Register      Login
Australian Mammalogy Australian Mammalogy Society
Journal of the Australian Mammal Society

Australian Mammalogy

Australian Mammalogy

Australian Mammalogy is an important source of information on all aspects of the biology of Australasian mammals – both native and introduced. Read more about the journalMore

Editor: Ross Goldingay

Publishing Model: Hybrid. Open Access options available.

Download our Journal Metrics (PDF, 633KB)

Latest

These articles are the latest published in the journal. Australian Mammalogy is published under a continuous publication model. More information is available on our Continuous Publication page.

Published online 04 July 2025

AM24047Recent roosting of little red flying-foxes (Pteropus scapulatus, Pteropodidae) at two sites in the South Coast region of New South Wales, Australia

Matthew Mo 0000-0003-2099-6020, Kylie Coutts-McClelland, Trista Kyriacou, Janine Davies, Gerardine Hawkins, Samara Wehmeyer, Lorraine Oliver, Samantha H. Yabsley, Jessica Meade and Justin A. Welbergen 0000-0002-8085-5759
 

Little red flying-fox (Pteropus scapulatus) colonies were recently observed in two locations on the South Coast of the New South Wales, a region in which roosting by this species is rarely observed. The colonies persisted for at least 25 days and comprised thousands of individuals. Photograph by Matthew Mo.

Published online 30 June 2025

AM24054Assessing the detectability of a cryptic arboreal marsupial by using a novel survey approach

Cassie Thompson 0000-0001-5016-9857, Leroy Gonsalves, Brad Law and Peter B. Banks
 

A photograph of an eastern pygmy possum on banksia, taken using a wildlife camera.

Cryptic and declining species can be difficult to detect. We investigated detectability for the cryptic eastern pygmy possum by using wildlife cameras in novel ways. Focusing cameras on flowering banksia effectively detected the species and improved capture rates when compared with typical survey methods or focusing cameras on nest boxes. Cameras may offer a low-cost alternative to standard techniques for cryptic and hard to detect species and improve detection probability by supplementing existing survey approaches. Photograph by Cassie Thompson.


Camera image of two parma wallabies near a 50-cm length wooden stake.

I describe the breeding pattern of the parma wallaby on the New England Tableland in northern New South Wales. Remote cameras that operated continuously over a 17-month period produced frequent detections of parma wallabies at 17 sites. Camera images produced evidence that suggested that 45 separate breeding events were documented. Photograph by R. Goldingay.

The elusive kultarr was hunted across three states, namely New South Wales (NSW), Queensland and Western Australia from 1979 to 1982, so that its biology could be studied in greater depth in the laboratory. Although sighted in NSW, none was caught in NSW or Queensland, but enough individuals were captured in Western Australia to establish a laboratory colony. The scarcity of kultarrs in the field ties in with past surveys, which have indicated that their numbers can vary greatly over its range and over time.


Mounted photograph of a Nullarbor barred bandicoot (Perameles papillon) produced by Frederic Wood Jones.

Sometime after the 1930s, the Nullarbor barred bandicoot went extinct. Two photographs of living Nullarbor barred bandicoots have been found in University of Melbourne’s anatomy collections, discovered by chance in a basement storeroom. Apart from a glass slide held by the South Australian Museum, these are the only known photographs of this species as a living animal. Australia has the highest mammal extinction rate in the world and photographs such as this are increasingly being recognised for their scientific and cultural importance. Photograph by Gavan Mitchell.

Published online 29 May 2025

AM23047Investigation of free-living highland wild dogs near Grasberg Gold Mine, Papua Province, Indonesia

James K. McIntyre, Caitlin J. Curry 0000-0002-3853-7191, Lisa L. Wolf, Hendra K. Maury 0000-0002-1917-7987, Leonardo A. Numberi 0000-0003-4318-5079, Suriani Surbakti and Brian W. Davis 0000-0002-6121-135X
 

We describe our expedition to the Grasberg mine to observe, sample, and track New Guinea highland wild dogs. We have described methods, observations, behaviour, and tracking success.

Published online 20 May 2025

AM24037Movements and burrow use of newly emerged juvenile and adult female platypuses

Max Boulton, Jessica Thomas, Gilad Bino, Jessica Clayton, Guido J. Parra and Ryan Baring
 

Little is known about the social interactions of platypuses. We found that juveniles have larger total home ranges and burrow ranges than do adults. Juvenile–adult dyads also demonstrated the greatest home-range overlap.

This article belongs to the collection: Recent research on the platypus.

Published online 16 May 2025

AM24051Insights into patterns of co-existence in urban reserves: home-range size, movement and habitat use of two co-occurring congeneric gliding marsupials

Christopher M. McLean, Jed Field, Chad T. Beranek 0000-0001-9747-2917 and Matthew C. Hingee
 

A photograph of a tracked squirrel glider in urban bushland.

In urban bushland, individual sugar and squirrel gliders were tracked to determine where they went, including where they slept during the day and where they foraged at night. We found that a wide range of different trees were used and that animals traversed several hectares. The results allow for an understanding of how these species can persist in urban bushland. Photograph by Chris McLean.


A photograph showing a platypus with concentric rings emanating from around the bill indicating chewing food items.

Excavation or other works in and around streams can adversely affect platypus resting and nesting burrows, along with their bottom-dwelling invertebrate food species. Such works, to remove flood-deposited material from the iconic Blue Lake at Jenolan Caves, were monitored in our study. Platypuses showed site affinity, leaving the area during the works but returning once they had finished. Modelling studies showed the importance of coarse bottom substrates (cobbles and pebbles) in maintaining platypus macroinvertebrate prey communities. Photograph by Anne Musser.

This article belongs to the collection: Recent research on the platypus.

Published online 06 May 2025

AM24049A modern stocktake of ‘a not-so-common possum’: recent and unpublished records of the common brushtail possum (Trichosurus vulpecula) in arid north-west Western Australia

Hannah Anderson, Judy Dunlop 0000-0003-4842-0672, Jeff Turpin, Mike Bamford, Christopher George Knuckey, Morgan O’Connell, Glen Gaikhorst, Melissa A. Jensen, Alicia Whittington and Russell Palmer
 

The common brushtail possum is a medium-sized marsupial that was formerly widespread across Australia, but has suffered extensive declines in its range and population size, with a significant loss in semi-arid/arid areas. Despite this, the species still exists in the semi-arid Pilbara region of Western Australia (WA). Here, we report on modern and unpublished records of brushtail possums in north-west WA, focusing on the Pilbara region. We uncovered new unpublished records of the species, which shows them persisting on mainland semi-arid/arid WA.

The sugar glider (Petaurus breviceps) has been shown to comprise three species. Petaurus notatus was identified as the available name for one of the newly circumscribed species. The type specimen of Petaurus notatus had been considered lost, and a neotype defined. We found the holotype in Museum für Naturkunde, Berlin, and provide photographs and a descriptionof the specimen. The neotype should now be set aside. Precise details of the type locality are provided.

Distinguishing Planigale ingrami from P. tenuirostris by using skeletal material primarily relies on an intact skull. Here, we show an identification feature for these planigales based solely on mandible features. This has implications for species richness estimates, where planigales may otherwise remain identifiable only to genus, and should also improve our understanding of their distributions.


A photograph showing endangered spectacled flying-foxes in their native environment.

Thermal drones are transforming how we monitor endangered species such as the spectacled flying-fox, offering a non-invasive alternative to traditional ground-based surveys. This study found that drones caused minimal disturbance to roosting flying-foxes, unlike ground surveys, which triggered alarm and escape responses. These findings suggest drones could become a valuable tool for monitoring spectacled flying-foxes, reducing stress on animals and improving the accuracy of population estimates, which are crucial for conservation efforts. Photograph by Emmeline Norris.

Just Accepted

These articles have been peer reviewed and accepted for publication. They are still in production and have not been edited, so may differ from the final published form.

Most Read

The Most Read ranking is based on the number of downloads in the last 60 days from papers published on the CSIRO PUBLISHING website within the last 12 months. Usage statistics are updated daily.

Collections

Collections are a curation of articles relevant to a topical research area

Discover key insights from the 2023 platypus symposium, held at the Australian Platypus Conservation Centre in this new Collection, ‘Recent research on the platypus.’ The symposium had the future of the platypus as its overarching theme and was open to all those working with this very special animal. ‘Recent research on the platypus’ brings together original papers, reviews, and research notes on a broad range of topics including on general biology, monitoring techniques, and pressing conservation issues.

Last Updated: 20 May 2025

After 48 years in print, Australian Mammalogy published its first online-only issue early 2020. To commemorate the occasion, the Australian Mammal Society council collated a virtual issue that includes our member’s choices of the most important publications over the lifetime of Australian Mammalogy. We hope you will enjoy this issue and look forward to a long future of multidisciplinary, highly influential research published in Australian Mammalogy.

Vera Weisbecker (President) and Ross Goldingay (Editor-in-Chief)

Last Updated: 10 Oct 2024

Committee on Publication Ethics

Australian Mammalogy Content Free to AMS Members

Journal content can be accessed by AMS members through the AMS Members-Only site.

Advertisement