Brush-tailed Phascogale - Taxonomy

Taxonomy

The brush-tailed phascogale was first described by F. Meyer in 1793; George Shaw published a revised description in 1800. For some time it was considered a member of the opossum genus Didelphis, but this ended in 1844 when Coenraad Jacob Temminck erected the genus Phascogale. The species is closely related to the red-tailed phascogale (P. calura). Its scientific name, tapoatafa, is a reference to an indigenous Australian name for the species. It has sometimes been known as Phascogale penicillata, referring to its brushed tail. There are two subspecies:

• P. t. tapoatafa, found in southern Australia;
• P. t. pirata, found in northern Australia.