New Guinea flat head pouch mouse
| New Guinea flat head pouch mouse | ||||||||||||
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Planigale novaeguineae | ||||||||||||
| Tate & Archbold , 1941 |
The New Guinea flat-headed pouch mouse ( Planigale novaeguineae ) is a very small member of the predator family . It occurs in two geographically separate areas in southern New Guinea. One includes the south of the Western Province of Papua New Guinea and the neighboring areas of the Indonesian West New Guinea to the west , the other is in the central south of the Central Province, a little west of the capital Port Moresby .
features
The body measurements have so far only been taken from a single male. It had a head-to-torso length of 7.9 cm, a tail 8 cm long and weighed 14.0 g. The New Guinea flat head pouch mouse is the smallest marsupial in New Guinea. As with all flat head pouch mice, the head is relatively flat. The coat is short and smooth. The New Guinea flat-headed pouched mouse can be easily distinguished from all other New Guinea predatory baggers due to its small size and the absence of dark stripes on its back.
Habitat and way of life
The New Guinea flat-headed pouched mouse lives in savannahs and grasslands with a tropical climate from sea level up to a height of 250 meters. So far no more precise information is known about the way of life. Animals kept in captivity ate narrow strips of beef, beetles and cicadas. Females with teenage pups were seen near Port Moresby in September at the end of the dry season.
Danger
The IUCN classifies the New Guinea flat-headed pouch mouse as Least Concern . A possible hazard lies in the expansion of agricultural areas by humans. The animals are preyed on by domestic cats and dogs.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c Andrew Baker: Family Dasyuridae (Carnivorous Marsupials). P. 329 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 novaeguineae in the Red List of Threatened Species of the IUCN 2016. Posted by: Leary, T., Seri, L., Flannery, T., Wright, D., Hamilton, S., Helgen, K., Singadan, R. , Menzies, J., Allison, A., James, R., Dickman, C., Lunde, D., Bonaccorso, F. & Woolley, P., 2015. Retrieved June 19, 2018.
