The tiger quoll (Dasyurus maculatus), also known as the spotted-tailed quoll, spotted quoll, spotted-tailed dasyure, or tiger cat, is a carnivorous marsupial of the quoll genus Dasyurus native to Australia. With males and females weighing around , respectively, it is the world's second-largest extant carnivorous marsupial, behind the Tasmanian devil. Two subspecies are recognised; the nominate is found in wet forests of southeastern Australia and Tasmania, and a northern subspecies, D. m. gracilis, is found in a small area of northern Queensland and is endangered.

The tiger quoll commonly preys on small mammals, insects, birds, domestic poultry and large marsupials such as wombats. It mostly hunts live prey but occasionally scavenges when the opportunity arises. The tiger quoll kills its prey by executing a killing bite to the base of the skull or top of the neck, depending on the size of the prey. The species is listed as near-threatened on the IUCN Red List, and is primarily threatened by habitat loss caused by human activities.

Description

thumb|Skeleton of tiger quoll

The tiger quoll is the largest of the quolls. Males and females of D. m. maculatus weigh on average , respectively, and males and females of D. m. gracilis weigh on average , respectively. The biggest male individuals may weigh , while the largest females can tip in at over . This makes up for the fact that its tail is not prehensile. The tiger quoll usually has a reddish-brown pelage (a minority have black fur) with white spots, and colourations do not change seasonally. It is the only quoll species with spots on its tail in addition to its body. Its fur and skin are covered in orange-brown-coloured oil. The underside is typically greyish or creamy white. The tiger quoll has the second-most powerful bite relative to body size of any living mammalian carnivore, exerting a force of .

Range and ecology

thumb|Tiger quoll at [[Healesville Sanctuary, Victoria|left]]

The tiger quoll is found in eastern Australia where more than of rain falls per year. Tiger quolls are rare in southeastern Queensland and mainly restricted to national parks. In Victoria, quoll populations have declined by nearly 50%. The range decline was not as severe in New South Wales, but they are still rare. In Tasmania, the tiger quoll frequents the northern and western areas where rains are seasonal. Tiger quolls were once native to Flinders Island and King Island, but are locally extinct (extirpated) since the 20th century, so are not present on Tasmanian offshore islands.

Tiger quolls live in a variety of habitats, but seem to prefer humid forests such as rainforests and closed eucalypt forest. as 11% of their travelling is done above ground. When hunting, a quoll stalks its prey, stopping only when its head is up. In one study, feral rabbits made up 76% of the diet on the mainland. The flexibility of their diets suggests their prey base is not detrimentally affected by bushfires.

Quolls, in turn, may be preyed on by Tasmanian devils and masked owls in Tasmania and dingos and dogs in mainland Australia. After copulation, females act aggressively towards males, especially when close to parturition. For the tiger quoll, olfactory and auditory signals are used more often than visual signals when communicating. Quolls greet each other with nose-to-nose sniffs, and males will sniff the backsides of females to check for estrus. Some populations have communal latrines, while others do not. Rocky creek beds, cliff bases, and roads serve as locations for latrines. Antagonistic or disturbed vocalisations are guttural huffs, coughs, hisses, and piercing screams. The mating behaviour of the tiger quoll is unique among the quoll species in that the female vocalises when in estrus and easily accepts the male's mounting. Males reach physical maturity at the age of three, and females at two. Both sexes attain sexual maturity at the about same age; one year. while the Queensland population of Dasyurus maculatus gracilis has been listed as endangered since July 2000. An estimated 14,000 mature tiger quolls are left in the world, as of 2018. An outbreak of disease in the 1900s is cited as another factor. Additionally, in south-east Queensland, the quoll's habitat has been reduced to 30% of what it was in previous decades. Exposure to introduced species, cleared forest, and farms may lead to high mortality rates. Wildlife corridors are being built to ensure the survival of the species, along with the management of introduced canids and felids.

The tribe Dasyurini, to which quolls belong, also includes the Tasmanian devil, the antechinus, the kowari, and the mulgara. Genetic analysis of cytochrome b DNA and 12S rRNA of the mitochondria indicates that quolls evolved and diversified in the late Miocene between 15 and 5 million years ago, a time of great diversification in marsupials. The ancestors of all current species had diverged by the early Pliocene, around 4 million years ago.

Two subspecies are recognised:

References

  • Dasyurus maculatus maculatus on the SPRAT database
  • Dasyurus maculatus gracilis on the SPRAT database
  • Tiger quoll info
  • Dasyurus maculatus description at the University of Michigan Animal Diversity Web
  • Spot Tailed Tiger Quoll at Otway Ranges Environment Network (OREN)
  • Another photo of a tiger quoll