Quenda

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Quenda
Isoodon fusciventer 221236462.jpg
Quenda digging for arthropods. Beeliar Regional Park, Bibra Lake.
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Infraclass: Marsupialia
Order: Peramelemorphia
Family: Peramelidae
Genus: Isoodon
Species:
Subspecies:
I. o. fusciventer
Trinomial name
Isoodon obesulus fusciventer
(J. E. Gray, 1841)

The quenda (Isoodon obesulus fusciventer), also known as the western brown bandicoot, is a small marsupial species [2] endemic to South Western Australia.

Contents

Though it is currently treated as a subspecies of the southern brown bandicoot (Isoodon obesulus), such as by the IUCN where it is given the status of least concern, [1] a 2018 paper proposed to raise it to species rank due to molecular and morphological analysis [3] which revealed it was more closely related to the golden bandicoot (Isoodon auratus). [4]

It is currently recognised as a separate species by ASM, [5] AFD, [6] ALA. [7]

Quenda are one of the few native marsupials that can still be seen in Perth's urban bushland reserves. [8] They are vulnerable to predation by feral foxes and cats and Quenda populations can recover where predators are controlled. [8]

Description

Quenda are small marsupials with a long pointed muzzle; they are usually stockily built, with short limbs and neck. The head and body length is 40–50 cm (16–20 in), tail length 13 cm (5.1 in) and weight about 1.2–1.850 kg (2.65–4.08 lb). The teeth are small, relatively even-sized and pointed, as in typical insectivore teeth. The bandicoot body is basically designed for digging in soil to extract invertebrate food. The elongate muzzle and powerful foreclaws are used for probing in crevices and rooting and digging in soil. [9]

Biology and behaviour

This species is a solitary nocturnal feeder, but can be often observed active at times during the day depending on the proximity of predators. Quenda are omnivorous and as such they consume a range of organisms such as arthropods, plant roots, tubers and fungi. [10] Sourcing these items comes from foraging across the ground surface or by penetrating the top soil through digging. [11] The unique conical diggings that are a result of foraging by the quenda, have proven to have a positive effect on an ecosystem by aerating the soil and allowing nutrients to cycle more efficiently. [12] [13]

The males are territorial and aggressive to other quenda and will fight each other. [14] This often results in ears being torn and tails lost. [14]

Quenda breed throughout the year with a peak in spring. The backward opening pouch contains eight teats arranged in an incomplete circle, and accommodates one to six (usually two to four) young in a litter. Two or three litters may be reared in a year, though this is dependent upon food availability. It has been found that older females produce more litters. In eastern Australia, gestation period is short (12–15 days). The young are weaned when about 60–70 days old. [15]

Habitat

Scrubby, often swampy, vegetation with dense cover up to 1 m (3 ft 3 in) high, often feeds in adjacent forest and woodland that is burnt on a regular basis and in areas of pasture and cropland lying close to dense cover. Populations inhabiting Jarrah and Wandoo forests are usually associated with watercourses. Quenda will thrive in more open habitat subject to introduced predator control. On the Swan Coastal Plain, Quenda are often associated with wetlands. [15]

Conservation status

According to the WA Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions, this species' conservation status is Priority 4: Rare, Near Threatened and other species in need of monitoring. [16]

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Desert bandicoot</span> Extinct species of marsupial

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northern brown bandicoot</span> Species of marsupial

The northern brown bandicoot, a marsupial species, is a bandicoot found only on the northern and eastern coasts of Australia and nearby islands, mainly Papua New Guinea. It is not, however, found far inland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eastern barred bandicoot</span> Species of mammal

The eastern barred bandicoot is a nocturnal, rabbit-sized marsupial endemic to southeastern Australia, being native to the island of Tasmania and mainland Victoria. It is one of three surviving bandicoot species in the genus Perameles. It is distinguishable from its partially-sympatric congener – the long-nosed bandicoot – via three or four dark horizontal bars found on its rump. In Tasmania, it is relatively abundant. The mainland population in Victoria is struggling and is subject to ongoing conservation endeavors.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Woylie</span> Species of marsupial

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dibbler</span> Species of marsupial

The dibbler is an endangered species of marsupial. It is an inhabitant of the southwest mainland of Western Australia and some offshore islands. It is a member of the order Dasyuromorphia, and the only member of the genus Parantechinus. The dibbler is a small, nocturnal carnivore with speckled fur that is white around the eyes.

<i>Chaeropus</i> Extinct genus of marsupials

Chaeropus, known as the pig-footed bandicoots, is a genus of small marsupials that became extinct during the 20th century. They were the only members of the family Chaeropodidae in order Peramelemorphia, with unusually thin legs, yet were able to move rapidly. Two recognised species inhabited dense vegetation on the arid and semiarid plains of Australia. The genus' distribution range was later reduced to an inland desert region, where it was last recorded in the 1950s; it is now presumed extinct.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Short-nosed bandicoot</span> Genus of marsupials

The short-nosed bandicoots are members of the order Peramelemorphia. These marsupials can be found across Australia, although their distribution can be patchy. Genetic evidence suggests that short-nosed bandicoots diverged from the related long-nosed species around eight million years ago, during the Miocene epoch, and underwent a rapid diversification around three million years ago, during the late Pliocene.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peramelidae</span> Family of marsupials

The marsupial family Peramelidae contains the extant bandicoots. They are found throughout Australia and New Guinea, with at least some species living in every available habitat, from rainforest to desert. Four fossil peramelids are described. One known extinct species of bandicoot, the pig-footed bandicoot, was so different from the other species, it was recently moved into its own family.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stripe-faced dunnart</span> Species of marsupial

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Western Shield</span> Nature conservation program

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Southern brown bandicoot</span> Species of marsupial

The southern brown bandicoot is a short-nosed bandicoot, a type of marsupial, found mostly in southern Australia. A subspecies in Western Australia was also known as the quenda in South Western Australia. This subspecies was elevated to species in 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boodie</span> Species of marsupial

The boodie, also known as the burrowing bettong or Lesueur's rat-kangaroo, is a small, furry, rat-like mammal native to Australia. Once common throughout the continent, it is now restricted to a few coastal islands. A member of the rat-kangaroo family (Potoroidae), it lives in burrows and is active at night when it forages for fungi, roots, and other plant matter. It is about the size of a rabbit and, like most marsupials, carries its young in a pouch.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Narrow-nosed planigale</span> Species of marsupial

The narrow-nosed planigale is a species of very small marsupial carnivore of the family Dasyuridae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Golden bandicoot</span> Species of marsupial

The golden bandicoot is a short-nosed bandicoot found in northern Australia. It is the smallest of its genus, and is distinguished from the brown bandicoots by its golden colouring and much smaller size.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Western barred bandicoot</span> Species of marsupial

The Western barred bandicoot, also known as the Shark Bay bandicoot or the Marl, is a small species of bandicoot; now extinct across most of its former range, the western barred bandicoot only survives on offshore islands and in fenced sanctuaries on the mainland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Long-nosed bandicoot</span> Species of mammal

The long-nosed bandicoot, a marsupial, is a species of bandicoot found in eastern Australia, from north Queensland along the east coast to Victoria. Around 40 centimetres (16 in) long, it is sandy- or grey-brown with a long snouty nose. Omnivorous, it forages for invertebrates, fungi and plants at night.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jarrah Forest</span> Bioregion in South West Western Australia.

Jarrah Forest, also known as the Southwest Australia woodlands, is an interim Australian bioregion and ecoregion located in the south west of Western Australia. The name of the bioregion refers to the region's dominant plant community, jarrah forest – a tall, open forest in which the dominant overstory tree is jarrah.

References

  1. 1 2 Burbidge, A.A.; Woinarski, J. (2017) [errata version of 2016 assessment]. "Isoodon obesulus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2016: e.T40553A115173603. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T40553A21966368.en . Retrieved 20 February 2023.
  2. Australia, Atlas of Living. "Species: Isoodon fusciventer (Quenda)". bie.ala.org.au. Retrieved 2023-02-19.
  3. Travouillon, Kenny J.; Phillips, Matthew J. (2018-02-07). "Total evidence analysis of the phylogenetic relationships of bandicoots and bilbies (Marsupialia: Peramelemorphia): reassessment of two species and description of a new species". Zootaxa. 4378 (2): 224–256. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.4378.2.3. ISSN   1175-5334. PMID   29690027.
  4. Thavornkanlapachai, Rujiporn; Levy, Esther; Li, You; Cooper, Steven J. B.; Byrne, Margaret; Ottewell, Kym (2020-12-22). "Disentangling the Genetic Relationships of Three Closely Related Bandicoot Species across Southern and Western Australia". Diversity. 13 (1): 2. doi: 10.3390/d13010002 . ISSN   1424-2818.
  5. "ASM I.fusciventer".
  6. "AFD I.fusciventer".
  7. "ALA Quenda".
  8. 1 2 "Bandicoots". City of Cockburn. Retrieved 2023-02-22.
  9. "Quenda profile" (PDF). Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.
  10. Menkhorst, Knight, P, F (2011). A field guide to the mammals of Australia. Oxford University Press.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  11. The mammals of Australia. Steve Van Dyck, Ronald Strahan (3rd ed.). Sydney: New Holland Publishers. 2007. ISBN   978-1-877069-25-3. OCLC   225635210.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  12. Kristancic, A.; Baudains, C.; Valentine, L.; Hardy, G. E. St J.; Fleming, P. A. (2017). "Quenda; nature's gardeners". 2017 Research Findings: Bulletin 5.12 Ecology, People & Environment. Retrieved 2023-02-23.
  13. Kristancic, Amanda R.; Kuehs, Janine; Beal Richardson, Bonnie; Baudains, Catherine; StJ. Hardy, Giles E.; Fleming, Patricia A (2022). "Biodiversity conservation in urban gardens – Pets and garden design influence activity of a vulnerable digging mammal". Landscape and Urban Planning. 225: 104464. doi:10.1016/j.landurbplan.2022.104464. S2CID   248732666.
  14. 1 2 Bramwell, Emma (1998). Encouraging quendas. Dept. of Conservation & Land Management. OCLC   223741270.
  15. 1 2 "quenda_2012.pdf" (PDF). Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.
  16. "CONSERVATION CODES" (PDF). Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.