Taxonomy
The common planigale was first described by John Gould in 1851. It was originally described as Antechinus maculatus, and it was retained in the genus Antechinus until Mike Archer transferred it to Planigale in his 1976 revision of the latter genus. The species' scientific name means "spotted flat-weasel". Two subspecies are recognised:
- P. m. maculata, found on mainland Australia;
- P. m. sinualis, found on Groote Eylandt.
Read more about this topic: Common Planigale