In a bittersweet discovery, researchers at Curtin University have identified three new species of the small Australian marsupial called the bristle-tailed quoll. While the discovery expands our knowledge of marsupials related to Tasmanian quolls and quolls, the discovery is overshadowed by the likelihood that these newly discovered species are already extinct.
Known for their carnivorous nature, these marsupials play an important role in the ecosystems of the arid and semi-arid regions of South Australia, Western Australia, the Northern Territory and Queensland.
Led by Curtin University doctoral student Jake Newman-Martin, together with Dr. Kenny Travouillon of the Western Australian Museum and Murdoch University Associate Professor Natalie Warburton from the y), Associate Professor Milo Barham from Curtin University and Dr Alison Blyth collaborated to analyze bristle-tailed quoll specimens held in museums across the country, including previously unidentifiable skeletons found in caves.
Newman-Martin said the study identified six species of quolls, up from only two previously recognized, and concluded that a third species previously named quoll was indeed a species that once existed. However, four of the species appear to have become extinct.
Known as 'ecosystem engineers', bristle-tailed quolls are important to the areas they inhabit because they help control insect and small rodent populations and help turn over desert soil by burrowing. By taking precise measurements of the skulls and teeth of preserved quoll specimens, archaeologists were able to distinguish different species, whose exact numbers had previously been disputed.
"The skull and teeth of the mullet were previously unavailable because no study had recorded and measured the bones in detail. Our study shows that there are actually many more species of quolls than previously thought."
Study co-author Dr Kenny Travoyon, curator of mammals at the Western Australian Museum, said while the discovery of more species of marsupials sounded like good news, the fact that they were likely extinct was troubling.
"Australia is world-famous for its diverse and unique marsupials, but it also has some of the highest rates of mammal extinction in the world, with many species affected by environmental degradation and introduced predators such as foxes and cats," Dr Travoyon said.
"The most endangered species tend to be the neglected small marsupials, whose numbers and distributions have declined dramatically since European colonization. Marsupials may even be the first species recorded in Australia to become extinct within the wider related animal family (Dasyuridae), and sadly, their disappearance is even greater than Their now infamous 'cousin', the Tasmanian tiger (Thylacine), is even less well known and it is likely that there are many more undescribed species that went extinct before being recognized by the scientific community, highlighting the need to better understand Australia's wildlife and the growing threats to our ecosystems."
References "A taxonomic review of the genus Dasycercus (Dasyuromorphia: Dasyuridae) using modern and subfossil material; and three new species described" by Jake Newman-Martin, Kenny J. Travouillon, Natalie Warburton, Milo Barham and Alison J. Blyth, published on November 30, 2023, "Alcheringa: Australian Journal of Palaeontology".
DOI:10.1080/03115518.2023.2262083
Compiled source: ScitechDaily