Desert Rat-kangaroo
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| Caloprymnus campestris (Gould, 1843) |
The Desert Rat-kangaroo (Caloprymnus campestris) is an extinct marsupial that lived in the driest, hottest and most desolate environments in Central Australia. It was the size of a small rabbit. It showed great endurance while travelling at high speeds, and 'paused only to die'. It sheltered in a flimsy nest by day. At night, it emerged to feed. It lived alone and was so independent of water, that it even shunned the succulent plants of the sandhills. It was first recorded by Europeans around 1841 and was not seen again for 90 years. The last sighting was in 1935.
It is said that in the last sighting, it was chased by three humans on horses for twelve miles nonstop, ending with the horses stopping in exhaustion and the Desert Rat-kangaroo escaping.
[edit] References
[edit] Cited references
- ^ Groves, Colin (16 November 2005). in Wilson, D. E., and Reeder, D. M. (eds): Mammal Species of the World, 3rd edition, Johns Hopkins University Press, 58. ISBN 0-801-88221-4.
- ^ Australasian Marsupial & Monotreme Specialist Group (1996). Caloprymnus campestris. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 6 May 2006.
[edit] General references
- Bryson, Bill (May 15, 2001). In a Sunburned Country. Broadway. ISBN 0-7679-0386-2.
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