The published works of H.H Finlayson provide a benchmark in the study of Australian mammals during the first half of the 1900s. His publications are well known but his private collection of almost 3000 prepared study specimens is known more from inference than published fact. We provide a brief background of Finlayson and report a compilation of his surviving specimens. A transcription of his original register of specimens is also provided. Photograph by Ken Johnson.

Koalas are particularly susceptible to climate change as they do not seek shelter in hollows or nests, and, as such, they lack ready means to escape extreme weather. Koalas in captivity are fed during the day so that visitors can observe them doing something other than sleeping. However, feeding koalas during the day could cause their body temperature to rise up to 1°C higher than if they were fed early evening; an implication which should be considered particularly during periods of high environmental temperatures.

Half of the ten Australian hopping mice (Notomys) species have become extinct recently, and most of the rest are threatened, making the study of their present diversity paramount. Using geometric morphometric methods, I find significant differences in cranial size and shape among Notomys species. The species pair that differed the most (N. aquilo – N. cervinus), potentially caused by the N. cervinus being evolutionarily distant from other Notomys and N. aquilo having a more distinct ecology than the other sampled species.

Echidnas occur all over Australia, but echidnas from different regions vary greatly in the length of the spines and hair. This paper shows there are also big differences in beak length. Tasmanian echidnas have the longest beaks, whereas arid zone echidnas have very short beaks. Beak length is related to diet and feeding behaviour: longer beaks are better suited to probing for scarab larvae, while short beaks are better for ploughing through the soil for ants and termites. Diet, beak length and claw lengths divide Australian echidnas into two groups.

We built a species distribution model for the cryptic and endangered Kangaroo Island dunnart (Sminthopsis fuliginosus aitkeni). The modelling suggested that rainfall and to a lesser extent post-fire vegetation age are good predictors of dunnart occurrence, with potentially suitable habitat located on the central west of the island. These results suggest that careful fire management could benefit the dunnart, and that decreased rainfall (as projected by Australian climate models), will be a threat in the long term.

We aimed to measure how thermal cameras might enhance spotlight surveys, and determine at what ambient temperatures and for what mammal species they provide the most benefit at a fenced reserve in arid Australia. During 20 transects with both a spotlight and thermal camera user, the latter resulted in more detections of small rodents and medium sized mammals, but only when under approximately 25°C. Spotlighting may be more versatile, but thermal cameras appear more accurate.

The causes and consequences of the variability of testis organisation and sperm head morphology of the delicate mouse (Pseudomys delicatulus).

Plastic, rubber and metal rubbish is hazardous to a platypus when it loops around the neck or body and then cuts through skin. The problem increases in urban settings and decreases with size and age: females are entangled more often than males, and juveniles are entangled more often than older animals. Up to 1.5% of the platypus near Melbourne and 0.5% of those in regional Victoria are at risk of rubbish-related injuries or death at any point in time. Photograph by Australian Platypus Conservancy.

Riparian zones are the resource-rich areas surrounding creeks, rivers, and other waterways, which are particularly important in arid environments where resources are low. Echidnas are found throughout Australia, including resource-poor, arid environments, and this paper investigated echidna movements and habitat selection in relation to arid riparian zones and resource availability. Habitat use differed by age, and habitats were not selected in proportion to availability. Habitat selection was driven by prey (ants) and shelter availability.

The high extinction risk of Australian marsupials has been attributed to their failure to recognise novel predators, and the application of inappropriate anti-predator responses. A preliminary study showed that captive Lumholtz’s tree-kangaroos may be able to associate faecal odours from arboreal and terrestrial predators with a threat, but do not seem to have different anti-predatory responses. These results suggest that the ancestral history of a prey may also play a role in the vulnerability of Australian prey species to novel predators.

Prey naivety to introduced predators can cause threatened species translocations to fail. Before a release to Summerland Peninsula, Phillip Island, Victoria, captive eastern barred bandicoots (Perameles gunnii) successfully underwent rapid predator aversion training to improve vigilance in the presence of feral cats (Felis catus). Following release, trained and untrained bandicoots had high survival rates. Our study demonstrates that bandicoots can learn predator avoidance behaviours quickly and are suitable for future training. We suggest translocation success of other endangered species could be improved by predator avoidance training.

Radio-collars are often used for research purposes on wildlife, but their removal can be difficult. Weak links are used by researchers as insurance against irretrievable collars and entanglement. We surveyed Australian mammalogists to collate their experiences using radio-collars and weak links, and found that overall the efficacy of these additions is unreliable. We recommend that weak links should not be used as the primary method of collar removal, and that testing should be done in a controlled environment prior to deployment.

Australia’s largest marsupial carnivore is the Tasmanian devil. They have a highly diverse diet and the ability to devour almost all parts of their prey, including bone. But how do they do this? To find out we watched them feed and noted their unique behaviours. Devils are special and share similarities with large carnivores that handle and consume whole carcasses, as well as small carnivores that regularly grasp and handle small prey.

Microchip-automated devices have the potential to provide individual free-living animals with safe nesting areas and act as a method of targeted food delivery, whilst excluding competitors and predators. Training wildlife to use such devices in captivity may not always be feasible or appropriate due to the high cost, likely increased stress on the animals, and potential biosecurity risk. We successfully trained a brush-tailed phascogale in the wild to use a commercially available microchip-automated device, demonstrating potential for this technology to improve conservation outcomes. Photograph of phascogale in the door of a nest box: camera trap image captured from this study.

Fauna surveys in the western division of New South Wales recorded an easterly range extension of 430 km for Forrest’s mouse (Leggadina forresti) in Culgoa and Ledknapper National Parks. Forrest’s mouse appears to persist in riverine plains and this habitat may serve as an important residual intact habitat within the rangelands of NSW for this threatened rodent.

Although radio-collaring is a valuable conservation tool, it can increase the chance of injury for live collared animals. We here present a relatively inexpensive addition to the standard radio-collar which causes no long-term negative effects and may reduce the chance of injury. This collar addition should be implemented to improve ethical and ecological safety of wildlife studies.

A photographic report of an eastern quoll in 2013 from the Nungatta area (near Eden in southern NSW) prompted a targeted survey. We set cameras at 59 sites in the general vicinity of the sighting in order to attempt to gather evidence of the presence of this species, which is considered to be locally extinct. Despite targeted survey and considerable past surveys in the area, we were not able to independently verify the presence of a wild population as no additional record of an eastern quoll was obtained.

This research note documents the first confirmed record of an adult male pygmy sperm whale found stranded in Fiji, in July 2020.

Populations of rock-wallabies are difficult to monitor because they live in steep, rocky places that are difficult to survey. This work describes development of a transect-based approach that used rock-wallaby scats to inform an Index of Activity (IoA) at 20 separate field sites. Low IoA scores offer the potential to inform the need for site-based management intervention which will assist conservation efforts.

Rothschild’s rock-wallaby (Petrogale rothschildi) is endemic to the north-west of Western Australia. This large species of rock-wallaby is currently not recognised as threatened but is poorly known. Feral cats are a serious threat to many mainland Australian mammals, including some species of rock-wallaby, however their impact on P. rothschildi is largely unknown. Here we provide the first account of feral cat predation on Rothschild’s rock-wallaby.Photograph of feral cat bite mark by Kristy Quinlan.

The low trap success (2–4%) of northern hairy-nosed wombats (Lasiorhinus krefftii) has proven a considerable limiting factor to their conservation and management. This project utilised expert knowledge and experience to redesign current traps and deployment to improve trap success, reduce by-catch and required resources, and improve safety for field staff and captured fauna. The results show the capacity to improve monitoring capabilities for a cryptic species, to ultimately improve the ability of managers to achieve conservation outcomes.

We compared the diet of dingoes, feral cats and eastern barn owls using scat, stomach and pellets collected from a significant conservation reserve in southwest Queensland. We found that dingo diet was dominated by macropods, whereas the diet of feral cat and barn owl was dominated by small mammals. We found no remains of threatened species but recommend continued monitoring of predator diet as a tool to assist management.

Few specimens of the red-bellied phascogale have ever been collected from the Birds’ Head region of New Guinea. Data from the complete mitochondrial genome of this rare New Guinean endemic dasyurid demonstrates its close relationship to the more widely distributed narrow-stripped dasyure, Ph. dorsalis and to the speckled dasyure. The common ancestor of these three species represented one of three separate invasions of New Guinean rainforest habitats by dasyurids.