Rufous hare-wallaby

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Rufous hare-wallaby [1]
Lagorchestes hirsutus (40007266231) 2.jpg
CITES Appendix I (CITES) [3]
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Infraclass: Marsupialia
Order: Diprotodontia
Family: Macropodidae
Genus: Lagorchestes
Species:
L. hirsutus
Binomial name
Lagorchestes hirsutus
Gould, 1844
Rufous Hare Wallaby area.png
Rufous hare-wallaby range
(blue — native, red — introduced)

The rufous hare-wallaby (Lagorchestes hirsutus), also known as the mala, is a small macropod found in Australia. It was formerly widely distributed across the western half of the continent, but naturally occurring populations are now confined to Bernier Island and Dorre Island Islands off Western Australia. [4]

Contents

Although once widespread in the central and western deserts, predation by feral cats and foxes, and destructive wildfires, caused the last wild population on mainland Australia to go extinct in the early 1990s. [5] Despite its extinction in the wild, the mainland subspecies persisted in captivity. [6]

The species, which is currently classified as vulnerable, [2] has rufous-grey fur and is the smallest hare-wallaby, weighing just 800-1,600 grams. [5] It is a solitary nocturnal herbivore that feeds on herbs, leaves and seeds.

Mala prefer spinifex sandplain habitat; the animals build burrows under large spinifex hummocks. The burrows are tunnel-like structures with a spinifex roof. This provides a cool refuge during the heat of the day. In summer, they are likely to dig deeper burrows to withstand searing desert temperatures. [5]

Captive stocks of the mainland subspecies are currently being reintroduced in the Tanami Desert in the Northern Territory. [4] In July 2019, the first reintroductions into the Newhaven Sanctuary were conducted, with the release of 30 individuals into the 9,400 hectare, feral predator-free area. [5]

Animals from both Bernier Island and Dorre Island have recently been translocated to Dirk Hartog Island following the complete removal of livestock and feral cats from the landscape. [7]

Taxonomy

The first European to describe the rufous hare-wallaby was John Gould (1844) in The Mammals of Australia .

Four distinct subpopulations of this species have been described as subspecies, especially with regard to their conservation status. Estimates of these island colonies numbers were between 4,300 and 6,700 in 1994; the environmental conditions cause fluctuations in the total number of animals.

Two possible subspecies are found in range restricted to islands near Western Australia.

The fourth is an unnamed subspecies that has been conserved by relocation.

Description

A species of Lagorchestes , the smallest of the genus, the combined length of the head and body is 310 to 390 millimetres, greater than the tail length of 245 to 300 mm. Their weight range is 800 to 1,600 grams and body form is comparatively light and delicate. The colouration of the pelage is rufous overall, greyer at the upper back and yellowish at the underside and forearm. Some parts of the population, such as those at the Bernier and Dorre island in Shark Bay, have greyer fur at the underside. The sandy colour of the tail terminates in a grey tip. The fur is long and shaggy in appearance. [9]

Significance in Anangu (Aboriginal) culture

For the Anangu, or Aboriginal people, the Mala or "hare wallaby people" are important ancestral beings. For tens of thousands of years, the Mala have watched over them from rocks and caves and walls, guiding them on their relationships with people, plants and animals, rules for living and caring for country. Mala Tjukurpa, the Mala Law, is central to their living culture and celebrated in story, song, dance and ceremony. [10]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wallaby</span> Common name of small- or mid-sized macropods found in Australia and New Guinea

A wallaby is a small or middle-sized macropod native to Australia and New Guinea, with introduced populations in New Zealand, Hawaii, the United Kingdom and other countries. They belong to the same taxonomic family as kangaroos and sometimes the same genus, but kangaroos are specifically categorised into the four largest species of the family. The term "wallaby" is an informal designation generally used for any macropod that is smaller than a kangaroo or a wallaroo that has not been designated otherwise.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Macropodidae</span> Family of marsupial mammals

Macropodidae is a family of marsupials that includes kangaroos, wallabies, tree-kangaroos, wallaroos, pademelons, quokkas, and several other groups. These genera are allied to the suborder Macropodiformes, containing other macropods, and are native to the Australian continent, New Guinea and nearby islands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dirk Hartog Island</span> Island on coast of Gascoyne region of Western Australia

Dirk Hartog Island is an island off the Gascoyne coast of Western Australia, within the Shark Bay World Heritage Area. It is about 80 kilometres long and between 3 and 15 kilometres wide and is Western Australia's largest and most western island. It covers an area of 620 square kilometres and is approximately 850 kilometres north of Perth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shark Bay</span> Bay of the Indian Ocean in Western Australia

Shark Bay is a World Heritage Site in the Gascoyne region of Western Australia. The 23,000-square-kilometre (8,900 sq mi) area is located approximately 800 kilometres (500 mi) north of Perth, on the westernmost point of the Australian continent. UNESCO's official listing of Shark Bay as a World Heritage Site reads:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Banded hare-wallaby</span> Species of marsupial

The banded hare-wallaby, mernine, or munning is a marsupial currently found on the islands of Bernier and Dorre off western Australia. Reintroduced populations have recently been established on islands and fenced mainland sites, including Faure Island and Wadderin Sanctuary near Narembeen in the central wheatbelt.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Threatened fauna of Australia</span> Animals at risk of becoming extinct

Threatened fauna of Australia are those species and subspecies of birds, fish, frogs, insects, mammals, molluscs, crustaceans, and reptiles to be found in Australia that are in danger of becoming extinct. This article lists species classified as threatened species under the Commonwealth Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999.

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

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

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

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spectacled hare-wallaby</span> Species of marsupial

The spectacled hare-wallaby is a species of macropod found in Australia and New Guinea. In Australia, a small sub-population is found on Barrow Island, while the mainland type is widespread, though in decline, across northern regions of the country.

The Lake Mackay hare-wallaby, also known as the central hare-wallaby or kuluwarri, is an extinct species of macropod formerly found in central Australia. Very little is known about it.

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Yalgoo is an interim Australian bioregion located in Western Australia. It has an area of 5,087,577 hectares. The bioregion, together with the Avon Wheatbelt and Geraldton Sandplains bioregions, is part of the larger Southwest Australia savanna ecoregion as classified by the World Wildlife Fund.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rufous fieldwren</span> Species of bird

The rufous fieldwren also known as the desert wren or sandplain wren is a species of insectivorous bird in the family Acanthizidae, endemic to Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dorre Island</span> Island in Shark Bay, Western Australia

Dorre Island is one of three islands that make up the Bernier and Dorre Island Nature Reserve in the Shark Bay World Heritage area in Western Australia. The island was named after Peter Dorre, the pilot of a Dutch vessel, the Eendracht, in 1616.

Wadderin Sanctuary is a nature conservation project within the Shire of Narembeen in the eastern wheatbelt of Western Australia. It is about 290 kilometres (180 mi) east of Perth and 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) north of the town of Narembeen. Wadderin is surrounded by a fox- and cat-proof fence that was completed in early 2008. This has allowed the reintroduction of fauna that is uncommon or locally extinct in the wheatbelt, and includes species that are considered threatened at the national level.

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References

  1. Groves, C. P. (2005). Wilson, D. E.; Reeder, D. M. (eds.). Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 63. ISBN   0-801-88221-4. OCLC   62265494.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Burbidge, A.A.; Woinarski, J. (2016). "Lagorchestes hirsutus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2016: e.T11162A21954429. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-2.RLTS.T11162A21954429.en . Retrieved 13 November 2021.
  3. "Appendices | CITES". cites.org. Retrieved 2022-01-14.
  4. 1 2 Menkhorst, Peter (2001). A Field Guide to the Mammals of Australia. Oxford University Press. p. 108.
  5. 1 2 3 4 "Restoring Australia's lost biodiversity to the central deserts". 4 December 2019.
  6. "Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment". Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment. Retrieved 2020-09-03.
  7. "Threatened species introduced to Dirk Hartog Island National Park - Parks and Wildlife Service". www.dpaw.wa.gov.au. Retrieved 2020-09-03.
  8. Zillman, Stephanie (2019-07-18). "Native wallaby brought back from brink of extinction". ABC News. Retrieved 2020-09-03.
  9. Menkhorst, P.W.; Knight, F. (2011). A field guide to the mammals of Australia (3rd ed.). Melbourne: Oxford University Press. p. 112. ISBN   9780195573954.
  10. Factsheet: Uluru – Kata Tjuta National Park Mala Reintroduction Project . Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment