Definitions
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun A genus of small insectivorous and carnivorous marsupial mammals of the family Dasyuridæ, inhabiting the whole of the Australian region.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun Any of several
Australian dasyurid marsupials , of the genusPhascogale , the males of which die shortly after mating
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun pouched mice
Etymologies
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
Coined in 1824 by Coenraad Temminck, from Ancient Greek φασκωλός ("pouch") + γαλῆ ("weasel").
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Examples
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Also, looking closely at the origins of the druids name (Myszowór in the original)one can find an interesting little animal (the phascogale tapoatafa).
The Last Wish by Andrzej Sapkowski Adam Whitehead 2007
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Other species with notable disjunct distributions on the Pellew Islands include the canefield rat (Rattus sordidus) (the only known occurrence in the Northern Territory), the vulnerable Carpentarian pseudantechinus (Pseudantechinus mimulus), brush-tailed phascogale (Phascogale tapoatafa) and northern quoll (Dasyurus hallucatus).
bilby commented on the word phascogale
Not strictly true. Arboreal, long-tailed, marsupial mice would be better. Of the 2 species, the brush-tailed has a pouch while the red-tailed doesn't and its young are reared in a nest.
Also: "Sexual maturity is reached at about twelve months. Mating takes place in May and June and shortly after mating all males die. The reason for death is thought to be that the males put so much into breeding that their immune systems fail and they succumb to stress-related illnesses and die."
November 22, 2007