Dasyurus maculatus
spotted-tailed quoll

Dasyurus maculatus is found in Australia. There are two subspecies; D. maculatus gracilis, which inhabits northern Queensland, and D. maculatus maculatus, which is found from southern Queensland to Tasmania (Strahan, 1995).

Dasyurus maculatus uses moist arboreal habitats (Nowak, 1999), especially rainforests (Jones and Barmuta, 2000). This species has also been recorded in "open forest, woodland, coastal heartland and inland riparian forest" (Strahan, 1995). Den sites include caves, crevices, and dens (Strahan, 1995). (Jones and Barmuta, 2000; Nowak, 1999; Strahan, 1995)

Dasyurus maculatus is the largest of the quolls with a body and head length of 400-750 mm and a tail length of 350-560 mm (Nowak, 1999). It has an average adult weight of two to three kg (Nowak, 1999). Males have reached up to seven kg and females have reached up to four kg (Strahan, 1995). It can be identified by its dark brown fur and various sized white spots (Parker, 1990) and unlike other quolls, it has spots on its tail (Strahan, 1995).

D. maculatus demonstrates a lengthy courtship where the female may be bitten quite severely (Parker, 1990). Copulation can last around eight hours (Strahan, 1995).

While it may be possible for Quolls to ovulate more than once a year, they produce only a single litter each year (Macdonald, 1984). This is because it takes these large dasyurids longer to raise a litter than the smaller ones (Macdonald, 1984). The female pouch enlarges between June and July. The gestation period is twenty-one days (Nowak, 1999). The litter size is typically four to six offspring (Nowak, 1999).

After a gestation period of twenty-one days, the young are born and then spend seven weeks on their mothers' teats inside her pouch (Parker, 1990; Nowak, 1999). By eighteen weeks they are independent of their mothers and at one year, they are sexually mature (Nowak, 1999). By thirteen weeks, social play is well developed (Strahan, 1995).

D. maculatus has been kept alive in captivity for three to four years (Nowak, 1999).

Although this species is mostly nocturnal, it occasionally basks in the sun or hunts during the day (Strahan, 1995).

D. maculatus is largely carnivorous, with diet consisting mostly of small and medium-sized mammals, birds, invertebrates, reptiles, and sometimes, larger mammals (Belcher, 1995). Medium sized mammals make up about two-thirds of their diet (Strahan, 1995). Younger individuals tend to eat more smaller mammals than do the adults (Belcher, 1995). Quolls are effective hunters, but they also take carrion from dingo or dog kills (Strahan, 1995). At times, they have raided poulty farms (Nowak, 1999). In Tasmania, spotted tailed quolls often loose prey to Tasmanian devils because the quolls do not consume their prey quickly enough (Jones et. al, 2000).

This species sometimes raids poultry farms (Nowak, 1999).

D. maculatus is rare in mainland Australia (Nowak, 1999); however, their population has increased in Tasmania (Strahan, 1995). They are threatened by introduced species such as foxes, cats, and domestic dogs (Strahan ,1995; Nowak, 1999). This species also competes with Tasmanian devils for food (Jones, 2000).

Dasyurus maculatus gracilis occurs in an isolated population in north Queensland and Dasyurus maculatus maculatus> occurs along the east coast, from southeastern Queensland to Tasmania. These populations are restricted and isolated. Population numbers may be too small for long-term viability of these populations. Spotted-tailed quolls are probably extinct in South Australia and uncommon to rare in other places where they occur.

D. maculatus gracilis is listed as "endangered" on the IUCN redlist; D. maculatus maculatus is "vulnerable." (Australia National Parks and Wildlife Service, 1999)