Broad-footed pouch mice
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The broad-footed bag mice ( Antechinus ) are a genus of marsupials from the family of the predator (Dasyuridae). The 15 species of this genus live in eastern Australia and Tasmania .
description
Broad-footed pouch mice are physically similar to shrews , but they are marsupials. Their fur is short and rough, its color varies on the upper side from light pink to gray to dark brown, the underside is lighter. The tail, which is as long as the body, has short hairs along its entire length. The name-giving feature is the broad feet with large pads on the soles of the feet, which are particularly pronounced in tree-dwelling species. These animals reach a head trunk length of 8 to 17 centimeters and a weight of 30 to 90 grams, whereby the males are usually larger and heavier than the females.
Distribution and way of life
Broad-footed pouch mice are common across much of eastern and southeastern Australia, where they inhabit a range of habitats including forests, savannahs, and bushlands. They are nocturnal, shy animals that are characterized by hectic movements. Some species live on trees and are adapted to this way of life through long claws, others are mainly found on the ground. They spend the day in nests that they build on trees, in hollow tree trunks or crevices in the rock; sometimes they also use empty bird nests. As a rule, they lead a solitary life, only in winter there are sometimes several animals during the day in larger communal nests.
These animals are insect-eaters, but they can also feed on insects, worms, snails and small vertebrates.
Reproduction
Strictly speaking, broad-footed pouch mice have no pouch at all, just a rudiment of it - an exposed belly fold. This belly fold of the female develops during the gestation period and contains four to twelve teats. After a gestation period of 23 to 35 days, the female gives birth to three to twelve young. They spend the first weeks of life “in their mother's bag” and are self-employed at 90 days; They become sexually mature at around nine to ten months.
A remarkable fact about these animals is that all males suddenly die after the mating season. They begin to wander around, including during the day, which is unusual for bag mice. The stresses and strains of finding a partner, combined with physiological changes, ultimately lead to the death of all males, even those who are kept in captivity and have no contact with females.
One reason for this is the high release of testosterone and stress hormones, as well as copulations lasting up to 14 hours, which lead to the collapse of the immune system and organ failure.
So while the males all die at eleven to twelve months, females can get older, in captivity over three years.
threat
In general, broad-footed pouch mice are not particularly exposed to human threats, but re-enactment by introduced domestic cats is a problem in some places. Most of the species that inhabit the rainforests of northern Queensland are threatened by habitat destruction.
The species
- The rust-colored broad-footed pouch mouse ( Antechinus adustus ) is native to the Queensland rainforests .
- The gray broad-footed bag mouse ( Antechinus agilis ) was not scientifically described until 1998 and lives in southeastern Australia.
- The silver-colored broad- footed pouch mouse ( Antechinus argentus ) is only known from the Kroombit Tops National Park and was only described in December 2013.
- The black-tailed broad- footed pouch mouse ( Antechinus arktos ) was discovered in the area of the Tweed Volcano and described in February 2014.
- The eye-spot broad-footed pouch ( Antechinus bellus ) is a resident of savannahs in the Northern Territory .
- The yellow-footed pouch-mouse ( Antechinus flavipes ) is common in much of eastern and southern Australia.
- The Queensland broad-footed pouch mouse ( Antechinus godmani ) lives in rainforests on the Cape York Peninsula .
- The cinnamon pouch-footed mouse ( Antechinus leo ) is also native to the Cape York Peninsula.
- Antechinus mimetes occurs in New South Wales and Victoria.
- The marsh broad-footed pouch mouse ( Antechinus minimus ) inhabits grasslands and wetlands in southeastern Australia and Tasmania .
- The mystical broad- footed pouch ( Antechinus mysticus ) occurs near the coast from the border between Queensland and New South Wales to Mackay .
- The Stuart broad-footed pouch ( Antechinus stuartii ) is native to forests and scrublands in eastern and southeastern Australia
- The subtropical broad-footed bag mouse ( Antechinus subtropicus ) was not scientifically described until 2000 and is widespread in eastern Australia.
- The Swainson's broad-footed pouch mouse ( Antechinus swainsonii ) lives in southeastern Australia and Tasmania. Their habitat is forests, but the species is a soil dweller.
- Antechinus vandycki was only scientifically described in 2015 and is only known from the Tasman Peninsula .
Several species from New Guinea , which were previously also assigned to the broad-footed pouch mice, are now listed in the genus of the New Guinea marsupial mice ( Murexia ).
literature
- Ronald M. Nowak: Walker's Mammals of the World. Johns Hopkins University Press, 1999, ISBN 0-8018-5789-9 .
- DE Wilson, DM Reeder: Mammal Species of the World. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore 2005, ISBN 0-8018-8221-4 .
Individual evidence
- ^ F. Stephen Dobson: Live fast, die young, and win the sperm competition. PNAS October 29, 2013 110 (44) 17610-17611; doi: 10.1073 / pnas.1317368110
- ^ Andrew M. Baker, Thomas Y. Mutton & Harry B. Hines: A new dasyurid marsupial from Kroombit Tops, south-east Queensland, Australia: the Silver-headed Antechinus, Antechinus argentus sp. nov. (Marsupialia: Dasyuridae) Zootaxa 3746 (2): 201–239 (11 Dec. 2013)
- ↑ Andrew M. Baker, Thomas Y. Mutton, Harry B. Hines & Steve Van Dyck: The Black-tailed Antechinus, Antechinus arktos sp. nov .: a new species of carnivorous marsupial from montane regions of the Tweed Volcano caldera, eastern Australia. Zootaxa 3765 (2): 100-133 (1)
- ↑ a b Baker AM et al. 2015. A taxonomic assessment of the Australian Dusky Antechinus Complex: a new species, the Tasman Peninsula Dusky Antechinus (Antechinus vandycki sp. Nov.) And an elevation to species of the Mainland Dusky Antechinus (Antechinus swainsonii mimetes (Thomas)). Memoirs of the Queensland Museum - Nature, vol. 59, p. 75-126; doi: 10.17082 / j.2204-1478.59.2015.2014-10
- ↑ Baker, AM; Mutton, TY; Dyck, S. van 2012: A new dasyurid marsupial from eastern Queensland, Australia: the buff-footed Antechinus, Antechinus mysticus sp. nov. (Marsupialia: Dasyuridae). Zootaxa, (3515): 1-37.
