Definition

Noun: * Family Dasyurinae: A subfamily of carnivorous marsupials, primarily native to Australia and New Guinea. This group includes small to medium-sized mammals such as native cats, pouched mice, banded anteaters, and the Tasmanian devil. Members of this family are characterized by their pointed snouts, sharp teeth adapted for a meat-based diet, and, with the exception of the numbat, a lack of a true pouch.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • The Tasmanian devil is the largest living member of the family Dasyurinae.
  • Biologists study the family Dasyurinae to understand the evolution of carnivorous marsupials.
  • Several species within the family Dasyurinae are threatened by habitat loss.

Advanced Usage

• Taxonomic Context: In scientific classification, is a subfamily rank within the family Dasyuridae. It is used precisely to distinguish this group from other marsupial subfamilies like the Planigalinae (planigales) or the Sminthopsinae (dunnarts).
  • The research paper focused on the phylogenetic relationships within the subfamily Dasyurinae.

Variants and Related Words

• Dasyurid (noun/adjective): A common term for any member of the broader family Dasyuridae, which includes the subfamily Dasyurinae.
  • The quoll is a well-known dasyurid predator.
• Marsupial (noun): The larger infraclass of mammals to which this family belongs, characterized by giving birth to relatively undeveloped young that typically complete development in a pouch.
• Dasyure (noun): A general, sometimes archaic, term for members of the Dasyuridae family, particularly those in the Dasyurinae subfamily.

Synonyms

• Dasyurid marsupials: A descriptive synonym emphasizing their biological order.
• Carnivorous marsupials: A functional synonym describing their diet and mammalian group, though this can also include the extinct thylacine.

Related Terms & Phrases

• Pouched carnivore: A descriptive phrase highlighting the two key defining features of these animals: their marsupial pouch (though often rudimentary in this subfamily) and their meat-eating diet.

Noun

1. dasyures; native cats; pouched mice; banded anteaters; Tasmanian devils