Jumping bag mouse
| Jumping bag mouse | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Springbag mouse ( Antechinomys laniger ) |
||||||||||||
| Systematics | ||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||
| Scientific name of the genus | ||||||||||||
| Antechinomys | ||||||||||||
| Krefft , 1867 | ||||||||||||
| Scientific name of the species | ||||||||||||
| Antechinomys laniger | ||||||||||||
| ( Gould , 1856) |
The jumping bag mouse ( Antechinomys laniger ), also known by its English name Kultarr , is a species of marsupial from the family of the Raubbeutler (Dasyuride). It inhabits large parts of the interior of Australia .
description
Spring marsupial mice are similar in physique, even though they are marsupials, the gerbils . The strong hind legs are adapted to a hopping locomotion, the long hind feet have pronounced pads on the soles. The front legs are also longer than other pouch mice . The long, soft fur of these animals is gray on the top and white on the underside, the snout is elongated, the ears are large and sloping backwards. The species reaches a head body length of 8 to 11 centimeters and a tail length of 10 to 15 centimeters, with the males becoming larger than the females.
Way of life
Jumper mice live in a number of habitats including savannahs and grasslands, rocky areas, and deserts. They are nocturnal and during the day they retreat to burrows, crevices or dense vegetation. They don't dig burrows, but sometimes they take over those of other animals.
Contrary to previous opinions, their locomotion is not a hopping with their hind legs, but rather a galloping one: they jump off with their hind legs and land on their front legs.
The diet of these animals consists mainly of insects and other invertebrates, but they may also eat small vertebrates.
Reproduction
Females do not have a permanent pouch, but develop skin folds around six or eight teats during gestation. After a short gestation period, three to six young animals are born, which spend the first few weeks of life firmly clinging to the mother's teat. After three months they are weaned and sexually mature at just under a year. Life expectancy is estimated at two to three years.
threat
Due to the sparsely populated distribution area, there is no reliable information about population size or threat level. In some regions ( New South Wales , Queensland ) the species has become rare. The reasons for this lie in the reenactment by imported predators such as cats or foxes and in the conversion of their habitat into agricultural land.
Systematics
The jumping bag mouse is closely related to the narrow-foot bag mice and is sometimes classified in their genus ( Sminthopsis ). Sometimes the species is divided into two species, a western ( Antechinomys spenceri ) and an eastern species ( A. laniger ).
literature
- Ronald M. Nowak: Walker's Mammals of the World . Johns Hopkins University Press, 1999 ISBN 0-8018-5789-9
Web links
- Antechinomys laniger in the endangered Red List species the IUCN 2006. Posted by: Australasian Marsupial & Monotreme Specialist Group, 1996. Retrieved on 12 May, 2006.