The Eastern Quoll, (Dasyurus viverrinus), is a member of the Dasyuridae family, sometimes placed in the order Dasyuromorpha, along with the Myremecobiidae (numbats) and the recently extinct (?)Thylacinidae, or Tasmanian Wolves (when the Marsupialia is given orders). They are marsupial mammals, or 'pouched mammals', along with kangaroos and koalas. The Dasyurids are also known as the marsupial carnivores, since the members of the family eat other animals. Mostly insectivorous, they also take small lizards, carrion, and some, like the mulgara, kill mice and snakes as well.
The Eastern Quoll is just one of 6 species of quoll; the others are D. maculatus, D. geoffroii, D. spartacus, D. albopunctatus, and D. hallucatus. D. hallucatus is often placed in a separate genus, Satanellus, along with D. albopunctatus, although this is in review. The Quolls are sometimes called the Native Cats, because of their general meat-eating habits and size. The Eastern Quoll differs from all of it's relatives in that it is the only one without the first toe on the hind foot. Also, it's toe pads are granulated instead of striated, and this is also the same for D. geoffroii. Eastern Quolls live in open country and dry forest; their former range included, fittingly, Eastern Australia. The Quolls have suffered population decreases since the colonization of Australia, from habitat destruction and competion from feral cats and foxes. It has been speculated the the Eastern Quoll has disappeard from the mainland entirely, or that only a remnant population remains. Only more field research will determine the truth.
In the meantime, however, the Eastern Quoll is doing just fine in Tasmania, home of it's much better known cousin, the Tasmanian Devil. Unlike these large carrion eaters, Eastern Quolls have been found to subsist mostly on insects. A favorite meal for Quolls is beetle larvae. They start out life drinking their mothers milk - in fact, they stay attached to their mothers teats for 8 weeks! After that, the mother Quoll places her litter of up to 6 babies in a nest, and they are independant around 18 weeks of age. The lifespan of Eastern Quolls in captivity is nearly 7 years.
If the Eastern Quoll is to survive in the wild, steps need to be taken to ensure it's habitat will not be disrupted any further. This is not an animal that seems to be well known outside of Australia; I checked the ISIS page and saw that it is only listed in zoos in that country. Captive breeding programs are in place to my knowledge, but if the Eastern Quoll is to make a comeback in it's native country, measures other than that must be in place. Introduction of non-native species is a major problem, and Australia has plenty of those!!! Foxes and feral cats are two species in particular that need to be kept in check. Saving Quolls links into saving many other inhabitants of Australia.
And why do I concentrate mainly on the Eastern Quoll? I enjoy all 6 species of Quoll, but I research this particular one because I am interested in the work of re-introducing it to it's former range. But all of the Quolls are fascinating creatures who deserve their own conservation efforts, as well as info pages. ;)
I do not remember the exact page source for these photos because I have seen them on at least 3 different web pages. I therefore assume that it is ok to use them. If you own these pictures for your page, please give me an e-mail.
Also, these may not be only Eastern Quolls. The pictures were not labeled as to the specific species; I have not yet seen enough Quolls of each species to be able to identify them myself.
MARSUPIALIA; DASYURIDAE; DASYURUS: Native 'Cats,' Tiger "Cats," or Quoll