Eastern bettong

Eastern bettong

Eastern bettong[1]
CITES Appendix I (CITES)[3]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Infraclass: Marsupialia
Order: Diprotodontia
Family: Potoroidae
Genus: Bettongia
Species:
B. gaimardi
Binomial name
Bettongia gaimardi
(Desmarest, 1822)
Subspecies

Bettongia gaimardi cuniculus
†Bettongia gaimardi gaimardi

Present distribution of Bettongia gaimardi

The eastern bettong (Bettongia gaimardi) is a small animal that looks like a hopping rat. It lives in grassy forests in southeastern Australia and Tasmania. It belongs to the rat-kangaroo family (Potoroidae). The eastern bettong is active at night and eats fungi and plant roots. Like most marsupials, it carries its babies in a pouch. The eastern bettong faces danger from new predators and loss of its home. The type that lived on mainland Australia is now extinct, but the Tasmanian type has been brought back to the mainland.[1][4]

The Ngunnawal people, an Aboriginal group, called this animalbalbo.

Sub-species

There are two types of eastern bettongs[5][6]:

  • B. g. gaimardi, which lived on the mainland but is now extinct.
  • B. g. cuniculus, which lives in Tasmania.

The mainland type died out in the 1920s because of new animals like the red fox and European rabbit.[2][6] The Tasmanian type still lives today.[2]

In 2012, some eastern bettongs were brought back to the mainland in Canberra.[7] This was done in a special protected area called Mulligans Flat Woodland Sanctuary. The program was successful, and more bettongs were brought back using animals from nearby nature reserves and from Tasmania.[8]

Diet and behavior

The eastern bettong lives in dry, open eucalyptus forests and grassy woodlands. It can be found from sea level up to 1,000 meters (3,300 feet) high.

It mainly eats truffles and other fungi that grow underground, as well as roots and tubers. It also eats insects and grubs. This animal is special because it can travel up to 1.5 kilometers (0.93 miles) from its nest to find food, which is a long way for such a small animal.[9]

The eastern bettong is active at night and sleeps during the day in a nest shaped like a dome. The nest is made from tightly woven grass, leaves, and bark. It is built in a safe place like a small hole in the ground, under a fallen tree, or in thick plants. The bettong uses its curved tail to carry the materials to build the nest. It only stays in the nest for one or two nights before moving to find more food.

Like other bettongs, the eastern bettong has babies all year round.[10] The mother is pregnant for 21 days. After birth, the baby, called a "joey," stays in the mother's pouch for 105 more days.

Threats

The eastern bettong on the mainland died out in the 1920s,[2][6] but the Tasmanian population is still safe. Most bettongs live on private land, and only two groups live in protected areas. Red foxes are a big danger to them.[11][12] Because of these threats, the International Union for Conservation of Nature changed the eastern bettong's status from "least concern" to "near threatened."[2]

Other websites

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Groves, Colin (2005). Wilson, D. E.; Reeder, D. M. (eds.). Mammal Species of the World (3rd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 57. ISBN 0-801-88221-4.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Burbidge, A.A.; Woinarski, J.; Johnson, C.N. (2016). "Bettongia gaimardi". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016 e.T2783A21960911. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-1.RLTS.T2783A21960911.en.
  3. ↑ "Appendices | CITES". cites.org. Retrieved 2022-01-14.
  4. ↑ Rose, R. (1997). Metabolic rate and thermal conductance in a mycophagous marsupial, Bettongia gaimardi. Archived 2008-07-23 at the Wayback Machine The World Wide Web Journal of Biology 2: 2–7.
  5. ↑ Wakefield, N. (1967). Some taxonomic revision in the Australian marsupial genus Bettongia, with description of a new species. The Victorian Naturalist, 84: 8–22.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 "Bettongia gaimardi gaimardi". Species Profile and Threats Database. Canberra: Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities. Retrieved 29 December 2011.
  7. ↑ "Rare marsupials found fat and happy in new home". ABC News. 20 January 2013.
  8. ↑ "Eastern Bettong Reintroduction". Mulligans Flat–Goorooyarroo Woodland Experiment. Archived from the original on 14 March 2020. Retrieved 16 April 2020.
  9. ↑ Department of Primary Industries and Water (August 2006). [1] The Tasmanian bettong]. Department of Primary Industries and Water.
  10. ↑ University of Tasmania, School of Zoology. [2] Archived 2009-09-15 at the Wayback Machine Profile – Tasmanian Bettong]. University of Tasmania.
  11. ↑ Department of Primary Industries and Water - Foxes in Tasmania http://www.dpiw.tas.gov.au/inter.nsf/ThemeNodes/LBUN-5K438G
  12. ↑ Foxes in Tasmania-Invasive Animals CRC Report http://www.dpiw.tas.gov.au/inter.nsf/publications/lbun-6r26gg?

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