The Order Dasyuromorphia comprises three Families of carnivorous marsupials.
The Family Dasyuridae is the most diverse, with 57 species that vary in size, from the long-tailed planigale (Planigale ingrami) weighing as little as 4 g to the Tasmanian devil (Sarcophilus harrisii) weighing up to 10 kg (Jackson 2003).
The Family Myrmecobii- dae comprises a single species, the numbat (Myrmecobius fasciatus). The Family Thylacinidae comprises the extinct Tasmanian tiger (Thylacinus cynocephalus). Of the 58 extant species in this Order, 21 are listed as threatened under the Environmental Protection of Biodiversity Act 1999 (DoEE 1999). A range of threatening processes, including climate change, habitat loss, invasive species, exposure to novel toxins and disease, are affecting the survival of these species (DoEE 1999; Shine 2010; Kamper et al. 2013; Fancourt et al. 2014, 2015).Many dasyurids are considered primarily nocturnal, but there is growing evidence to indicate that some species also forage during daylight hours. Behavioural investigations into activity of kaluta (Dasykaluta rosamondae) showed increased diurnal activity during winter months, which may relate to energy conservation or avoidance of predators and interspecific competitors (Pavey et al. 2016).
Investigations into the genetic diversity of Tasmanian devils and red-tailed phascogales (Phascogale calura) have shown limited variation, particularly in genes related to immune function (Cheng et al. 2012; Cui et al. 2015; Morris et al. 2015; Ujvari and Belov 2015; Hermsen et al. 2017). These findings suggest some species may have reduced population immunity and could be more vulnerable to the effects of infectious disease; however, variation in chemokine and antibody segment genes in Tasmanian devils indicates some capacity for adaptive immunity of populations (Morris et al. 2015; Ujvari and Belov 2015) (see Chapter 7).
This chapter, complemented by several other chapters and appendices within this volume, presents advances in dasyurid and numbat medicine since the publication of the first edition of Medicine of Australian Mammals. The veterinary care and pathology of dasyu- rids and numbats are covered comprehensively in Holz (2008), Vitali and Monaghan (2008), Ladds (2009) and Vogelnest and Allan (2015); this chapter should be read alongside these texts. Devil facial tumour disease (DFTD) is covered in Chapter 40.
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