The crest-tailed mulgara (Dasycercus cristicauda) in the south-eastern Strzelecki Desert
Mike Letnic A B , Anna Feit A , Charlotte Mills A and Benjamin Feit A
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations
A Centre for Ecosystem Science, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia.
B Corresponding author. Email: m.letnic@unsw.edu.au
Australian Mammalogy 38(2) 241-245 https://doi.org/10.1071/AM15027
Submitted: 23 July 2015 Accepted: 29 December 2015 Published: 5 February 2016
Abstract
We report observations of the crest-tailed mulgara (Dasycercus cristicauda) in the south-eastern Strzelecki Desert. Our observations, made during spotlight surveys and using infrared cameras, extend the contemporary range of D. cristicauda to the east by 180 km but subfossil records show that these observations are within the pre-European-settlement range of the species. Whether our observations represent a range expansion or localised population irruption of a previously unknown refuge population is not known. Future studies are recommended to establish the distribution of D. cristicauda in the region and the factors determining its distribution and abundance.
Additional keywords: critical weight range, dasyurid, introduced predators, marsupial, mesopredator release hypothesis, resource pulse.
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