Quolls are charismatic, spotted marsupial predators native to Australia and New Guinea. They are carnivorous mammals belonging to the Dasyuridae family, a group that also includes the Tasmanian devil. These creatures are primarily nocturnal, spending their days sheltered in dens before emerging at night to hunt across their territories. Once widespread across the continent, quolls have become increasingly rare.
Classification and Species Diversity
Quolls belong to the genus Dasyurus and are part of the larger Dasyuridae family, which represents the majority of carnivorous marsupials. Genetic evidence suggests that the ancestors of the current species diverged around four million years ago, leading to six distinct types today. Four of these species are found in Australia, with the other two inhabiting New Guinea.
The six species are:
- The Eastern Quoll (Dasyurus viverrinus)
- The Western Quoll (Dasyurus geoffroii)
- The Northern Quoll (Dasyurus hallucatus)
- The Tiger Quoll (Dasyurus maculatus), also known as the Spotted-tailed Quoll
- The New Guinean Quoll (Dasyurus albopunctatus)
- The Bronze Quoll (Dasyurus spartacus)
The Tiger Quoll is the largest of the species, while the Northern Quoll is the smallest.
Physical Traits and Geographic Range
Quolls possess a lean body, a pointed snout, and a coat that ranges in color from light brown to dark black, consistently marked with white spots. They have short, powerful legs and a long tail. The overall size varies greatly between species, from just 300 grams to up to 7 kilograms. Males are generally larger than females across all species.
The Tiger Quoll is mainland Australia’s largest carnivorous marsupial, found in the wet forests of eastern Australia and Tasmania. It is easily distinguished as the only species where the white spots continue all the way down its tail. The Eastern Quoll is now found almost exclusively on the island of Tasmania, having become extinct on the Australian mainland in the 1960s.
The Western Quoll, also known as the chuditch, is restricted to the southwest of Western Australia. The Northern Quoll is found in pockets across the northern coastal regions of Australia. The New Guinean and Bronze Quolls are endemic to New Guinea.
Behavior, Diet, and Life Cycle
Quolls are solitary, nocturnal creatures, utilizing rock crevices, hollow logs, or burrows as dens for daytime rest. They are opportunistic carnivores, and their diet reflects their size and habitat. The smaller species mainly consume insects, small birds, frogs, and lizards, while the larger Tiger Quoll is capable of preying on medium-sized mammals like possums and wallabies.
Quolls are skilled hunters, using stealth to capture prey both on the ground and in trees, and they will also readily scavenge carrion. Males maintain large home ranges, often overlapping with the smaller territories of several females. The breeding season occurs once a year, typically during the winter months, with females giving birth after a short gestation period of around 21 days.
A female can give birth to up to 30 tiny, underdeveloped young, but only the number that can attach to a teat—usually six to eight—will survive. The young remain in the mother’s pouch or protected area for about two months before they are deposited in a den. Quolls have a relatively short lifespan in the wild, generally living only two to five years.
Conservation Status and Threats
All quoll species have experienced a significant decline in numbers since European settlement, largely due to a combination of factors. Habitat loss and fragmentation from land clearing have reduced their available territory and den sites. Introduced species also pose a major threat, with feral cats and foxes preying on quolls and competing with them for food resources.
The Northern Quoll has been severely impacted by the invasion of the toxic Cane Toad (Rhinella marina) across northern Australia. Quolls that attempt to eat the toad are poisoned by the toxins secreted from the toad’s glands, causing rapid and widespread population declines.
The conservation status varies by species, but many are listed as vulnerable or endangered, including the Northern Quoll. Conservation efforts focus on mitigating these threats, including captive breeding programs to establish backup populations for future reintroduction. Researchers are testing ways to condition the wild population to avoid eating the poisonous toads.