Diet, breeding and growth in a new carnivorous marsupial, the Buff-footed Antechinus, Antechinus mysticus, at the northern and southern limits of its range

This thesis examined the diet and ecology of a new species of suicidal mammal. The mammal’s diet included a wide range of insects and spiders, supplemented by vertebrates such as small lizards. Breeding strategy was the same as for other members of the genus: all males die annually, apparently due to immune system malfunction after a brief period of frenetic mating