#antechinus

[mammalianmammals]

Yellow-footed Antechinus aka Mardo (Antechinus flavipes), family Dasyuridae, order Daasyuromorphia, VIC, Australia

The males die after their first mating season.

Though they are marsupials, the females do not have pouches.

photographs by Brian Houlihan

[all-mammal-creechur]

Woolley's False Antechinus Pseudantechinus woolleyae

A small carnivorous marsupial found in the Australian state of Western Australia. They inhabit rocky hillsides, usually vegetated with acacia scrub or spinifex grass.

img source

[ieafy]

Oh my gosh, loooook... antechinus! (A tiny rodent-like marsupial!) SO CUTE. I have never ever (not even in photos!) seen one with facial markings/colour morphing like this! That distinct V shape/inverted heart shape pattern on its face!

Did you know that male antechinus, as well as the males of most other species belonging to the family dasyuridae (insectivorous and carnivorous marsupials, they got teeeeth!!!) die after mating? They go into an intense mating frenzy lasting about two weeks, eating and drinking nothing, then die of exhaustion. (Technically the elevated testosterone will kill them in captivity, even if they're not exhausted)

[vintagewildlife]

Dusky antechinus preying on a lizard By: Ardea From: Encyclopedia of the Animal World: The Hunters 1988

[soapflavouredsoup]

Soap i need to show you this creature. asiatic brush tailed porcupine. very good. do with it what you wish

our favourite niche guys ^^

[miaowsers]

[sitting-on-me-bum]

Antechinus: The tiny marsupials where males have sex until they die — then females eat their corpses

All species in the antechinus genus have the same frenzied mating system, where males' testes disintegrate before a mammoth sex session that ends in them dying from organ failure.

quentinjlang/Getty Images

[corin-tuckers-left-one]