NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
White-footed Dunnart
Sminthopsis leucopus (Gray, 1842)
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
The white-footed dunnart (Sminthopsis leucopus) is a marsupial that occurs on Tasmania and mainland Australia. It occurs along the coast and in inner Gippsland and Alpine areas up to 400 metres near Narbethong. In southern New South Wales, the white-footed dunnart is known to occur at elevations at least as high as 1000 metres. The length from snout to tail tip is 14–20 cm (5.5–7.9 in) of which head and body are 7–11 cm (2.8–4.3 in) and the tail 7–9 cm (2.8–3.5 in) long. They weigh 19–27 g (0.67–0.95 oz).
Wikipedia contributors, White-footed dunnart; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T07:42:42.228435+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Sminthopsis leucopus (Gray, 1842)
- Name authority
- (Gray, 1842)
- Common name
- White-footed Dunnart
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Mammalia
- Order
- Dasyuromorphia
- Family
- Dasyuridae
- Genus
- Sminthopsis
- 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.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classMammalia Linnaeus, 1758
- subclassTheria Parker & Haswell, 1897
- infraclassMetatheria Huxley, 1880
- orderDasyuromorphia Gill, 1872
- familyDasyuridae Goldfuss, 1820
- subfamilySminthopsinae Archer, 1982
- genusSminthopsis Thomas, 1887
- speciesSminthopsis leucopus (Gray, 1842)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Sminthopsis. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Fat-tailed DunnartSminthopsis crassicaudata (Gould, 1844) | DasyuridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Little Long-tailed DunnartSminthopsis dolichura Kitchener, Stoddart & Henry, 1984 | DasyuridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Julia Creek DunnartSminthopsis douglasi Archer, 1979 | DasyuridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| White-tailed DunnartSminthopsis granulipes Troughton, 1932 | DasyuridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Gray-bellied DunnartSminthopsis griseoventer Kitchener, Stoddart & Henry, 1984 | DasyuridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Greater Hairy-footed DunnartSminthopsis hirtipes Thomas, 1898 | DasyuridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Common DunnartSminthopsis murina (Waterhouse, 1838) | DasyuridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Ooldea DunnartSminthopsis ooldea Troughton, 1965 | DasyuridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Kangaroo Island DunnartSminthopsis aitkeni Kitchener, Stoddart & Henry, 1984 | DasyuridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Chestnut DunnartSminthopsis archeri Van Dyck, 1986 | DasyuridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Kakadu DunnartSminthopsis bindi Van Dyck, Woinarski & Press, 1994 | DasyuridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Butler's DunnartSminthopsis butleri Archer, 1979 | DasyuridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Phascogale leucopus Gray, 1842 Gray, 1842 | synonym |
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.
- https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=552646 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:4XWZF. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.