native cat

native cat
any of several catlike dasyures of the genus Dasyurus, of Australia and Tasmania: most populations are now rare.
[1875-80]

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 any of the catlike Australian marsupials that make up the genus Dasyurus in the family Dasyuridae. All native cats are predators that hunt chiefly at night. Because they sometimes raid poultry yards, native cats have been persecuted and in some regions are extinct. Also contributing to their disappearance have been the destruction of their habitats and the introduction of such placental mammals as domestic cats, which compete with the native cats for food, and dogs and foxes, which prey on native cats.

      Native cats have bushy tails and white-spotted upperparts. The eastern native cat (D. viverrinus, or D. quoll), surviving chiefly in the forests and open country of Tasmania, is 55 to 75 centimetres (22 to 30 inches) long, including its 20- to 30-cm tail. The western native cat (D. geoffroii) of the savannahs of southwestern and central Australia is almost the same size but has a relatively longer tail. The northern native cat (D. hallucatus) of tropical regions is generally smaller, as is the New Guinea native cat (D. albopunctatus), which occupies a variety of habitats on its native island. The largest species, the spotted-tailed native cat (D. maculatus, also called the tiger cat), has a length of 75 to 130 cm, including its 35- to 55-cm tail. This species occurs in the dense, moist forests of Tasmania and eastern Australia.

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Universalium. 2010.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • native cat — noun carnivorous arboreal cat like marsupials of Australia and Tasmania • Syn: ↑Dasyurus viverrinus • Hypernyms: ↑dasyure * * * noun : any of several Australian predaceous carnivorous marsupials of the genus Dasyurus (especially D. viverrinus) *… …   Useful english dictionary

  • native cat — didžioji sterbliakiaunė statusas T sritis zoologija | vardynas taksono rangas rūšis atitikmenys: lot. Dasyurus maculatus angl. large spotted tailed native cat; native cat; spotted marten; spotted tailed dasyure; tiger cat vok. Fleckschwanz… …   Žinduolių pavadinimų žodynas

  • native cat — dasyure das y*ure (d[a^]s [i^]*[=u]r), n. [Gr. dasy s thick, shaggy + o yra tail: cf. F. dasyure.] 1. (Zo[ o]l.) A carnivorous catlike marsupial quadruped of Australia, belonging to the genus {Dasyurus}, called also {native cat}. There are… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • native cat — mažoji sterbliakiaunė statusas T sritis zoologija | vardynas taksono rangas rūšis atitikmenys: lot. Dasyurus hallucatus angl. little northern dasyure; native cat; satanellus vok. Zwerg Fleckenbeutelmarder rus. карликовая сумчатая куница; малая… …   Žinduolių pavadinimų žodynas

  • native cat — /neɪtɪv ˈkæt/ (say naytiv kat) noun any of several cat sized, predatory marsupials of the genus Dasyurus, having slender, white spotted bodies and very pointed snouts; marsupial cat …  

  • native cat — noun The quoll. (Reference: , Australian Aboriginal Words, Oxford University Press, 1990, ISBN 0 19 553099 3, page 79.) …   Wiktionary

  • native cat — noun Australian term for quoll …   English new terms dictionary

  • black-tailed native cat — juodauodegė sterbliakiaunė statusas T sritis zoologija | vardynas taksono rangas rūšis atitikmenys: lot. Dasyurus geoffroyi angl. black tailed native cat; chuditch; western Australian native cat; western dasyure; western native cat vok.… …   Žinduolių pavadinimų žodynas

  • western Australian native cat — juodauodegė sterbliakiaunė statusas T sritis zoologija | vardynas taksono rangas rūšis atitikmenys: lot. Dasyurus geoffroyi angl. black tailed native cat; chuditch; western Australian native cat; western dasyure; western native cat vok.… …   Žinduolių pavadinimų žodynas

  • western native cat — juodauodegė sterbliakiaunė statusas T sritis zoologija | vardynas taksono rangas rūšis atitikmenys: lot. Dasyurus geoffroyi angl. black tailed native cat; chuditch; western Australian native cat; western dasyure; western native cat vok.… …   Žinduolių pavadinimų žodynas

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