Predation on a cryptic rainforest rodent (Pogonomys sp.) by a carpet python (Morelia spilota)
Jennifer M. Fill A B G , Alastair B. Freeman A C , Georgeanna Story D E and Timothy J. Curran A FA The School for Field Studies, PO Box 141, Yungaburra, Qld 4884, Australia.
B Department of Biological Sciences, 706 Coker Life Sciences, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC 29208, USA.
C Threatened Species Unit, Environment and Heritage Protection, PO Box 975, Atherton, Qld 4883, Australia.
D Scats About, PO Box 45, Majors Creek, NSW 2622, Australia.
E The Fenner School of Environment and Society, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 0200, Australia.
F Department of Ecology, PO Box 84, Lincoln University, Canterbury 7647, New Zealand.
G Corresponding author. Email: fill@email.sc.edu
Australian Mammalogy 35(2) 224-226 https://doi.org/10.1071/AM12035
Submitted: 23 June 2012 Accepted: 7 November 2012 Published: 4 February 2013
Abstract
The tree mouse (Pogonomys sp.) is a cryptic species from north-east Queensland. We report the first known predation of this species by a reptile, the carpet python (Morelia spilota), based on the identification of hair retrieved from a road-killed python. We describe characteristics of the hair sample and comment on implications that diverse foraging strategies in a reptilian predator may have for prey behaviour and vulnerability.
Additional Keywords: Atherton Tablelands, hair identification, tropical rainforest, Wet Tropics.
References
Breed, B., and Ford, F. (2007). ‘Native Mice and Rats.’ (CSIRO Publishing: Melbourne.)Calaby, J. H., and Lee, A. K. (1989). The rare and endangered rodents of the Australasian Region. In ‘Rodents: A World Survey of Species of Conservation Concern’. (Ed. W. Z. Lidicker, Jr.) pp. 53–57. (IUCN: Switzerland.)
Corey, B. (2007). Spatial ecology and habitat use of carpet pythons (Morelia spilota) from semi-arid New South Wales. B.Sc.(Honours) Thesis, University of Canberra.
Fearn, S., Robinson, B., Sambono, J., and Shine, R. (2001). Pythons in the pergola: the ecology of ‘nuisance’ carpet pythons (Morelia spilota) from suburban habitats in south-eastern Queensland. Wildlife Research 28, 573–579.
| Pythons in the pergola: the ecology of ‘nuisance’ carpet pythons (Morelia spilota) from suburban habitats in south-eastern Queensland.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Fill, J. M., McBride, P., Powell, A. J., Shanahan, L. K., Stark, J. K., Freeman, A. B., and Curran, T. J. (2012). Diet of amethystine (Morelia kinghorni) and carpet pythons (Morelia spilota) in north Queensland, Australia. Herpetological Review 43, 30–34.
Fitzgerald, M., Shine, R., and Lemckert, F. (2004). Life history attributes of the threatened Australian snake (Stephen’s banded snake Hoplocephalus stephensii, Elapidae). Biological Conservation 119, 121–128.
| Life history attributes of the threatened Australian snake (Stephen’s banded snake Hoplocephalus stephensii, Elapidae).Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Freeman, A., and Bruce, C. (2007). The things you find on the road: roadkill and incidental data as an indicator of habitat use in two species of tropical pythons. In ‘Biology of the Boas and Pythons’. (Eds R. W. Henderson and R. Powell.) pp. 152–165. (Eagle Mountain Publishing: Utah.)
Kays, R., and Allison, A. (2001). Arboreal tropical forest vertebrates: current knowledge and research trends. Plant Ecology 153, 109–120.
| Arboreal tropical forest vertebrates: current knowledge and research trends.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Kotler, B. P., Brown, J. S., Slotow, R. H., Goodfriend, W. L., and Strauss, M. (1993). The influence of snakes on the foraging behavior of gerbils. Oikos 67, 309–316.
| The influence of snakes on the foraging behavior of gerbils.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Musser, G. G., and Carleton, M. D. (2005). Superfamily Muroidea. In ‘Mammal Species of the World. A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference’. (Eds D. E. Wilson and D. M. Reeder.) 3rd edn. pp. 894–1531. (Johns Hopkins University Press: Baltimore.)
Paltridge, P. (1998). Occurrence of the marsupial mole (Notoryctes typhlops) remains in the faecal pellets of cats, foxes and dingoes in the Tanami Desert, N.T. Australian Mammalogy 20, 427–429.
Rader, R., and Krockenberger, A. K. (2006). Does resource availability govern vertical stratification of small mammals in an Australian lowland tropical rainforest? Wildlife Research 33, 571–576.
| Does resource availability govern vertical stratification of small mammals in an Australian lowland tropical rainforest?Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Shine, R., and Fitzgerald, M. (1996). Large snakes in a mosaic rural landscape: the ecology of carpet pythons Morelia spilota (Serpentes: Pythonidae) in coastal eastern Australia. Biological Conservation 76, 113–122.
| Large snakes in a mosaic rural landscape: the ecology of carpet pythons Morelia spilota (Serpentes: Pythonidae) in coastal eastern Australia.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Tracey, J. G. (1982). ‘The Vegetation of the Humid Tropical Region of North Queensland.’ (CSIRO: Melbourne.)
Triggs, B., and Brunner, H. (2002). ‘Hair ID – An Interactive Tool for Identifying Australian Mammalian Hair.’ Version 1.0 (including Update 1.0, September 2004). (CSIRO Publishing: Melbourne.)
Valente, A. (1981). Vertebrate remains in the pellets of the barn owl, Tyto alba, from Planet Downs Station, south-western Queensland. Australian Wildlife Research 8, 181–185.
| Vertebrate remains in the pellets of the barn owl, Tyto alba, from Planet Downs Station, south-western Queensland.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Winter, J. W., Whitford, D., and Rader, R. (2008). Tree mouse. In ‘The Mammals of Australia’. (Eds S. Van Dyck and R. Strahan.) pp. 325–326. (New Holland Publishers: Sydney.)
