The Mammals of the Lower Gordon River Region South-West Tasmania

Abstract

The terrestrial mammal fauna of the Lower Gordon Basin, a little-known wilderness of western Tasmania, was investigated by means of traps and observations. The occurrence of the species was related to six vegetational structures, reduced from the 17 types recognized by Specht. Eighteen native and one introduced species were found, all of which are widely distributed in Tasmania and which represent 70% of the Tasmanian mammal fauna, including carnivores, insectivores and herbivores. The absence of some species is noteworthy. Fire determines the vegetation structure and therefore the distribution of the mammals. Only one species was abundant, the remainder showing the relatively low density of mammals in this rainforest-sedgeland wilderness.