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Definition 2024


Antechinus

antechinus

antechinus

See also: Antechinus

English

Noun

antechinus (plural antechinuses or antechinus)

  1. Any species of the genus Antechinus of small carnivorous marsupials that resemble shrews.
    • 1970, W. D. L. Ride, Ella Fry, A Guide to the Native Mammals of Australia, page 116,
      Smaller than the wambengers, the antechinuses are secretive and are seldom seen by people unless they are caught and brought into houses by domestic cats.
    • 1998, Deirdre Slattery, The Australian Alps: Kosciuszko, Alpine and Namadgi National Parks, page 67,
      I thought it was my fault until I consulted the experts, and found that antechinus die naturally at this time of the year. [] Antechinus eat beetles, spiders and cockroaches, which they find in decaying litter and topsoil in their habitat of dense ground cover.
    • 2007, Stephen Jackson, Australian Mammals: Biology and Captive Management, unnumbered page,
      If held as a colony outside the breeding season, antechinus show relatively little aggression while still forming a linear hierarchy.

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