Phascogale
| Phascogale | |
|---|---|
| Brush-tailed phascogale (Phascogale tapoatafa) | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota | 
| Kingdom: | Animalia | 
| Phylum: | Chordata | 
| Class: | Mammalia | 
| Infraclass: | Marsupialia | 
| Order: | Dasyuromorphia | 
| Family: | Dasyuridae | 
| Subfamily: | Dasyurinae | 
| Tribe: | Phascogalini | 
| Genus: | Phascogale Temminck, 1824 | 
| Type species | |
| Didelphis penicillata | |
| Species | |
| See text | |
The phascogales (members of the eponymous genus Phascogale), also known as wambengers or mousesacks, are carnivorous Australian marsupials of the family Dasyuridae. There are three species: the brush-tailed phascogale (Phascogale tapoatafa), the red-tailed phascogale (P. calura), and the northern brush-tailed phascogale (P. pirata). As with a number of dasyurid species, the males live for only one year, dying after a period of frenzied mating. The name wambenger comes from the Nyungar language. The term Phascogale was coined in 1824 by Coenraad Jacob Temminck in reference to the brush-tailed phascogale, and means "pouched weasel". All three species are listed as either Near Threatened or Vulnerable by the IUCN.