Long-nosed potoroo

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Long-nosed potoroo[1]
Conservation status
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Infraclass: Marsupialia
Order: Diprotodontia
Family: Potoroidae
Genus: Potorous
Species: P. tridactylus
Binomial name
Potorous tridactylus
(Kerr, 1792)
Subspecies
  • Potorous tridactylus tridactylus
  • Potorous tridactylus apicalis[3]
Distribution of the long-nosed potoroo

The long-nosed potoroo (Potorous tridactylus*) is a species of Australian potoroo. It is a marsupial that is generally known as the rat-kangaroo. (Potorous tridactylus*) contains two subspecies, the (Potorous tridactylus tridactylus*) which resides in Mainland Australia and (Potorous tridactylus apicalis*)which resides in Tasmania and tends to have lighter fur than the (Potorous tridactylus tridactylus*).[3] At first glance the long-nosed potoroo with its pointed nose and grey-brown fur looks very much like a bandicoot — that is until it hops away with its front feet tucked into its chest; revealing its close relationship with the kangaroo family. The long-nosed potoroo exhibits many morphological specializations such as an elongated pointed rostral region (nose), erect ears, large eyes, claws for digging, and long robust hind legs.[4] It is only a small marsupial with a body length between 340mm and 380mm, and a semiprehensile tail length from 150mm to 240mm.[5]

As it is rarely seen in the wild, better indicators of its presence are the runways it makes through the undergrowth and the hollow diggings it leaves behind when feeding on underground roots and fungi.

Habitat and distribution

The long-nosed potoroo is found in a variety of macrohabitats located in Southern Highlands of New South Wales and South-Western Victoria in Australia and in Tasmania.[6] Its bones have been found in a number of cave deposits indicating it was once more widespread than it is today. This species prefers a range of vegetation types from subtropical and warm temperate rainforest through tall open forest with dense understorey to dense coastal heaths. Its main requirement is thick groundcover, which it needs for protection and nesting material. It also prefers light soils that are easy to dig in for the underground roots and fungi that it eats.

Home range sizes of the long-nosed potoroo ranges. The largest recorded was 34.4 ha or 85 acres.[7] In Tasmania, it has been recorded that this species has large overlapping home ranges from 5-20 ha or approximately 12.4-50 acres with males typically acquiring more land than females.[7] Home ranges in Victoria Australia however are much smaller.[7]

Life history and behaviour

Generally, the long-nosed potoroo is solitary and has only been observed in brief encounters for mating and when with young.[4] There have also been reports on several males and females feeding in loose aggregations.[4] Interestingly, these mammals are non-territorial and frequently have overlapping home ranges. The male's home range can overlap many females but, the females home ranges are usually exclusive.[4] This allows the female access to the male year round however, breeding usually occurs late winter into early summer.[8] Females are polyestrous and can have up to two reproductive sessions per year.[8]

The long-nosed potoroo is nocturnal spending much of its time within the shelter of understorey vegetation. It uses long, slightly curved claws on their front feet to dig up their food. It is an omnivore and eats underground fruiting bodies of fungi, roots, fruit, flowers, seeds and insects and their larvae.[9] Fungi is the main dietary component, and are very important resource in their diet with at least 50 species consumed depending on seasonal variation.[10] During the fall and winter months potoroos primarily consume fungi and seeds and in the spring and summer months the amount of arthropods, plant tissue, fruits, and flowers consumed increase.[9]

Because it eats fungi, it spreads fungal spores in its droppings. Some of these fungi grow on the roots of native plants and assist the plant in the uptake of nutrients from the soil.

Threatening processes

The long-nosed potoroo was one of the first marsupials to be described by European settlers. Unfortunately these early encounters with this species were the result of the spread of human settlement, which has led to the clearing of much of its habitat for grazing and other land uses.

Threats to the long-nosed potoroo include feral cats, wild dogs, red foxes, human settlement, and fragmentation for agriculture, livestock grazing, habitat degredation, habitat clearance/loss, and inappropriate fire regimes.[11] The pattern of burning in areas of remaining habitat has also changed, with more severe and more frequent fires creating a sparse understorey that provides little shelter for small mammals like the potoroo.

This species is listed as low risk according to the IUCN red list. Vulnerable in Queensland according to the Nature Conservation Act of 1992 and also nationally by the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act of 1999.[11] However, it is listed under the Flora & Fauna Guarantee Act of 1988 as endangered in Victoria.[10]

Recovery actions

Past conservation initiatives listed the long-nosed potoroo under the Flora & Fauna Guarantee Act of 1988, construction of conservation reserves at Barren Ground Nature Reserve and Budderoo National Park, and the preparation of a recovery plan which outlines priorities for species research.[12] A completed national recovery plan is still a work in progress, however, the Department of Environment and Conservation has prepared a (PAS) Priorities Action Statement in order to help aid in the recovery of threatened species in New South Wales.[13] This statement encourages: • Controlling fox population • Controlling weeds that affect habitat • Enforcing appropriate fire regimes • Increasing habitat by creating barriers/corridors linking habitat patches • Preventing spread of disease (Phytophthora sp.) • Restricting livestock from habitat • Pursue formal protection of remaining areas of known habitat • Inform public • Researching: o Estimate population sizes and densities using survey methods o Genetic differences between populations o Diet preference o Effects of disturbance on fungi species(e.g. fertilizer use) o Effects of predation on populations o Determine need for captive breeding-reintroduction programs

There is ongoing monitoring of the long-nosed potoroo while a recovery plan is being prepared for this species.

References

Cited references

  1. ↑ Groves, C. P. (2005). Wilson, D. E.; Reeder, D. M, eds. Mammal Species of the World (3rd ed.). Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 58. OCLC 62265494. ISBN 0-801-88221-4. 
  2. ↑ Menkhorst, P. & Lunney, D. (2008). Potorous tridactylus. In: IUCN 2008. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Retrieved 29 December 2008. Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Norton 2010
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Seebeck 1981
  5. ↑ "1". The Illustrated Encyclopædia of Animals (1st ed.). London: Marshall Publishing. 1998. p. 31. ISBN 1-84028-087-5. 
  6. ↑ Norton 2010, Bennett 1993
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Kitchener 1973
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Bali et al. 2003
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Bennett 1989
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Lewis 2009
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Curtis 2011
  12. ↑ Lewis 2009, Curtis 2011
  13. ↑

General references

  • Bali R. Lewis B.R. and Brown K. (2003). The Status and Distriburtion of the Cobaki Long-nosed Potoroo Population, report prepared for Parsons Brinckerhoff.
  • Bennett, AF and Baxter, BJ (1989). Diet of the Long-Nosed Potoroo, Potorous-Tridactylus (Marsupialia, Potoroidae), in Southwestern Victoria. Australian Wildlife Research 16 , 263–271.
  • Bennett, A.F. (1993). Microhabitat use by the Long-nosed potoroo, Potorous tridactylus, and other small mammals in remnant forest vegetation of southwestern Victoria. Wildlife Research 20, 267-285.
  • Claridge, A.W., Paull, D.J., and Barry, S.C. (2010). Detection of medium-sized ground-dwelling mammals using infrared digital cameras: an alternative way forward?. Australian Mammalogy 32, 165–171
  • Curtis, Lee K.Queensland’s Threatened Animals. Collingwood, Vic: CSIRO Pub, 2011. eBook Collection (EBSCOhost). Web. 14 Nov. 2013.
  • G.J. Frankham, K.A. Handasyde & M.D.B. Eldridge (2012). Novel insights into the phylogenetic relationships of the endangered marsupia genus Potorous. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 64: 592-602
  • Johnston, P.G. (2002). Long-nosed Potoroo, in Strahan, R. (ed.). 2002. The Mammals of Australia. Revised Edition. Australian Museum and Reed New Holland publishers.
  • Johnson, P.M. (2003). Kangaroos of Queensland. Queensland Museum.
  • Kitchener, D.J. (1973) Notes on home range and movement in two small macropods, the Potoroo (potorous apicalis and the Quokka (setonix brachyurus). Mammalia 37: 231-240
  • Lewis, B.D and Freestone, C.Z. (2009). Integrated Plan of Management for the Endangered Long-nosed Potoroo (Potorous tridactylus tridactylus) Population At Cobaki. Prepared by Lewis Ecological Surveys for PacificLink Alliance.
  • Maser, C., Claridge, A.W. and Trappe, J.M. (2008) Trees, Truffles, and Beasts: How Forests Function. Rutgers University Press, New Brunswick, New Jersey.
  • Maxwell, S., Burbidge, A.A, and Morris, K. (eds.) (1996). The 1996 Action Plan For Australian Marsupials and Monotremes. Wildlife Australia Endangered Species Program Project Number 500.
  • Norton, M. A., French, K. O. & Claridge, A. W. (2010). Habitat associations of the long-nosed potoroo (Potorous tridactylus) at multiple spatial scales. Australian Journal of Zoology, 58 (5), 303-316.

Seebeck, J.H. (1981b). Potorous tridactylus (Kerr), (Marsupialia Macropodidae); its distribution, status and habitat preferences in Victoria. Australian Wildlife Research 8: 285-306.

  • Strahan, R. (1995). Mammals of Australia. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, D.C.

“Threatened Species Advanced Search." Office of Environment and Heritage. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Dec. 2013

*(potoroo = Indigenous name for small rat-kangaroo; tridactylus = “three-toed” because it was originally believed that they only had three toes)

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