Kimberley rock rat | |
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Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Mammalia |
Order: | Rodentia |
Family: | Muridae |
Genus: | Zyzomys |
Species: | Z. woodwardi |
Binomial name | |
Zyzomys woodwardi (Thomas, 1909) | |
Distribution of the Kimberley rock rat |
The Kimberley rock rat (Zyzomys woodwardi) is a species of rodent in the family Muridae. It is found only in Australia, specifically in the northern tropical part of the Northern Territory and adjacent Kimberley region of Western Australia, in high-altitude closed forest.
Biologists have proposed that Zyzomys woodwardi speciated from Zyzomys argurus around 8,000 years ago due to a large flood that increased the wetness of the environment. In response to the wetter environment Zyzomys woodwardi had a better Darwinian fitness and out-competed Zyzomys argurus due to new selective pressures and over time the two species were separated by large vine thickets and sandstone barriers.
The species is present in the Charnley River–Artesian Range Wildlife Sanctuary in the Kimberley region of WA. [2]
Zyzomys is a genus of rodents with unusually thick, long tails. Five species of the genus are known in Australia, where they are called rock rats or thick-tailed rats. The genus was classified by Michael Rogers Oldfield Thomas in 1909.
The rough-scaled python is a large-scaled python species endemic to Australia. No subspecies are currently recognized.
The golden bandicoot is a short-nosed bandicoot found in northern Australia. It is the smallest of its genus.
The scaly-tailed possum is found in northwestern Australia, where it is restricted to the Kimberley.
The black wallaroo, also known as Woodward's wallaroo, is a species of macropod restricted to a small, mountainous area in Arnhem Land, Northern Territory, Australia, between South Alligator River and Nabarlek. It classified as near threatened, mostly due to its limited distribution. A large proportion of the range is protected by Kakadu National Park.
The monjon is the smallest species of rock-wallabies (Petrogale) and is found in north-west Australia. They are restricted to a small area of the Kimberley region and on nearby islands in the Bonaparte Archipelago. Common names also include Burbidge's rock-wallaby and Burbidge's rock-weasel.
The pale field rat is a small rat endemic to Australia. It is a nocturnal and herbivorous rodent that resides throughout the day in shallow burrows made in loose sand. Once widespread, the range has become greatly reduced and it is restricted to the grasslands, sedges, and cane-fields at the north and east of the continent. The fur is an attractive yellow-brown colour, with grey or cream at the underside. This medium-sized rat has a tail shorter than its body.
The golden-backed tree rat is a species of rodent in the family Muridae, found only in Australia.
The common rock rat is a species of rodent in the family Muridae. It is found only in Australia, where it lives in the rocky areas of woodlands, grasslands and low open forests, particularly on the talus, or scree, of cliff slopes. As a nocturnal animal, it spends the daytime nesting in cool rock crevices. Direct exposure to the sun can quickly result in heat stroke and death.
The Arnhem Land rock rat also known as the Arnhem rock-rat and by the Indigenous Australian name of kodjperr is a species of rodent in the family Muridae. It is found only in the Top End Region of the Northern Territory in Australia.
The Carpentarian rock rat is a species of rodent in the family Muridae. It is found only in Australia.
The central rock rat, also known as the central thick-tailed rock-rat, Macdonnell Range rock-rat, and Australian native mouse, is a Critically Endangered species of rodent in the family Muridae endemic to Australia.
The black grasswren, known as dalal to the Wunambal people, is a species of bird in the family Maluridae. It is endemic to Western Australia.
The Kimberley honeyeater is a bird in the honeyeater family, Meliphagidae. It was formerly lumped with the white-lined honeyeater but, based on a genetic analysis, it is now considered a separate species. Articles published in 2014 and 2015 provided evidence that the Kimberley and white-lined honeyeaters differ not only genetically, but also in song and foraging ecology. The specific epithet honours the Australian chemist and ornithologist Dr Julian Ralph Ford (1932-1987).
The Kimberley tropical savanna is a tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannas, and shrublands ecoregion in northwestern Australia, covering portions of Western Australia and the Northern Territory south of the Timor Sea.
Charnley River–Artesian Range Wildlife Sanctuary is a protected area covering about 3,000 square kilometres (1,200 sq mi) in the Kimberley region of Western Australia. It is situated about 205 kilometres (127 mi) east of Derby and 287 kilometres (178 mi) north west of Halls Creek, and is accessed via the Gibb River Road. It is named after the Charnley River that flows through the property.
The northern masked owl is a large forest owl in the family Tytonidae. The northern kimberli subspecies was identified as a novel race of the Australian masked owl by the Australian ornithologist Gregory Macalister Mathews in his 1912 reference list of Australian birds. The northern masked owl occurs in forest and woodland habitats in northern Australia, ranging from the northern Kimberley region to the northern mainland area of the Northern Territory and the western Gulf of Carpentaria. While the Australian masked owl is recognized as the largest species in the family Tytonidae, the northern masked owl is one of the smallest of the Australian masked owl subspecies.
Egernia douglasi, also known commonly as the Kimberley crevice-skink, is a species of lizard in the family Scincidae. The species is endemic to Australia.
Hydromyini is a very large, diverse tribe of muroid rodents in the subfamily Murinae. They are the dominant native rodents in Australasia and one of only two native rodent groups there, the other being the R. fuscipes group of the genus Rattus in the tribe Rattini. They are also found in parts of Southeast Asia.