Woylie
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| Bettongia penicillata Gray, 1837 |
The Woylie (Bettongia penicillata) is a small (30cm long) marsupial. It is also known as the Brush-tailed Bettong. It is a member of the Potoridae family.
The Woylie once inhabited more than 60% of the Australian mainland but now occurs only on less than 1%. It is strictly nocturnal and is not gregarious. During the day it rests in a well-made and hidden nest which consists of grass and shredded bark. It digs out food such as bulbs, tubers and fungi with its strong foreclaws. Its habitat includes temperate forests and scrubs as well as arid shrublands and grasslands.
It formerly ranged over all of southwest Western Australia, most of South Australia, the northwest corner of Victoria and across the central portion of New South Wales. It was abundant in the mid-19th century. By the 1920s it was extinct over much of its range. As of 1992 it was reported only from four small areas of Western Australia. In South Australia, a number of populations had been established through reintroduction of captive-bred animals. As of 1996 it occurred in six sites in Western Australia, including 'Karakamia' run by the Australian Wildlife Conservancy (AWC), and on three islands and two mainland sites in South Australia, following the reintroduction program and the controlling of foxes.
The bettongs' decline seems to have been caused by a number of factors. These include the impact of introduced grazing animals, clearing for agriculture, predation by introduced Red Foxes, and possibly changed fire regimes.
The Woylie has an unusual diet for a mammal. Although it may eat bulbs, tubers, seeds, insects and resin, the bulk of its nutrients are derived from underground fungi, which can only be digested indirectly. In a portion of its stomach, the fungi are consumed by bacteria. These bacteria produce the nutrients that are digested in the rest of the stomach and small intestine.
It is able to use its tail, curled around in a prehensile manner, to carry bundles of nesting material.
[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, 57. ISBN 0-801-88221-4.
- ^ Australasian Marsupial & Monotreme Specialist Group (1996). Bettongia penicillata. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 6 May 2006.
