Diet of the short-beaked echidna (Tachyglossus aculeatus) in the Tasmanian Southern Midlands
Jenny A. Sprent A and Stewart C. Nicol A B
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations
A School of Biological Sciences, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tas. 7001, Australia.
B Corresponding author. Email: s.c.nicol@utas.edu.au
Australian Mammalogy 38(2) 188-194 https://doi.org/10.1071/AM15023
Submitted: 17 July 2015 Accepted: 2 February 2016 Published: 11 March 2016
Abstract
The short-beaked echidna (Tachyglossus aculeatus) is generally considered to be myrmecophagous, consuming a diet consisting of ants and termites. The range and seasonal variation of food items consumed by echidnas in the Southern Midlands of Tasmania, an area where termites are absent, was examined using faecal scat analysis. Scat analysis indicated that echidnas in this region are not purely myrmecophagous. Whilst ants were present in 96% of scats and made up 55 ± 39% of scat contents by percentage volume, non-ant food items (scarab larvae and Oxycanus moth larvae) were found in 72% of scats. Scarab larvae were present in 68% of scats, and in those scats made up 46 ± 39% of the volume of prey material. The only significant seasonal variation of any dietary item was for scarab larvae, which can be attributed to variations in the abundance of these larvae throughout their lifecycle. The patterns of consumption indicate that echidnas are opportunistic foragers.
Additional keywords: ants, cockchafer, myrmecophagy, scarabidae, scat analysis.
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