Sminthopsis douglasi
States and territories: Queensland.
Regions: Downs Country, north central Queensland, in an area of 8000 km2 between Julia Creek and Richmond.
Habitat: Restricted to treeless or lightly timbered tussock grasslands on cracking clay soils associated with Mitchell Grass Downs, Gulf Plains and Desert Upland Bioregions (Kutt 2003). Favours habitat where there is a dense cover of flinders grass Isielema spp. (Woolley 2008).
Habit: Ground-dwelling.
Avg. body weight: 55 g (Woolley 1995).
Activity pattern: Nocturnal. Probably shelters during the day in cracks in clay soils in the dry season, and in the wet season under or in vegetation (Woolley 2008).
Diet: An opportunistic feeder whose diet can range from invertebrates to small reptiles and mammals (Lundie-Jenkins & Payne 2000).
Breeding: The breeding season extends from September to February, with females having the potential to raise two litters of eight young in a season (Woolley 2008).
Description
The Julia Creek dunnart is restricted to the Mitchell grass downs country of north central Queensland and until 1992 was known only from museum records (Woolley 1992). As a result of targeted trapping surveys and the identification of remains in predator scats or pellets, it is now known to occupy a large area of Downs Country in central north Queensland (Woolley 1992; Kutt 2003).
It is the largest species of Sminthopsis with brown fur, speckled with grey above and buff white below, and with pinkish-white feet (Menkhorst & Knight 2004). It has a prominent facial stripe, rufous cheek hair and dark coloured rings around the eyes. Rufous hair may also be present at the base of the ears and towards the tip of its long, tapering tail, which is fattened at the base and slightly shorter than the length of the head and body combined (Woolley 2008).
Survey methods
On the basis of previous surveys, the following survey techniques are recommended to detect the presence of the Julia Creek dunnart in areas up to 5 hectares in size:
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daytime searches for potentially suitable habitat resources, such as Mitchell grass habitat with cracks in the soil that may provide shelter sites (description of the survey technique and recommended effort is provided in Section 3.1)
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collection of predator scats, owl casts or remains in predatory bird/mammal nests/dens (description of the survey technique and recommended effort is provided in Section 3.2)
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hair sampling device surveys, as the Julia Creek dunnart is included among those species known to be distinguishable from hair samples (see Table 2, Section 3.3.7)
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Elliott A and E trapping surveys conducted according to the description of the technique and recommended effort provided in Section 3.3.9, but to be consistent with previous surveys for the Julia Creek dunnart, increase the survey effort as follows:
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in areas of suitable habitat, use four rather than two survey sites per 5 hectare area (the minimum number of sites specified in Section 3.3.9)
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set 25 traps in each survey site, spaced at 20 metre intervals, and
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set traps for four to five consecutive nights (equating to 400 to 500 trap nights)
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consider the placement of camera traps in suitable habitat as this technique is ideal for cryptic species occurring at low densities, particularly as this species can be relatively easily separated from other sympatric dunnart species
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community consultation may be critical for locating additional populations, particularly graziers and other people working in the Mitchell Downs grasslands.
Similar species in range
The Julia Creek dunnart can be distinguished from sympatric species, the fat-tailed (S. crassicaudata) and the striped-faced dunnart (S. macroura) by its larger size, length of the hindfeet (less than 20 millimetres), and the presence of a dark eye ring, dark upper outer edge of the ears and dark hairs on the tip of the tail (Woolley 2008).
References
Kutt, A.S. 2003. New records of the Julia Creek Dunnart Sminthopsis douglasi in central-north Queensland. Australian Zoologist 32(2): 257-260.
Lundie-Jenkins, G and Payne, A. 2000. "Recovery plan for the Julia Creek Dunnart (Sminthopsis douglasi) 2000-2004". QLD Parks and Wildlife Service, Brisbane, Australia.
Menkhorst, P. and Knight, F. 2004. ‘A Field Guide to the Mammals of Australia’ Oxford University Press, Melbourne, Australia.
Woolley, P.A. 1992. New records of the Julia Creek Dunnart Sminthopsis douglasi (Marsupialia: Dasyuridae). Wildlife Research 19: 779-783.
Woolley, P.A 1995. Julia Creek Dunnart, Sminthopsis douglasi. In ‘The Mammals of Australia’ (Ed. R Strahan) pp. 134-135 (Reed Books: Sydney).
Woolley, P.A 2008. Julia Creek Dunnart, Sminthopsis douglasi. In ‘The Mammals of Australia’ (Ed. S. Van Dyck and R. Strahan) pp. 136-137. (Reed New Holland: Sydney).
Kangaroo Island dunnart
Sminthopsis aitkeni
States and territories: South Australia.
Regions: Kangaroo Island (with all recent records from Flinders Chase National Park).
Habitat: Occurs in a variety of mallee heath vegetation types on both lateritic and sandy soils that had not been burnt in the last 11 years (Gates 2001; Robinson 2008).
Habit: Ground-dwelling.
Avg. body weight: 22.5 g (Robinson 1995).
Activity pattern: Nocturnal.
Diet: Invertebrates: spiders, ants, scorpions, grasshoppers and centipedes (Gates 2001).
Breeding: All juveniles captured by Gates (2001) were estimated to have been born between early October and early January (based on comparisons with growth curves for the related common dunnart Sminthopsis murina), which suggests a possible September to December breeding season for the Kangaroo Island dunnart (Gates 2001). No adult females have been captured and so litter size is unknown (Gates 2001).
Description
The Kangaroo Island dunnart was discovered in 1969 during land clearing, and at that time was classed as the common dunnart due to its similarity in appearance to that species. Electrophoretic analysis has since been used to separate the two species (Baverstock et al. 1984). The Kangaroo Island dunnart differs in appearance from the common dunnart by having dark sooty-coloured dorsal fur, and a slender pointier muzzle. The two species are considered allopatric (Robinson 2008). However, it is possible that the Kangaroo Island dunnart may occur on the adjacent mainland. If there is any doubt, a tissue sample should be taken for confirmation, provided that permission is granted from the relevant South Australian government authorities.
Survey methods
It is recommended that future surveys for detection of the Kangaroo Island dunnart should be consistent with the methods used by Gates (2001) and Owens (2000). Wherever possible, surveys should be designed to replicate sampling over time to provide an appropriate survey effort for this species, which has been shown to be difficult to detect.
On the basis of previous surveys, the following survey techniques are recommended to detect the presence of the Kangaroo Island dunnart in areas up to 5 hectares in size:
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daytime searches for potentially suitable habitat resources, such as habitat that has not been burnt for at least 11 years (description of the survey technique and recommended effort is provided in Section 3.1)
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collection of predator scats, owl casts or remains, targeting predatory bird/mammal nests/dens using the technique and effort described in Section 4.2.1
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pitfall trapping surveys (with trap depth recommended to be 60 centimetres) as the primary detection technique, conducted to the technique and effort described in Section 3.3.8
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active searches under debris such as fallen logs, and potentially place artificial material on the ground and check periodically. This is a highly effective technique for the closely related common dunnart (M Schulz. pers. obs.)
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consider the placement of camera traps in suitable habitat, as this technique is ideal for cryptic species occurring at low densities, particularly where there are no sympatric species that could be readily confused
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community consultation may be critical for locating additional populations, particularly where people live in dwellings backing onto bush remnants.
Hair sampling device surveys are not recommended because the Kangaroo Island dunnart is not included among those species known to be distinguishable from hair samples (see Table 2, Section 3.3.7). Should this situation change for this species, then hair sampling may provide an appropriate alternative detection technique.
Similar species in range
No other dunnart species occurs on Kangaroo Island. On adjacent mainland areas this species can be separated from the common dunnart by blackish rather than brown dorsal fur colouration, grey rather than white belly fur and a longer tail (Robinson 2008). The Kangaroo Island dunnart may possibly occur on the mainland, and hence voucher or tissue/hair samples should be collected from mainland specimens in adjacent areas such as on the Fleurieu Peninsula, provided that the appropriate permission and licensing has been granted by the relevant South Australian government organisation.
References
Baverstock P.R., Adams, M. and Archer, M. 1984. Electrophoretic resolution of species boundaries in the Sminthopsis murina complex (Dasyuridae). Australian Journal of Zoology 32: 823 – 832.
Gates, J. 2001. The distribution and Ecology of the Kangaroo Island Dunnart Sminthopsis aitkeni. Endangered species Project Number 006499. Unpublished report for the Department of Environment, Heritage and Aboriginal Affairs, South Australia.
Gates, J (2009). SA DEH, Kangaroo Island. Personal communication regarding the Kangaroo island Dunnart.
Owens, H. 2000. Guidelines for Vertebrate Surveys in South Australia. Using the Biological Survey of South Australia. 1st Edition. National Parks and South Australia: Adelaide.
Robinson, A.C. 1995. Kangaroo Island Dunnart Sminthopsis aitkeni. In ‘Mammals of Australia’ (Ed. R. Strahan) pp. 123 – 124. (Reed Books: Sydney).
Robinson, A.C. 2008. Kangaroo Island Dunnart Sminthopsis aitkeni. In ‘The Mammals of Australia’ (Ed. S. Van Dyck and R. Strahan) pp. 124 – 126. (Reed New Holland: Sydney).
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