Croissant bag
| Croissant bag | ||||||||||||
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Squirrel bucket ( Gymnobelideus leadbeateri ) |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name of the genus | ||||||||||||
| Gymnobelideus | ||||||||||||
| McCoy , 1867 | ||||||||||||
| Scientific name of the species | ||||||||||||
| Gymnobelideus leadbeateri | ||||||||||||
| McCoy, 1867 |
The Hörnchenbeutler ( Gymnobelideus leadbeateri ) is a species of marsupial from the glider family (Petauridae). Despite its relationship to this group, it has no sliding membranes , it resembles the squirrels (Sciuridae) in its exterior .
distribution and habitat
Hörnchenbeutler inhabit a small area of around 3500 km² between Melbourne and the Alpine National Park in the Australian state of Victoria . At an altitude of 1200 meters, they come in one of Myrtengewächsen dominated secondary forest with an approximately 15 to 50 years old trees and old more than four large Überhältern per hectare before. Common tree species at this altitude are snow eucalyptus ( Eucalyptus pauciflora ) and giant eucalyptus ( E. regnans ), E. camphora , E. delegatensis and E. nitens . Acacias grow in the thick undergrowth . In the Yellingbo Nature Conservation Reserve, the animals live in open forests with Eucalyptus fulgens , E. obliqua and peppermint eucalyptus ( E. radiata ), as well as in two types of gallery forests , one with rod-shaped eucalyptus ( E. viminalis ) and Acacia melanoxylon as Undergrowth and another with South Sea myrtle ( Leptospermum scoparium ), Leptospermum continentale , L. lanigerum , heather myrtle heather ( Melaleuca ericifolia ) and Melaleuca squarrosa .
description
The fur of these animals is gray to gray-brown on the upper side and has a black stripe on the back, the underside is light cream-colored. Two more black stripes run from the eyes to the ears on the face. These animals reach a head trunk length of 15 to 17 centimeters and a weight of 100 to 170 grams. The bushy tail, which cannot be used for grasping, becomes 15 to 18 centimeters long. It is club-shaped and wider at the back than at the base.
Way of life
Squirrel bucks are nocturnal tree dwellers that leave their nest around a quarter of an hour after sunset. They use caves in very large living or dead eucalyptus trees as a nesting place , which places high demands on their habitat. The nests are padded with tree bark. They spend almost three quarters of their time in the nest.
Squirrel bucks live together in small groups of two to twelve animals, which consist of a monogamous couple and their small and adult, but not yet reproducing offspring. A group inhabits a territory of around one to two hectares in size.
food
The food of the croissant is made up of insects and tree sap. They hunt beetles, grasshoppers , fledglings , hymenoptera , fringed winged birds , beaked bugs , butterflies and caterpillars, spiders and pseudoscorpions on the trees, but they also gnaw the bark to absorb the sap. Insects and other arthropods make up about 20% of their diet, 80% consists of vegetable saps, e.g. B. those of silver acacia ( Acacia dealbata ) and Acacia obliqua , as well as from honeydew .
Reproduction
With the exception of midsummer (January, February), croissants can give birth at any time of the year. Most young animals are born from April to June or from October to December. With around 15 to 17 days, their gestation period is very short even for marsupials, the litter size is one to two. Females have four teats. Immediately after birth, the newborns go to the mother's pouch, where they spend the next 80 to 93 days. They then stay in the group's nest until they are around 110 days old before they go on their first forays. Females leave parents when they are 10 months old, males stay 5 months longer. Sexual maturity occurs at around two years of age.
threat
These animals were first sighted near Melbourne in the 19th century . After there were no finds for decades after 1909, they were believed to be extinct before they were rediscovered in eastern Victoria in 1961.
You need hollow or dead eucalyptus trees to sleep. However, these often fall victim to human clearing or bushfires, and since a tree takes around 150 years to be suitable for squirrel bucks, this has a drastic impact on the population.
According to estimates, only 1,100 to 11,000 animals live in a small area, further clearing gives rise to fears that the population will decline further and that the range will be fragmented. The IUCN lists the species as critically endangered.
supporting documents
- ↑ a b c d e f Stephen Jackson: Family Petauridae (Striped Possums, Leadbeater's Possum and Lesser Gliders). P. 562 in Don E. Wilson , Russell A. Mittermeier : Handbook of the Mammals of the World - Volume 5. Monotremes and Marsupials. Lynx Editions, 2015, ISBN 978-84-96553-99-6 . Page 560.
- ↑ Gymnobelideus leadbeateri in the endangered Red List species the IUCN 2006. Posted by: Australasian Marsupial & Monotreme Specialist Group, 1996. Accessed December 25, 2018th
Web links
- Croissant cones in their natural habitat
