Mammals
Spotted-Tailed Quoll
Dasyurus maculatus · also called tiger quoll, spotted quoll
Patrolling a large forest home range under cover of darkness, a spotted-tailed quoll marks its territory at a shared latrine site, the largest carnivorous marsupial left on mainland Australia and the only quoll species carrying spots all the way down its tail.
Overview
The spotted-tailed quoll, Dasyurus maculatus, is the largest carnivorous marsupial remaining on mainland Australia, native to forest and rainforest habitat across eastern Australia and Tasmania. Its distinctive tail-spotted coat, considerable size and hunting range for a quoll, and status as one of the continent’s more seriously declining predators make it one of the more ecologically significant carnivorous marsupials found anywhere in Australia today.
The mainland’s last big spotted hunter
With the Tasmanian devil long gone from the Australian mainland, the spotted-tailed quoll has effectively inherited the role of the mainland’s largest marsupial predator, hunting prey as large as small wallabies across a range that continues to shrink under modern pressures.
Status
Near Threatened, having declined across much of its former mainland range due to habitat loss, introduced predators, and secondary poisoning from baiting programmes.
Spotted-Tailed Quoll: common questions
Why is the spotted-tailed quoll called the tiger quoll?
This species is sometimes called the tiger quoll due to its bold spotted coat pattern, though unlike a tiger's stripes, this species is the only one of Australia's four quoll species to carry distinctive white spots along its tail as well as across its body.
Is the spotted-tailed quoll really the largest carnivorous marsupial on mainland Australia?
Yes, this species holds that title because the Tasmanian devil, which is larger, no longer occurs naturally on the Australian mainland outside of recent reintroduction programmes, leaving the spotted-tailed quoll as the largest carnivorous marsupial most mainland Australians could realistically encounter.
Why do spotted-tailed quolls use shared latrine sites?
This species uses communal latrine sites, often prominent rocks or logs, where multiple individuals deposit droppings, a behaviour believed to function as a form of scent-based communication conveying information about territory boundaries and reproductive status to other quolls in the area.
Why has the spotted-tailed quoll declined?
This species has declined across much of its former mainland range due to habitat loss, competition and predation from introduced foxes and cats, and secondary poisoning from baiting programmes intended to control other pest species, contributing to its classification as Near Threatened.