NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Red-cheeked Dunnart
Sminthopsis virginiae (de Tarragon, 1847)
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 red-cheeked dunnart (Sminthopsis virginiae) is an Australasian marsupial so called because of the distinctive red hair on its cheek. Its total length is 167–270 mm (6.6–10.6 in); its average body length is 80–135 mm (3.1–5.3 in) with a tail of 87–135 mm (3.4–5.3 in). Ear length is 12–13 mm (0.47–0.51 in). Its weight varies between 18 and 75 g (0.63 and 2.65 oz). Its tail is thin and pale pink.
Wikipedia contributors, Red-cheeked dunnart; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T07:36:14.663516+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Sminthopsis virginiae (de Tarragon, 1847)
- Name authority
- (de Tarragon, 1847)
- Common name
- Red-cheeked 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 virginiae (de Tarragon, 1847)
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 |
| White-footed DunnartSminthopsis leucopus (Gray, 1842) | 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 |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Phascogale virginiae de Tarragon, 1847 de Tarragon, 1847 | 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=552652 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:4XWZM. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.