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A new discovered pink - nosed rodentlike marsupial gives its all for sex — really . Male of the coinage mate so intensely that they die before their untried are born .
The creature ’s discoverers caught the little lothario in Australia ’s Springbrook National Park with traps baited with peanut butter and oats . They ’ve dubbed it the black - tailed antechinus .
A new species of marsupial, the black-tailed antechinus, lives in southeastern Australia.
Other members of the antechinus group have already been discover , some by the same squad that found the newest species . Mammalogist Andrew Baker of the Queensland University of Technology had antecedently base two unexampled species of the genusAntechinusin southeasterly Queensland . The find ofnew mammal speciesis comparatively rare , with only a few establish each yr .
The researchers first saw the black - trail antechinus in May 2013 . It look unlike the dusky antechinus , a congener that lives in the region , so Baker and his colleagues suspected they had understand something new .
" When we charm the first black - tailed antechinus in a cakehole , we knew we were onto something pretty special , " Baker said in a financial statement .
The black-tailed antechinus has orange markings around its eyes and rump.
The new species has a long , contraband tail and a five - toed infantry , also bootleg . The fur around its eyes and stern is yellow - orangish , helping distinguish it from other mintage .
Marsupials in this genus are sluttish mater . female give nativity to large broods that admit offspring from several fathers . To evoke their chance of engender more offspring , malesmate for hours at a timewith many females , Baker said . This sex bacchanalia sends the animal ' stress endocrine levels skyrocket , which finally leave in death .
Females collect sperm from their doomed mates all upbringing time of year and then ovulate , allow for the fertilization of many half - siblings all at once . Some female pull round to breed multiple time , but most perish after their first litter is weaned . Baker and his colleagues are applying for endangered species shelter for thenewly discover pouched mammal . They published the finding Feb. 17 in the diary Zootaxa .
The black foot of the black-tailed antechinus.
