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| Myrmecobius fasciatus Waterhouse, 1836 |
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The Numbat (Myrmecobius fasciatus) is a small marsupial endemic to Western Australia. George Robert Waterhouse (1810 &ndash 1888 was an English naturalist. In Zoology, as in other branches of Biology, subspecies is the Taxonomic rank immediately subordinate to a Species. Marsupials are an Infraclass of Mammals characterized by a distinctive pouch (called the marsupium) in which females carry their young through Endemism is the Ecological state of being unique to a place Endemic species are not naturally found elsewhere For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. The Numbat is the sole member of the genus Myrmecobius and the family Myrmecobiidae, one of the three families that make up the order Dasyuromorphia, the generalised marsupial carnivores. A genus (plural genera from Γένος Latin genus "descent family type gender" is a low-level Taxonomic In Biological classification, family ( Latin This article is about the taxonomic rank for the sequence of species in a taxonomic list see Taxonomic order In scientific classification used The order Dasyuromorphia (meaning "hairy tail" is made up of most Carnivorous Marsupials including Quolls Dunnarts the A carnivore (ˈkɑrnɪvɔər meaning 'meat eater' ( Latin carne meaning 'flesh' and vorare meaning 'to devour' is any animal with a diet consisting Another common name for the Numbat was Banded Anteater, though this has now fallen into disuse. Though it will in fact consume ants, its diet otherwise consists almost exclusively of termites. Ants are social Insects of the family Formicidae and along with the related families of Wasps and Bees belong to the order The termites are a group of Social Insects usually classified at the taxonomic rank of order Isoptera (but see also taxonomy
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Physical description
The Numbat is a small, colourful creature between 20 and a little under 30 cm long, with a finely pointed muzzle and a prominent, bushy tail about the same length as its body. Colour varies considerably, from soft grey to reddish-brown, often with an area of brick red on the upper back, and always with a conspicuous black stripe running from the tip of the muzzle through the eyes to the bases of the small, round-tipped ears. The underside is cream or light grey; weight varies between 280 and 550 grams. [3]
Unlike most other marsupials, the Numbat is diurnal, largely because of the constraints of having a specialised diet without having the usual physical equipment for it. In Animal behavior, diurnality indicates an Animal that is active during the Daytime and rests during the Night. Most ecosystems with a generous supply of termites have a fairly large creature with a very long, thin, sticky tongue for penetrating termite colonies, and powerful forelimbs with heavy claws[4]. Like other mammals that eat termites or ants, the numbat has a degenerate jaw with non-functional teeth, and is unable to chew. Nonetheless, numbats do have a similar dental formula to many other marsupials:
| Dentition |
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| 4. Dentition is the development of Teeth and their arrangement in the Mouth. 1. 3-4. 4 |
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Reproduction
Breeding takes place in high summer, all females coming into oestrus for a short period in January. Oestrus is also the biological genus name of the gadfly. The estrous cycle (also oestrous cycle; derived from Latin Gestation takes about 14 days and four to six young are usually born, one for each teat. They remain on the teat until July, at which time the female leaves them in the burrow, returning to suckle them from time to time. By early September, the young begin to emerge from the nest for short periods each day, staying very close to the entrance when the mother departs, and playing together or basking in the spring sunshine for an hour or two before returning. Gradually, they venture further from the burrow: they are weaned by late October, sleeping away from their mother by late October, and in December they set off to establish a territory of their own. [4]
Ecology and behaviour
Adult Numbats are solitary and territorial; an individual of either sex establishes a territory of up to 150 hectares (370 acres)[4] early in life, and defends it from others of the same sex. Explanation The hectare is commonly used in most countries around the world especially in domains concerned with land planning and management such as Agriculture, The acre is a unit of Area in a number of different systems including the imperial and U The animal generally remains within it from that time on; male and female territories overlap, and in the breeding season males will venture outside their normal home range to find mates.
While the numbat has relatively powerful claws for its size,[4] it is not strong enough to get at termites inside the concrete-like mound, and so must wait until the termites are active. It uses a well-developed sense of smell to locate the shallow and unfortified underground galleries that termites construct between the nest and their feeding sites; these are usually only a short distance below the surface of the soil, and vulnerable to the Numbat's digging claws.
The Numbat synchronises its day with termite activity, which is temperature dependent: in winter it feeds from mid-morning to mid-afternoon; in summer it rises earlier, takes shelter during the heat of the day, and feeds again in the late afternoon.
At night, the Numbat retreats to a nest, which can be in a hollow log or tree, or in a burrow, typically a narrow shaft one or two metres long which terminates in a spherical chamber lined with soft plant material: grass, leaves, flowers and shredded bark.
Conservation status
Until European colonisation, the Numbat was found across most of the area from the New South Wales and Victorian borders west to the Indian Ocean, and as far north as the southwest corner of the Northern Territory. The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's Oceanic divisions covering about 20% of the water on the Earth 's surface The Northern Territory is a federal territory of Australia, occupying much of the center of the mainland continent as well as the central northern regions It was at home in a wide range of woodland and semi-arid habitats. The deliberate release of the European Red Fox in the 19th century, however, wiped out the entire Numbat population in Victoria, NSW, South Australia and the Northern Territory, and almost in Western Australia as well. The Red Fox ( Vulpes vulpes) is a Mammal of the order Carnivora. South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country By the late 1970s, the entire population was well under 1000 individuals, concentrated in two small areas not far from Perth, Dryandra and Perup. Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. The Dryandra Woodland is a nature conservation area in Western Australia within the Shires of Cuballing, Williams and Wandering, about 164 kilometres
It appears that the reason these two small populations were able to survive is that both areas have many hollow logs that may serve as refuge from predators. Being diurnal, the Numbat is much more vulnerable to predation than most other marsupials of a similar size: its natural predators include the Little Eagle, Brown Goshawk, Collared Sparrowhawk and Carpet Python. The Little Eagle ( Aquila morphnoides) is a very small Eagle native to Australasia, measuring 45-55 cm (17-21 The Brown Goshawk (Accipiter fasciatus is a medium-sized Bird of prey in the family Accipitridae found in Australia and surrounding islands The Collared Sparrowhawk, Accipiter cirrocephalus is a small slim Bird of prey in the family Accipitridae. Common names carpet python Northwestern carpet python more. Morelia spilota variegata is a non-venomous python When the Western Australia government instituted an experimental program of fox baiting at Dryandra (one of the two remaining sites), Numbat sightings increased by a factor of 40. A fox is an Animal belonging to any one of about 27 Species (of which only 12 actually belong to the Vulpes genus or 'true foxes' of small
An intensive research and conservation program since 1980 has succeeded in increasing the Numbat population substantially, and reintroductions to fox-free areas have begun. Despite the encouraging degree of success so far, the Numbat remains at considerable risk of extinction and although no longer on the seriously endangered list, it is still classified as vulnerable.
References
- ^ Groves, Colin (16 November 2005). Colin Groves is Professor of Biological Anthropology at the Australian National University in Canberra, Australia. Events 534 - A second and final revision of the Codex Justinianus is published Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. in Wilson, D. E. , and Reeder, D. M. (eds): Mammal Species of the World, 3rd edition, Johns Hopkins University Press, 23. ISBN 0-801-88221-4.
- ^ Australasian Marsupial & Monotreme Specialist Group (1996). Myrmecobius fasciatus. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data List) created in 1963 is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 11 May 2006. Listed as Vulnerable (VU A1a, D2 v2. 3)
- ^ Ellis, Eric (2003). Myrmecobius fasciatus. Retrieved on 2006-09-01. Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. Events 462 - Possible start of first Byzantine indiction cycle.
- ^ a b c d Lee, A. K. (1984). in Macdonald, D. : The Encyclopedia of Mammals. New York: Facts on File, 844. ISBN 0-87196-871-1.
External links
- ARKive - images and movies of the numbat (Myrmecobius fasciatus)
- Numbat Western Australia's Department of Environment and Conservation (DEC) WebPage.
- Project Numbat - formed to create community awareness and increase involvement in the conservation of the numbat.
Dictionary
numbat
-noun
- A small marsupial carnivore endemic to western Australia that eats almost exclusively termites; Myrmecobius fasciatus. Formerly also known as banded anteater.
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