Quolls (genus Dasyurus) are carnivorous marsupials, native to Australia and Papua New Guinea. Adults are between 25 and 75 cm long, with hairy tails about 20-35 cm long. Females have six to eight nipples and develop a pouch—which opens towards the tail—only during the breeding season, when they are rearing young. Quolls live both in forests and in open valley land. Though primarily ground-dwelling, they have developed secondary arboreal characteristics. Their molars and canines are strongly developed.
Taxonomy
Within the genus Dasyurus, the following species exist:
- Dasyurus albopunctatus — New Guinean Quoll, New Guinea
- Dasyurus geoffroii — Chuditch or Western Quoll, western Australia
- Dasyurus hallucatus — Northern Quoll, northern Australia
- Dasyurus maculatus — Spotted Quoll (Tiger Quoll), eastern Australia
- Dasyurus spartacus — Bronze Quoll, New Guinea
- Dasyurus viverrinus — Eastern Quoll, Tasmania
