Brush-tailed Phascogale

Phascogale tapoatafa

Identification:

Body length 200 mm; tail length 190 mm; weight 180 g. Rat-sized; grey with a black 'bottle-brush' tail. Cat-like teeth; inner 'big' toe on hind foot lacks nail. Female has a poorly developed pouch.

Habitat and Range:

Mostly arboreal. Dry eucalypt forest through to rainforest. Regularly recorded just outside city limits (e.g. Anstead, Moggill, Kenmore, Samford, Keperra.) Closest recent reports from Indooroopilly and Zillmere. Rare; patchy distribution in coastal areas of all mainland states.

Notes:

Nocturnal. Eats insects and small vertebrates. Similar to Squirrel and Sugar Gliders but has a brushy tail tip and lacks the gliding membrane.

Threats:

Cats, destruction of large trees with hollows, maybe cane toads.

Traces:

Poultry, usually throttled and badly gashed about the throat. Droppings are large and pointed (35 mm long by 6 mm wide).

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