The author, Mike Archer, compared his specimens to those of Sminthopsis (the dunnarts), distinguishing the new taxon by the structure of the skull, the hindfoot, features of dentition and their smaller size, morphology that was presumed to be specialisations to a more arid environment.

The author provided a diagnosis of two species that distinguished the populations by further details of cranial and dental characters.

[3] Archer refers to a published story of minute hairy creatures that emerged at night and ate their food uncooked, as an apt description the new genus.

The tails of the species are all thin and lack any crest of brush-like fur, and equal to or greater in length than the head-body measurement.

[4] All species are found in Australia and restricted to arid regions of the south coast, central deserts and northwest of the continent.