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Penis morphology of 12 species of endemic New Guinean dasyurid marsupials, including the five currently recognized species of Murexia (M. habbema, M. melanurus, M. naso, M. longicaudata, and M. rothschildi); Phascolosorex dorsalis and Ph. doriae ; Neophascogale lorentzii ; and the four species of Myoictis (My. melas, My. wallacei, My. wavicus, and My. leucura), are described. Differences in form of the tip of the penis can be used to identify some of the species. The levator muscles are small in Murexia, Phascolosorex, and Neophascogale, and large in Myoictis. All species of Myoictis have accessory corpora cavernosa, which form an appendage to the penis. The anatomy of the penis of Myoictis spp. confirms a close relationship with the Australian dasyurid marsupial Parantechinus apicalis, as shown by a recent molecular study. Accessory corpora cavernosa appear to have arisen independently three times within the Dasyurinae. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Phylogenetic relationships among the 6 species of quolls ( Dasyurus) are resolved using DNA sequences from 4 mitochondrial and 5 nuclear loci (approximately 15 kb) sampled from 1 to 29 individuals per species. Our estimate of quoll phylogeny concurs with previous DNA-based estimates in placing Dasyurus hallucatus as sister to the remaining species, and D. maculatus as sister to a clade containing D. viverrinus, D. albopunctatus, D. geoffroii + D. spartacus. We also provide the first formal description of penis anatomy in the northern quoll ( D. hallucatus), documenting it as the only species of Dasyurus lacking an appendage to the penis. This appendage thus appears to constitute a morphological synapomorphy for the clade of 5 species that excludes D. hallucatus. The sequence from our single specimen of bronze quoll ( D. spartacus) nested within a clade of 3 western quoll ( D. geoffroii) sequences, suggesting that the species boundary between these groups (if it exists) is not yet reflected in reciprocal monophyly of mitochondrial haplotypes. Any genetic differences found between eastern and western forms of D. geoffroii would have implications for translocations of western animals into other parts of the species range. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Among the 19 currently recognized species of Sminthopsis, differences in the morphology of the free portion of the penis can be seen in the tip, which may be bifid, blunt, knoblike, or have a terminal median process, and which may have a subterminal skin fold; and the urethral opening and terminal passage (urethral grooves or urethral chamber). The urethra may open dorsally or ventrally, and the urethral grooves may lie mesially or ventrally on the bifid portion of the tip. Ten forms can be recognized and interspecific affinities based on penis morphology have been examined for congruence with species groupings based on other independent character sets including external, cranial, and dental characters and molecular data. Penis forms showed the greatest congruence with phylogenetic groups delineated by molecular data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]