The Fat-tailed Dunnart is probably the best known of the small carnivorous marsupials as it is relatively common. It can store substantial quantities of fat in its tail and, hence, well-fed specimens have a distinctly swollen tail which helps it endure the cool winter or periods of food shortage. It shelters from the heat in a small nest of grass and leaves built under logs, rocks or in deep cracks in the soil. It is thought that the range of the Dunnart may have expanded since European settlement as they have adapted well to changes brought about by land clearance.

Distribution of the Fat-tailed Dunnart in Australia.