Northern flat head pouch mouse
| Northern flat head pouch mouse | ||||||||||||
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Planigale ingrami | ||||||||||||
| ( Thomas , 1906) |
The northern flat -head pouch mouse ( Planigale ingrami ), also known as the long-tailed flat-head pouch mouse , is a very small member of the predator family . It occurs in the interior of northern Australia.
features
The northern flat-headed pouch mouse has a head-torso length of 5 to 7.1 cm, a 5.1 to 6.8 cm long tail and weighs 2.6 to 6.6 g. This makes it the smallest marsupial and one of the smallest mammals. The head is strongly flattened and wedge-shaped. The tail is thin and usually a little longer than the head and trunk together. The torso and hind legs of the animals are extremely flexible and allow them to slip through the narrowest gaps. The northern flat-head pouch mouse is confusingly similar to the southern flat-head pouch mouse ( Planigale tenuirostris ), but is significantly lighter than this (average weight 4.6 g vs. 5.5 g). Their head is more flattened, the muzzle is wider, and the incisors and premolars are smaller than those of their relatives. The animals have three premolars on each side of the upper and lower jaw.
habitat
The northern flat head pouched mouse lives in narrow crevices in the dry clay soils of the northern Australian plains. These occasionally serve as flood plains for the North Australian rivers and are sparsely overgrown with tussock grass , foxtail plants , various herbs, the knotweed plant Muehlenbeckia florulenta and the goosefoot plant Chenopodium auricomum (Queensland bluebush). Eucalyptus coolabah also grows in areas that are regularly flooded . The northern flat-headed pouch mouse is the most common small mammal in their habitat.
Way of life
The northern flat-headed pouch mouse is nocturnal, but after particularly cold nights the activity time is moved to the early morning hours. On very cold days, they can fall into a torpor and greatly reduce metabolism and energy expenditure. The animals feed on spiders, grasshoppers, other insects, their larvae, small lizards and young small mammals. Preferred prey appear to be large centipedes , which are also overwhelmed when they are several times the length of the northern flathead pouch mouse.
Reproduction
Females of the northern flat-headed pouch mouse have a pouch open to the rear with 8 to 12 teats and give birth to 4 to 8 young animals per litter. They get pups all year round, most females with pups in their pouch have been observed from September to December. The young animals leave the pouch when they are around 6 weeks old and spend the rest of the time until they are independent in a nest made of grass in fallen leaves or in tussock tussocks.
Danger
The IUCN classifies the northern flat-headed pouch mouse as Least Concern due to its large range and frequency . The stock fluctuates depending on the frequency of rainfall.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d e Andrew Baker: Family Dasyuridae (Carnivorous Marsupials). S. 328 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
- ↑ Planigale ingrami in the endangered Red List species the IUCN 2016 Posted by: Ellis, M., van Weenen, J. & Burnett, S., 2015. Accessed June 20, 2018th
