Tiger Quoll
The tiger quoll or spotted-tailed quoll (Dasyurus maculatus) is the largest carnivorous marsupial on mainland Australia, a spotted predator of eastern forests. It is listed as Near Threatened.
The tiger quoll or spotted-tailed quoll (Dasyurus maculatus) is the largest carnivorous marsupial on mainland Australia, a spotted predator of eastern forests. It is listed as Near Threatened.
🧬 Field Guide Specimen: Open Tiger Quoll in the CRV Science Field Guide to log the specimen, see its place among the Mammals lineages in the Cladogram Explorer, and test your recall in the Red List conservation game.
Spots on the Tail: How to Tell Quolls Apart
Only this species has spots on the tail as well as the body. Males are much larger than females, and animals hunt possums, gliders, birds and small wallabies, climbing trees well.
Why Is It Declining?
Forestry and land clearing fragment habitat, and quolls are poisoned by baits laid for foxes and wild dogs, hit by cars and killed by predators. The southeastern population is listed as Endangered under Australian law.
Family Ties
Quolls belong to Dasyuridae with the Tasmanian devil. Mothers carry young in a pouch that is little more than folds of skin, then leave them in a den.
Tiger Quoll at a Glance
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Scientific name | Dasyurus maculatus |
| Kingdom | Animalia |
| Phylum | Chordata |
| Class | Mammalia |
| Order | Dasyuromorphia |
| Family | Dasyuridae |
| Field Guide group | Mammals: Marsupialia (Metatherians) |
| Diagnostic feature (Field Guide) | White-spotted rufous coat extending onto tail, polyprotodont dentition, strong arboreal climbing pads. |
| IUCN Red List status | Near Threatened (NT), assessed 2018 |
| Family | Dasyuridae |