2.1 Sample collection
‘AdamAnt’, an adult male yellow-footed antechinus (Antechinus flavipes ) was sampled in Samford Valley (greater Brisbane), QLD, Australia (27° 22′ S, 152° 52′ E) in September 2018. A second male individual (‘Ant2’), sampled at the same location in 2017, was not used for genome assembly but employed in demographic analysis. Animals were euthanised by inhalation of CO2. Once death was confirmed, animals were placed directly on dry ice in the field and transferred to a -80 °C freezer for later dissection. Tissue specimens for short-insert whole-genome sequencing were obtained from the black-tailed dusky antechinus A. arktos (ear tissue; Lamington National Park, QLD, Australia, 28° 22′ S, 153° 15′ E; specimen AA100 sampled by A.M.B. in 2015), the silver-headed antechinus A. argentus (ear tissue; from Blackdown Tableland National Park, QLD, Australia; 23° 82′ S, 149° 07′ E; specimen BD-17-5A sampled by A.M.B. in 2017), and the black-tailed dasyure (Murexia melanurus ; liver tissue; Wau, Morobe, Papua New Guinea, 7° 20′ S, 146° 42′ E; specimen ABTC46020 sampled by the South Australian Museum in 1985). All DNA and RNA were extracted by BGI Hong Kong.