Dusky Antechinus
Antechinus swainsonii (Waterhouse, 1840)
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.

Antechinus mimetes, maennlich, Bild aus Cape Conran Coastal Park, Victoria
Katrin Solmdorff · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Image sourceProvider-generated thumbnail requested at 800 pixels; no local editing Local WebP display rendition; resized without cropping.
Open encyclopedia reference
The dusky antechinus (Antechinus swainsonii), also known as Swainson's antechinus or the dusky marsupial mouse, is a species of small marsupial carnivore, a member of the family Dasyuridae. It is found in Australia.
Wikipedia contributors, Dusky antechinus; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T05:15:49.004008+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Antechinus swainsonii (Waterhouse, 1840)
- Name authority
- (Waterhouse, 1840)
- Common name
- Dusky Antechinus
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Mammalia
- Order
- Dasyuromorphia
- Family
- Dasyuridae
- Genus
- Antechinus
- 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
- subfamilyDasyurinae Goldfuss, 1820
- tribePhascogalini Gill, 1872
- genusAntechinus Macleay, 1841
- speciesAntechinus swainsonii (Waterhouse, 1840)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Antechinus. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Brown AntechinusAntechinus stuartii Macleay, 1841 | DasyuridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Fawn AntechinusAntechinus bellus (Thomas, 1904) | DasyuridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Subtropical AntechinusAntechinus subtropicus Van Dyck & Crowther, 2000 | DasyuridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Yellow-footed AntechinusAntechinus flavipes (Waterhouse, 1838) | DasyuridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Silver-headed AntechinusAntechinus argentus Baker, Mutton & Hines, 2013 | DasyuridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Buff-footed AntechinusAntechinus mysticus Baker, Mutton & Van Dyck, 2012 | DasyuridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Rusty AntechinusAntechinus adustus (Thomas, 1923) | DasyuridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Black-tailed AntechinusAntechinus arktos Baker, Mutton, Hines & Van Dyck, 2014 | DasyuridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Tasman Peninsula Dusky AntechinusAntechinus vandycki Baker et al., 2015 | DasyuridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Mainland Dusky AntechinusAntechinus mimetes (Thomas, 1924) | DasyuridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Agile AntechinusAntechinus agilis Dickman, Parnaby, Crowther & King, 1998 | DasyuridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Swamp AntechinusAntechinus minimus (É. Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1803) | 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 swainsonii Waterhouse, 1840 Waterhouse, 1840 | 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=552601 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.
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:66Y4K. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.