Eastern quoll Brain (Dasyurus viverrinus)

Family Dasyuridae

The brain of the eastern quoll is about 5.3 ml in volume.  The cerebral hemispheres are intermediate in relative size, with the superior and inferior colliculi exposed.  The labelled functional areas in the cerebral cortex are based on findings from cortical electrophysiology in this species (Haight and Neylon, 1981) and a related species (Dasyurus hallucatus; Kudo et al., 1989; Huffman et al., 1999; Rosa et al., 1999).  There is a deep paravermal groove separating the cerebellar vermis from the cerebellar hemispheres.  The paraflocculus of the cerebellar hemisphere is small.

Haight JR, Neylon L (1981) An analysis of some thalamic projections to parietofrontal neocortex in the marsupial native cat Dasyurus viverrinus (Dasyuridae). Brain Behavior and Evolution, 19, 193-204.

Huffman KJ, Nelson J, Clarey J, Krubitzer L (1999) Organisation of somatosensory cortex in three species of marsupials, Dasyurus hallucatus, Dactylopsila trivirgata and Monodelphis domestica: neural correlates of morphological specialisations. Journal of Comparative Neurology, 403, 5-32.

Kudo M, Aitken LM, Nelson JE (1989) Auditory forebrain organisation of an Australian marsupial, the northern native cat (Dasyurus hallucatus). Journal of Comparative Neurology, 279, 28-42.

Rosa MG, Krubitzer LA, Molnár Z, Nelson JE (1999) Organisation of visual cortex in the northern quoll, Dasyurus hallucatus: evidence for a homologue of the second visual area in marsupials. European Journal of Neuroscience, 11, 907-915.