Common Planigale

Open encyclopedia reference

The common planigale (Planigale maculata), also known as the pygmy planigale or coastal planigale, is one of the small carnivorous marsupials known as "marsupial mice" found in Australia. There they fill a similar niche to the insectivores of other parts of the world.

The common planigale was first described by John Gould in 1851, using a specimen forwarded to England by the collector Frederick Strange. It was originally described as Antechinus maculatus, and it was retained in the genus Antechinus until Mike Archer transferred it to Planigale in his 1976 revision of the latter genus. The species' scientific name means "spotted flat-weasel".

Two subspecies are recognised:

P. m. maculata, found on mainland Australia;

P. m. sinualis, found on Groote Eylandt.

Wikipedia contributors, Common planigale; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T05:15:17.059476+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.

Identity & source status

Scientific name

Planigale maculata (Gould, 1851)

Name authority

(Gould, 1851)

Common name

Common Planigale

Rank

species

Accepted status

accepted

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Mammalia

Order

Dasyuromorphia

Family

Dasyuridae

Genus

Planigale

Extinction status

Recorded extant

Classification family tree

Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.

1. domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
2. kingdomAnimalia
3. phylumChordata
4. subphylumVertebrata
5. infraphylumGnathostomata
6. parvphylumOsteichthyes
7. megaclassTetrapoda
8. classMammalia Linnaeus, 1758
9. subclassTheria Parker & Haswell, 1897
10. infraclassMetatheria Huxley, 1880
11. orderDasyuromorphia Gill, 1872
12. familyDasyuridae Goldfuss, 1820
13. subfamilySminthopsinae Archer, 1982
14. genusPlanigale Troughton, 1928
15. speciesPlanigale maculata (Gould, 1851)

Close classified relatives

These entries share the source’s genus, Planigale. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.

Browse 67 records assigned to Dasyuridae.

Names & synonyms

Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.

Documented distribution

Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.

Source literature & publication evidence

References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.

1. https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=552627 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references

Origins, evidence & remaining research

Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.

Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.

Dataset citation & attribution

This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11

Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.

Stable key: col:4JJYZ. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.