The black-tailed antechinus is a small carnivorous marsupial with a robust body and small ears. The head, neck and shoulders are greyish-brown, merging markedly to an orange-brown rump. The upper and lower eyelid, cheek and the front of the ears are orangebrown. The fore- and hind-feet are black. The body is covered in long guard hairs, giving the species a shaggy appearance. The tail is evenly black and thick based with short, dense fur. The species is large for the genus and sexually dimorphic, with males heavier than females. Males weigh 60-120 g, while females weigh 44-59 g.
Black-tailed Antechinus |
Antechinus arktos
Status: Endangered on the EPBC Act list
Government evidence of impact of climate change:
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Australian Government, Conservation Advice, Antechinus arktos
Baker et al. (2014) state that the events species range contraction may be a result of climate change.
The black tailed antechinus is additionally vulnerable to climate change as the synchrony between the breeding season (including female lactation) and peak insect availability may be altered (Hagger et al. 2013 Gray et al. 2016).
Climate change is suspected to be the driver behind the range contraction.
The black tailed antechinus occurs in an ecologically distinct area in which all subpopulations are threatened by climate change.
The altitudinal contraction is thought to be a result of climate change (A Baker pers. comm. 2017d).
In addition; the intensity; frequency and duration of extreme weather events are projected to increase with high confidence (CSIRO BoM 2017).