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Long-tailed Planigale — printable fact sheet
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Long-tailed Planigale
Planigale ingrami
Planigale ingrami of northern Australia is the smallest marsupial in the world - adults weigh about 4 g, less than a teaspoon of sugar - and its most extraordinary feature is its skull, which is flattened to a depth of only about 3 to 4 mm, thinner than a pencil. That squashed h…
Did you know?
- Long-tailed Planigales can survive in flood-prone environments by seeking refuge in deep soil cracks until the water recedes.
- The flattened skull is unique among mammals in its proportions, and it is a structural adaptation to a habitat made of gaps rather than tunnels. Planigales hunt prey up to the size of a small grasshopper many times their own body mass and will attack animals larger than themselves. Being so small, they lose heat extremely fast and enter torpor readily, dropping body temperature to conserve energy on cool nights.
What I learned
Draw the long-tailed planigale
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