|
|
Post by another specialist on Jul 9, 2008 3:33:06 GMT
Caloprymnus campestris Author: Gould, 1843. Citation: Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond., 1843: 81. Common Name: Desert Rat-kangaroo Type Locality: Australia, South Australia. Distribution: South Australia/Queensland border country. Status: CITES – Appendix I pe [Possibly Extinct]; U.S. ESA – Endangered; IUCN – Extinct, see Ride (1970:198); not recorded or sighted since 1935. www.bucknell.edu/msw3/browse.asp?s=y&id=11000185 |
|
|
|
Post by another specialist on Oct 11, 2008 9:55:40 GMT
Taxonomy [top] Kingdom Phylum Class Order Family ANIMALIA CHORDATA MAMMALIA DIPROTODONTIA POTOROIDAE Scientific Name: Caloprymnus campestris Species Authority Infra-specific Authority: (Gould, 1843) Common Name/s: English – Desert Rat Kangaroo, Buff-nosed Rat-kangaroo, Plains Rat-kangaroo French – Kangourou-rat Du Désert Spanish – Canguro-rata Desértico Assessment Information [top] Red List Category & Criteria: Extinct ver 3.1 Year Assessed: 2008 Assessor/s Australasian Mammal Assessment Workshop Evaluator/s: Lamoreux, J. & Hilton-Taylor, C. (Global Mammal Assessment Team) Justification: Listed as Extinct because there have been no confirmed records of the species since 1935 despite extensive research within its habitat. History: 1996 – Extinct (Baillie and Groombridge 1996) 1994 – Extinct (Groombridge 1994) 1990 – Indeterminate (IUCN 1990) 1988 – Indeterminate (IUCN Conservation Monitoring Centre 1988) 1986 – Indeterminate (IUCN Conservation Monitoring Centre 1986) 1982 – Indeterminate (Thornback and Jenkins 1982) Geographic Range [top] Range Description: This species was endemic to central Australia. There have been no reliable records of the species since 1935, but there were unconfirmed sightings in Queensland following periods of rain in 1956-1957 and 1974-1975 (Carr and Robinson 1997). Countries: Regionally extinct: Australia Population [top] Population: It is presumed to be extinct. It was apparently never abundant (Smith and Johnson 2008). Habitat and Ecology [top] Habitat and Ecology: The desert rat-kangaroo was found on gibber plains, clay pans, and sandridges. Individual animals formed shallow nests under a bush or in the open (Smith and Johnson 2008). Systems: Terrestrial Threats [top] Major Threat(s): Direct habitat alteration by humans and introduced predators (cats and foxes) contributed to the extinction of this species. Conservation Actions [top] Conservation Actions: There are no conservation measures pertaining to this species. www.iucnredlist.org/details/3626 |
|
|
|
Post by another specialist on Dec 8, 2008 14:32:19 GMT
|
|
|
|
Post by another specialist on Dec 10, 2008 19:38:56 GMT
|
|
|
|
Post by ada on May 11, 2011 9:19:21 GMT
Ah, no news about it? Don't tell me that a large and wealthy nation like Australia, that goes to imense lenghts to protect and conserve species like the greater Bilby, is still "unsure wether or not the deser rat kangaroo is extint". Heh, guess it really is "uncertain". This is a quote from an australian goverment site ( www.environment.gov.au/cgi-bin/sprat/public/publicspecies.pl?taxon_id=215): So... its extinct in Queensland as well as on a national scale BUT it is only endangered in South Australia? Is there someone with more regional info (preferably an Australian) that could help me make some sense out of this? Also was there ever any recent scientific expedition sent to the area where they found the owl pellets with Caloprymnus Campestris remains? |
|
|
|
Post by surroundx on May 11, 2011 10:01:38 GMT
Hedley H. Finlayson did not "rediscover" the Desert Rat-kangaroo per se. He rather received a skull and the skin from and individual, from "Mr L. Reese". It was not until December 1931 that he himself observed live specimens.
I remember reading somewhere that the last individual ever seen (in 1935) was chased for 12 miles along a fence before the horses gave up out of sheer exhaustion, and it escaped. It lived in such remote habitat that very few people have ever traveled there since, and with the species considered extinct by most people, there is little incentive for people to go searching for it again.
There have been reports of sightings (in 1956/7 and 1974/5), and the possibility other unreported sightings. Hope this helps.
|
|
|
|
Post by ada on May 12, 2011 19:52:04 GMT
There were also the fresh remains found in the 1980s. Although the only source that mentions them is Lavery. 1985. The Kangaroo Keepers. University of Queensland Press, Queensland. pgs. 46-48. (I do not own the book, but its quoted in all sorts of publications about C.Campestris).
It all seems a bit weird. A species "goes missing" between 1843 and 1931, the again "goes missing" until the 80s, then again "goes missing".
We do know that observation of C.campestris always had taken place in an unusually wet year, as soon as the climate went back to normal, C.campestris was gone and not seen again.
Thus the question is: Where did it go and how did it survive between 1843 and 1931? What exactly is its habitat in "regular years"?
I always found this species to be very mysterious. This combined with evidence of its survival popping up every few decaes, combined with the fact of it living in the deep desert always made me wonder if this species is really extinct.
There are some very complex and thorough expeditions looking for extinct birds, particularly the Ivory-billed woodpecker and Pink-headed duck. I'm wondering why nobody made an expedition to look for the C.campestris?
|
|
|
|
Post by ada on May 14, 2011 20:48:22 GMT
|
|
|
|
Post by surroundx on May 15, 2011 1:00:10 GMT
"Hedley H. Finlayson did not "rediscover" the Desert Rat-kangaroo per se. He rather received a skull and the skin from and individual, from a "Mr L. Reese". It was not until December 1931 that he himself observed live specimens."
I got this information from the introduction to the (Finlayson, 1932) paper, as you can see. I thought everybody knew about it...
|
|
|
|
Post by surroundx on Oct 14, 2012 13:08:58 GMT
|
|
|
|
Post by surroundx on Oct 21, 2012 14:25:10 GMT
"Work on bilbies throughout the 1990s at south-west Queensland properties (including ‘Coorabulka’ where the species has been recorded historically, heard convincing stories from seasoned stockmen whose horses from time to time had disturbed small kangaroos from under spinifex grass clumps." Source: eprints.qut.edu.au/40368/1/40368.pdf (p. 107) The implication is that these "kangaroos" are really Caloprymnus campestris, which is bolstered by the fact that the paper cited ("26") is: HJ Lavery & TH Kirkpatrick, ‘Field management of the bilby Macrotis lagotis in an area of south-western Queensland’ (1997) 79 Biological Conservation 271. The first author seems to be the same Lavery who was editor of The Kangaroo Keepers, and in whose book it was written that fresh remains were found in the 1980's. And also one of the contributors to the work in which (Lavery & Kirkpatrick, 1997) is cited. |
|
|
|
Post by surroundx on Dec 12, 2012 8:18:37 GMT
There were also the fresh remains found in the 1980s. Although the only source that mentions them is Lavery. 1985. The Kangaroo Keepers. University of Queensland Press, Queensland. pgs. 46-48. (I do not own the book, but its quoted in all sorts of publications about C.Campestris). A foxed copy of Kangaroo Keepers is for sale @ $40 if anybody is interested. Shipping worldwide and multiple payment methods: www.andrewisles.com/all-stock/publication/the-kangaroo-keepers |
|
|
|
Post by surroundx on Dec 12, 2012 13:45:34 GMT
OolacuntaIn December 1931 the mammalogist Hedley Herbert Finlayson travelled from Adelaide to Appamunna on the northwestern edge of the Simpson Desert in search of the desert rat-kangaroo Caloprymnus campestris. This species was something of a mystery to science. It had been described in 1843 on the basis of two specimens sent to John Gould in London from an unspecified location, but had not been recorded again until L. Reese, the owner of Appamunna Station, sent Finlayson a specimen and reported some sightings of the animal, which was known to the local Aborigines as ‘oolacunta’ (Figure 1.1). Finlayson wanted to learn more about oolacunta and to collect a series of specimens for the South Australian Museum. With Reese’s help he recruited four knowledgeable Aboriginal men as expedition members and guides, and followed them into what they said was prime oolacunta country. This turned out to be perhaps the most extreme environment in an extraordinarily harsh region: a chain of gibber plains fringed by low sandhills, with no water, very little plant cover, and practically no shade. Finlayson’s party decided they would search for oolacunta on horseback, beating across country and following tracks if any could be found among the stones. If an oolacunta broke from cover it would be pursued, one rider chasing it at full gallop and the others replacing the lead rider when his horse began to tire. This plan worked, and the group soon put up their first animal. Finlayson (1935a) provides a vivid account of this first sighting: "it was only after much straining of the eyes that the oolacunta could be distinguished – a mere speck, thirty or forty yards ahead.At that distance it seemed scarcely to touch the ground; it almost floated ahead in an eerie, effortless way that made the thundering horse behind seem, by comparison, like a coal hulk wallowing in a heavy sea. They were great moments as it came nearer; moments filled with curiosity and excitement, but with a steady undercurrent of relief and satisfaction. It was here!" This little animal led them on an astonishing chase: they did not catch it until it had run twelve miles and tired out three horses, whereupon it died of exhaustion. The party collected seven specimens in this way, and all showed the same amazing tenacity. Another two animals, a mother and young, were caught by hand from their nest by one of the Aborigines who had hunted oolacunta before and could remember when it had been abundant. In all, seventeen animals were sighted in a week of searching (Finlayson 1932), a tally suggesting that oolacunta was locally common. Further specimens were received from the area until 1936. Reliable sightings continued until the mid-1950s, with some possible sightings as late as the 1970s, but there have been no more confirmed records and oolacunta is now thought to be extinct (Carr & Robinson 1997). What could have caused an animal like this – a survivor in one of the harshest environments in Australia, with the heart for such extraordinary feats of endurance – to disappear for ever? Excerpt from Chris Johnson, Australia’s Mammal Extinctions: A 50000 Year History, Cambridge University Press, available online: assets.cambridge.org/97805218/49180/excerpt/9780521849180_excerpt.pdf
|
|
|
|
Post by surroundx on Dec 12, 2012 15:46:39 GMT
|
|
|
|
Post by ada on May 29, 2013 15:40:26 GMT
Thanks for sharing. I don't remember seeing the theory of caloprymnus campestris being outcompeted by the burrowing bettong before. Its an interesting theory, but seems somewhat as an ex post facto explanation used in reference to a species we hardly had enough time to study properly. There's too much we still don't know. Furthermore, this theory doesn't explain the phenomenon of the species to "disappear" from records only to remerge in large numbers during particularly wet years. If competition with a similar species was the primary cause of its disappearance, there hardly should have been any connection to periodic weather changes. I still believe that this is one of the few marsupial species that remain a good candidate for rediscovery. I wish some museum or university would finally launch a proper survey expedition to see what's relaly going on. With all the big budget surveys of hinterland Burma, I'd reckon a search done inside a rich first-world country wouldn't be too outlandish of an idea. |
|
|
|
Post by surroundx on Nov 17, 2013 2:50:41 GMT
Robinson, Tony and Forrest, Tiana. (2012). A possible sighting of the Desert Rat-kangaroo or Oolacunta (Caloprymnus campestris) on the Peake Station, South Australia. The South Australian Naturalist 86(2): 63-75. [ Abstract] |
|
|
|
Post by Peter on Nov 17, 2013 7:55:00 GMT
Robinson, Tony and Forrest, Tiana. (2012). A possible sighting of the Desert Rat-kangaroo or Oolacunta (Caloprymnus campestris) on the Peake Station, South Australia. The South Australian Naturalist 86(2): 63-75. [ Abstract] Abstract: A brief sighting in May 2011 on The Peake Station of an animal subsequently identified from a museum skin as the Desert Rat-kangaroo (Caloprymnus campestris) was followed up in August 2011. No sign of the animal was found and the area had been invaded by large numbers of the Long-haired Rat (Rattus villosissimus). An old nest with some small macropod like scats was found and some tracks were also found near a waterhole that might have been made by Caloprymnus. DNA analysis of the scats failed to yield any useable DNA and analysis of the bone and hair material in Dingo and Cat scats collected from the sighting area did no contain the species. The sighting cannot therefore be confirmed, but the possibility exists that a small population of Caloprymnus, generally considered to be extinct throughout its former range across the Lake Eyre Basin, may have been present in this area in May 2011. |
|
|
|
Post by surroundx on Feb 25, 2014 11:06:32 GMT
There were also the fresh remains found in the 1980s. Although the only source that mentions them is Lavery. 1985. The Kangaroo Keepers. University of Queensland Press, Queensland. pgs. 46-48. (I do not own the book, but its quoted in all sorts of publications about C.Campestris). Hi ada, can you confirm that this information (i.e. "fresh remains found in the 1980s") is supposed to be on pgs. 46-48 (i.e. is cited as such by other authors)? Because I have just purchased a copy of (Lavery, 1985) and although it has a paragraph about C. campestris and a distribution map it says nothing about fresh remains post-1935. |
|
|
|
Post by surroundx on Feb 6, 2015 11:44:24 GMT
"Two of the most interesting, and previously uncited, references to fauna are from Hodgkinson’s journal along the Mulligan River in far western Queensland in 1876. North-west of Birdsville, he observed that ‘The kangaroo-rats here build nests three feet high against the trunks of giddia or other trees’ (7 August 1876). Based on the description of the nests, this observation probably refers to the now-extinct Caloprymnus campestris, and is a significant extension of its known former range (Finlayson 1932; Strahan 2004)." Source: Silcock, Jennifer Lesley. (2014). Degraded or just dusty?: 150 years of ecological change in inland eastern Australia. Unpublished thesis. |
|
|
|
Post by Melanie on Oct 1, 2015 10:22:56 GMT
 Living Desert Rat Kangaroo photographed by Hedley Herbert Finlayson in 1931. Taken from Chris Johnson: Australia's Mammal extinctions. A 50000 year history. p. 2 Attachments:Desert Rat Kangaroo.bmp (419.66 KB)
|
|
