anne
5.06 PM, 01 June 2011

I once saw a mouse with Kangaroo back legs- and it hopped- it was caught in a sandpit, so i picked it up- its face was more pointed than a mouse's and it was greyish and i think lighter underneath- it could run along, but when it went fast it looked like a cross between a mouse and a Kangaroo. This was on the Coorong, in SA. I just saw one today in my backyard, but it looked a little darker than i remember. It looked small for a mouse, maybe it is young- the other one was like a little mouse too- is this the Brown Antechinus?

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janlutze
11.05 PM, 17 May 2011

Does the antechimus dig small holes in lawns? I have several little digs and the antechimus have been seen in my area on the South Coast - Batemans Bay region.

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Chris Hosking
9.01 AM, 23 January 2011

Thank you for your enquiry. The faeces or 'scat' of small carnivorous marsupials such as the Brown Antechinus do look different to those of a House Mouse under magnification. Visible on the surface of the Antechinus scat should be a variety of fragmented insect parts. The scat of rodents such as mice (which feed mainly on dry and fresh vegetable matter) is less defined and more uniform in colour. Like most native mammals Antechinus are often fearful of humans, however there are exceptions to this and I have heard of occasions where people and Antechinus live very close (and very happily) together.