Albinism in Dasyurus species – a collation of historical and modern records
Judy Dunlop A D , David Peacock B , Harry Moore C and Mitchell Cowan C
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations
A Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions, Locked Bag 104, Bentley Delivery Centre, Perth, WA, Australia.
B School of Animal and Veterinary Sciences, Faculty of Sciences, University of Adelaide, SA 5005, Australia.
C Institute for Land, Water and Society, School of Environmental Science, Charles Sturt University, Albury, NSW 2640, Australia.
D Corresponding author. Email: judy.dunlop@dbca.wa.gov.au
Australian Mammalogy 42(1) 114-118 https://doi.org/10.1071/AM19014
Submitted: 26 February 2019 Accepted: 3 May 2019 Published: 10 July 2019
Abstract
A new record of an albino marsupial, the northern quoll (Dasyurus hallucatus), is described and placed in the context of 10 records since 1874 from all four Australian quoll species. Of the 10 previous records, one was D. hallucatus, seven are likely to be D. viverrinus, one D. maculatus and one unknown. The recent record comprises the live capture of a healthy adult female northern quoll from the Pilbara region of Western Australia. Despite the rarity and likely deleterious nature of the albino condition, this animal appeared to be in good health, carrying eight pouch young, and was released at location of capture following tissue sampling for DNA analysis.
Additional keywords: albino, Dasyurus hallucatus, marsupial, Pilbara.
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