Southern Ningaui
| Southern Ningaui | ||||||||||||
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Southern Ningaui ( Ningaui yvonneae ) |
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Ningaui yvonneae | ||||||||||||
| Kitchener , Stoddart & Henry, 1983 |
The southern Ningaui ( Ningaui yvonneae ), also called Yvonnes Ningaui , is a very small member of the predator family . It occurs in southern Australia in several geographically separated areas.
features
Southern Ningaui has a head-torso length of 48 to 81 millimeters (average male 72 millimeters, average female 64 millimeters), a tail length of 53 to 71 millimeters and a weight of 6 to 14 grams (average male 10 grams, average female 9 grams). From Pilbara Ningaui ( Ningaui timealeyi ) it differs by the larger and more clearly marked balls. The southern Ningaui cannot be distinguished externally from the Wongai-Ningaui ( Ningaui ridei ) found further north in the interior of Australia . It has smaller timpani than the Wongai-Ningaui.
Habitat and way of life
Southern Ningaui lives in the Mallee , in heaths and in grasslands overgrown with prickly head grass. It feeds on a multitude of small prey, especially small invertebrates, which are usually tracked between leaves. Prey animals are usually quickly killed by a bite in the head and then eaten head first. The invertebrates that are eaten include hymenoptera , cockroaches , grasshoppers , termites , butterflies, beetles, centipedes and spiders . Small prey is preferred. However, if these are not available in sufficient numbers, small vertebrates such as skinks are also eaten. The animals only live briefly and reach an average age of 14 months. In spring the females give birth to 5 to 7 young animals and in February the independent young animals make up the largest proportion (> 95%) of the animals caught in traps. Most of the adult Ningauis of the previous generation will have died by then. All young males are sexually mature in late July and most die in December.
Danger
The IUCN classifies southern Ningaui as Least Concern . It's widespread and common. The biggest threat of the species is steppe fires.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c Andrew Baker: Family Dasyuridae (Carnivorous Marsupials). P. 332 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
- ↑ Ningaui yvonneae in the Red List of Threatened Species of the IUCN 2016. Posted by: Lellis, M., Menkhorst, P., van Weenen, J. & Burbidge, A., 2015. Accessed June 19, 2018th
