Numbat
Numbat | |
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Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Mammalia |
Infraclass: | Marsupialia |
Order: | Dasyuromorphia |
Family: | Myrmecobiidae Waterhouse, 1841 |
Genus: | Myrmecobius Waterhouse, 1836 |
Species: | M. fasciatus
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Binomial name | |
Myrmecobius fasciatus Waterhouse, 1836[3]
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Subspecies | |
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Numbat range (green – native, pink – reintroduced) |
The numbat (Myrmecobius fasciatus), also known as the noombat or walpurti,
The species was once widespread across southern Australia, but is now restricted to several small colonies in Western Australia. It is therefore considered an endangered species and protected by conservation programs. Numbats were recently re-introduced to fenced reserves in South Australia and New South Wales.[6][7][8][9] The numbat is the faunal emblem of Western Australia.[10]
Taxonomy
The numbat genus Myrmecobius is the sole member of the family Myrmecobiidae, one of four families that make up the order Dasyuromorphia, the Australian marsupial carnivores.[11]
The species is not closely related to other extant marsupials; the current arrangement in the order Dasyuromorphia places its monotypic family with the diverse and carnivorous species of Dasyuridae. Genetic studies have shown the ancestors of the numbat diverged from other marsupials between 32 and 42 million years ago, during the late Eocene.[12]
Two
The following is a phylogenetic tree based on mitochondrial genome sequences:[16]
Dasyuromorphia |
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Placement of the family within the order of dasyuromorphs may be summarised as
- Order Dasyuromorphia
- Family Thylacinidae
- Family Dasyuridae (72 species in 20 genera)
- Family Myrmecobiidae
- Genus Myrmecobius
- Species Myrmecobius fasciatus
- Genus Myrmecobius
- Family †Malleodectidae[17]
The common names are adopted from the extant names at the time of English colonisation, numbat, from the
Other names include banded anteater and marsupial anteater.[18][10]
Description
The numbat is a small, distinctively-striped animal between 35 and 45 centimetres (14 and 18 in) long, including the tail, with a finely pointed muzzle and a prominent, bushy tail about the same length as its body. Colour varies considerably, from soft grey to reddish-brown, often with an area of brick red on the upper back, and always with a conspicuous black stripe running from the tip of the muzzle through the eye to the base of the small, round-tipped ear. Between four and eleven white stripes cross the animal's hindquarters, which gradually become fainter towards the midback. The underside is cream or light grey, while the tail is covered with long, grey hair flecked with white. Weight varies between 280 and 700 g (9.9 and 24.7 oz).[15][19]
Unlike most other marsupials, the numbat is
Like many ant- or termite-eating animals, the numbat has a long and narrow tongue coated with sticky
Although the numbat finds termite mounds primarily using scent, it has the highest visual acuity of any marsupial, and, unusually for marsupials, has a high proportion of cone cells in the retina. These are both likely adaptations for its diurnal habits, and vision does appear to be the primary sense used to detect potential predators.[15]
Distribution and habitat
Numbats were formerly widely distributed across southern
Today, numbats are naturally found only in areas of eucalypt forest, but they were once more widespread in other types of semiarid woodland, spinifex grassland, and in terrain dominated by sand dune.[15] There are estimated to be fewer than 1,000 left in the wild.[22]
After measures aimed at excluding
The species has been successfully reintroduced into three fenced, feral predator-proof reserves in more varied environments; Yookamurra Sanctuary in the mallee of South Australia,[23] Scotia Sanctuary in semi-arid NSW,[1] and Western Australia's Mount Gibson Sanctuary.[24] Reintroduction began at large fenced reserves in Mallee Cliffs National Park in NSW in December 2020,[25] and on South Australia's Eyre Peninsula in 2022.[26]
Attempted reintroductions of the species to fenced reserves in two other areas – one in the South Australian arid zone, near
There are plans to reintroduce the species to a managed and semi-fenced area of the southern
Ecology and habits
Numbats are insectivores and subsist on a diet of termites (of the genera Heterotermes, Coptotermes, Amitermes, Microcerotermes, Termes, Paracapritermes, Nasutitermes, Tumulitermes, and Occasitermes).[31] An adult numbat requires up to 20,000 termites each day. The only marsupial fully active by day, the numbat spends most of its time searching for termites. It digs them up from loose earth with its front claws and captures them with its long, sticky tongue.[32] Despite its banded anteater name, it apparently does not intentionally eat ants; although the remains of ants have occasionally been found in numbat excreta, these belong to species that themselves prey on termites, so were presumably eaten accidentally, along with the main food.[33] Known native predators include various reptiles and raptors, such as the carpet python, sand goanna, wedge-tailed eagle, collared sparrowhawk, brown goshawk, and the little eagle.[6][33] They are also preyed upon by invasive red foxes and feral cats.[6][15]
Adult numbats are
While the numbat has relatively powerful claws for its size,[20] it is not strong enough to get at termites inside their concrete-like mounds, and so must wait until the termites are active. It uses a well-developed sense of smell to locate the shallow and unfortified underground galleries that termites construct between the nest and their feeding sites; these are usually only a short distance below the surface of the soil, and vulnerable to the numbat's digging claws.
The numbat synchronises its day with termite activity, which is temperature dependent: in winter, it feeds from midmorning to midafternoon; in summer, it rises earlier, takes shelter during the heat of the day, and feeds again in the late afternoon. Numbats are able to enter a state of torpor, which may last up to fifteen hours a day during the winter months.[34]
At night, the numbat retreats to a nest, which can be in a log or tree hollow, or in a burrow, typically a narrow shaft 1–2 m (3 ft 3 in – 6 ft 7 in) long which terminates in a spherical chamber lined with soft plant material: grass, leaves, flowers, and shredded bark. The numbat is able to block the opening of its nest, with the thick hide of its rump, to prevent a predator being able to access the burrow.[35]
Numbats have relatively few vocalisations, but have been reported to hiss, growl, or make a repetitive 'tut' sound when disturbed.[15]
Reproduction
Numbats breed in February and March (late austral summer), normally producing one
The young are 2 cm (0.79 in) long at birth. They crawl immediately to the teats and remain attached until late July or early August, by which time they have grown to 7.5 cm (3.0 in). They are 3 cm (1.2 in) long when they first develop fur, the patterning of the adult begins to appear once they reach 5.5 cm (2.2 in). The young are left in a nest or carried on the mother's back after weaning, becoming fully independent by November. Females are sexually mature by the following summer, but males do not reach maturity for another year.[15]
Conservation status
At the time of European colonisation, the numbat was found across western, central, and southern regions of Australia, extending as far east as New South Wales and Victorian state borders and as far north as the southwest corner of the Northern Territory. It was at home in a wide range of woodland and semiarid habitats. The deliberate release of the European red fox in the 19th century, however, is presumed to have wiped out the entire numbat population in Victoria, NSW, South Australia and the Northern Territory, and almost all numbats in Western Australia. By the late 1970s, the population was well under 1,000 individuals, concentrated in two small areas not far from Perth, at protected areas of the Dryandra forest and at Perup.[15]
The population recognised and described as a subspecies by Finlayson, M. fasciatus rufus, is presumed to be extinct.[15]
The first record of the species described it as beautiful,
The two small Western Australia populations apparently were able to survive because both areas have many hollow logs that may serve as refuge from predators. Being diurnal, the numbat is much more vulnerable to predation than most other marsupials of a similar size: its natural predators include the
An intensive research and conservation program since 1980 has succeeded in increasing the numbat population substantially, and reintroductions to fox-free areas have begun. Perth Zoo is very closely involved in breeding this native species in captivity for release into the wild. Despite the encouraging degree of success so far, the numbat remains at considerable risk of extinction and is classified as an endangered species.[1]
Since 2006, Project Numbat volunteers have helped to save the numbat from extinction. One of Project Numbat's main objectives is to raise funds that go towards conservation projects, and to raise awareness through presentations held by volunteers at schools, community groups and events.
Numbats can be successfully reintroduced into areas of their former range if protected from introduced predators.[38]
Early records
The numbat first became known to Europeans in 1831. It was discovered by an exploration party exploring the Avon Valley under the leadership of Robert Dale. George Fletcher Moore, who was a member of the expedition, drew a picture in his diary on 22 September 1831, and recounted the discovery:
Saw a beautiful animal; but, as it escaped into the hollow of a tree, could not ascertain whether it was a species of squirrel, weasel, or wild cat...
and the following day:
chased another little animal, such as had escaped from us yesterday, into a hollow tree, where we captured it; from the length of its tongue, and other circumstances, we conjecture that it is an ant-eater—its colour yellowish, barred with black and white streaks across the hinder part of the back; its length about twelve inches.[37]
The first classification of specimens was published by George Robert Waterhouse, describing the species in 1836 and the family in 1841.[3]
Myrmecobius fasciatus was included in the first part of John Gould's The Mammals of Australia, issued in 1845, with a plate by H. C. Richter illustrating the species.
Notes
Citations
- ^ . Retrieved 12 November 2021.
- ^ "Myrmecobius fasciatus — Numbat".
- ^ . Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London. 1836: 69–70.
- ^ a b Abbott, Ian (2001). "Aboriginal names of mammal species in south-west Western Australia". CALMScience. 3 (4): 451.
- ^ a b Copley, P.B.; Kemper, C.M.; Medlin, G.C. (1989). "The mammals of northwestern South Australia". Records of the South Australian Museum. 23.
- ^ a b c "Numbat". AWC – Australian Wildlife Conservancy. Retrieved 1 March 2021.
- ^ "Numbats reintroduced to NSW National Park". AWC – Australian Wildlife Conservancy. 3 December 2020. Retrieved 1 March 2021.
- ^ "Rare numbats reintroduced to NSW national park". NSW Environment, Energy and Science. Retrieved 1 March 2021.
- ^ Water (DEW), Department for Environment and (15 October 2020). "Fifteen local projects receive Grassroots Grants funding". www.landscape.sa.gov.au. Retrieved 1 March 2021.[permanent dead link]
- ^ a b "Symbols of Western Australia". www.wa.gov.au. 27 April 2020. Retrieved 1 March 2021.
- OCLC 62265494.
- S2CID 4314965.
- ^ Finlayson, H.H. (1933). "On the eremian representative of Myrmecobius fasciatus (Waterhouse)". Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia. 57: 203–205.
- ^ "Species Myrmecobius fasciatus rufus Finlayson, 1933". Australian Faunal Directory. Australian Government. April 2011.
- ^ doi:10.1644/881.1.
- PMID 19139089.
- PMID 27229325.
- ISSN 1469-7998.
- ^ Ellis, Eric (2003). "Animal Diversity Web: Myrmecobius fasciatus". Retrieved 1 September 2006.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-87196-871-5.
- .
- ^ a b Dobson, John (19 November 2020). "Numbat numbers at WA's Dryandra Woodland grow as feral cat culling program kicks in". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
- ^ "Numbat nirvana: conservation ecology of the endangered numbat (Myrmecobius fasciatus) (Marsupialia: Myrmecobiidae) reintroduced to Scotia and Yookamurra Sanctuaries, Australia". scholars.latrobe.edu.au. Retrieved 30 August 2020.
- ^ Merrin, Venessa (1 January 2016). "Numbat numbers on the up at Mt Gibson Wildlife Sanctuary". friendsofawc. Archived from the original on 6 August 2020. Retrieved 29 August 2020.
- ^ Hannam, Peter (2 December 2020). "Once thought extinct in NSW for a century, the diminutive numbat returns to the wild". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
- ^ "Fenced in from predators, these numbats are thrilling ecologists as they repopulate the Eyre Peninsula". ABC News. 17 September 2023. Retrieved 19 September 2023.
- ISSN 1836-7402.
- ^ "Native threatened species roams Central Australian bush for the first time in decades". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 23 June 2020. Retrieved 29 August 2020.
- ^ "Bilbies, numbats, quolls included in 'great southern ark' rewilding project". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 31 January 2019. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
- ^ "Marna Banggara: Creating a safe haven for native species". Landscape South Australia. Northern and Yorke. 24 December 2020. Archived from the original on 18 April 2021. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
- ^ "Myrmecobius fasciatus (Numbat)". Animal Diversity Web.
- ^ "Numbat". Archived from the original on 2 June 2009. Retrieved 17 June 2009.
- ^ a b "Numbat – profile | NSW Environment, Energy and Science". www.environment.nsw.gov.au. Retrieved 2 March 2021.
- .
- ^ a b "What is the fauna emblem of Western Australia?". NatureBase. Western Australia's Department of Environment and Conservation (DEC). Archived from the original on 29 September 2007. Retrieved 11 May 2009.
- doi:10.1071/AM08111.
- ^ Diary of ten years. London: M. Walbrook.
- S2CID 84051833.
Explanatory notes
- ^ Australian Faunal Directory citing Mahoney, J.A. & Ride, W.D.L. 1988. Myrmecobiidae. pp. 34-35 in Walton, D.W. (ed.). Zoological Catalogue of Australia Volume 5. Mammalia. Canberra : Australian Government Publishing Service 274 pp.; Ride, W.D.L. 1970. A Guide to the Native Mammals of Australia. Melbourne : Oxford University Press xiv 249 pp. 62 pls.