Sminthopsis longicaudata, Spencer, 1909

Russell A. Mittermeier & Don E. Wilson, 2015, Dasyuridae, Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 5 Monotremes and Marsupials, Barcelona: Lynx Edicions, pp. 232-348 : 343-344

68.

Greater Long-tailed Dunnart

Sminthopsis longicaudata

French: Dunnart a longue queue / German: Langschwanz-SchmalfuRbeutelmaus / Spanish: Ratén marsupial de cola larga

Other common names: Long-tailed Marsupial Mouse

Taxonomy. Sminthopsis longicaudata Spencer, 1909 , Western Australia, Australia.

Phylogenetic relationships among the 28 species in the clade Sminthopsinae have been the subject of considerable morphological and molecular investigation. Importantly, recent genetic phylogenies (several mtDNA and nDNA genes) failed to support monophyly of the genus Sminthopsis with respect to Antechinomys and Ningaui . There were three deeply divergent clades of Sminthopsis : intriguingly, S. longicaudata was sister to A. laniger . This was an alliance also obtained from previous morphological analyses where there was good reason to include Antechinomys within Sminthopsis and also to link it with S. longicaudata . Prior to 1975, there were only three specimens of S. longicaudata in museums; nothing was known ofits natural history. The first individual collected was an adult female nurturing five pouch young, caught in 1895 in Central Australia. The locality was possibly near Charlotte Waters; the female was part of a collection of mammals donated soon after to the National Museum of Victoria by W. B. Spencer; however, it was only after 1924 that C. W. Brazenorrealized its identity. Spencer, apparently unaware of this 1895 specimen, proceeded to describe the species in 1909 from an adult male collected in Western Australia. Habitat and locality data were not recorded, although it is possible that the specimen was from near Marble Bar in the Pilbara , Western Australia. A further specimen was collected at Pillendinnie near Marble Bar; this specimen was donated to the Western Australian Museum in 1940. It was not until much later (1975) that a fourth individual was found: an adult female, startled from cover under a spinifex ( Triodia spp. , Poaceae ) hummock at late dusk near Miss Gibson Hill (Gibson Desert), Western Australia. In the intervening years, scattered specimens have been found in various locations. One humoroustale tells of an individual found inside a discarded beer bottle in 1993 by Alice Springs prisoners collecting rubbish along Namatjira Drive, West MacDonnell Ranges, Northern Territory. Monotypic.

Distribution. Australia, in rocky areas of C Western Australia and SW Northern Territory.

Descriptive notes. Head—body 8-10 cm (males) and 8-9 cm (females), tail 20-22 cm (males) and 18-20 cm (females); weight 15-25 g. Fur of the Greater Long-tailed Dunnart is gray above and pale cream to white below; legs and feet are white. Tail is scaly with short hairs and a fine brush on tip. Head is flattened, and snoutis long. The Greater Long-tailed Dunnart is readily distinguished from all other species of Sminthopsis in possessing an astonishingly long tail, twice head-body length. Tail is strongly muscular at its base and can be moved into a variety of positions; base can also store fat to be used in times of lower prey abundance.

Habitat. Rugged, rocky country but also open country with gravel-stony mantle. At one site, Greater Long-tailed Dunnarts occurred on a lateritic plateau with shallow, sandy gravel soil, supporting hummock grassland of spinifex with emergent corkwood ( Hakea lorea, Proteaceae ) and Acacia (Fabaceae) shrubs. This site was just 10 m from a large breakaway, below which scree and valley supported low, open Acacia woodland. During a 1981 survey, a team trapped nine Greater Long-tailed Dunnarts in the Young Range, a series of flat-topped hills in the Gibson Desert Nature Reserve, Western Australia. Eight specimens were collected from plateaus near breakaways and screes, and one came from particularly rugged scree. Plateaus were composed of boulders and stones on some fine red soil; this habitat was sparsely vegetated with mulga ( Acacia aneura, Fabaceae ) and miniritchie (A. grasbyi) shrubs over spinifex ( Triodia pungens). Scree supported low, open woodland of mulga.

Food and Feeding. Fecal analysis indicates that winter diets of Greater Long-tailed Dunnarts contain arthropods, including beetles, ants, spiders, cockroaches, centipedes, grasshoppers, flies, and various larvae.

Breeding. The Greater Long-tailed Dunnart is evidently a spring—summer breeder. It is polyestrous; in a captive study, females were in breeding condition from late winter (August) to early summer (December), entering estrus up to four times during the breeding season. Two litters were born 17 and 19 days post-mating. Gestation may last less than 15 days. Mean length of estrous cycle is 34 days. Males and females may be able to breed in more than one season. Females have six nipples. A single pouch young produced by a female in October was lost just a day later, but five young born on 25 December were suckled by their mother for several weeks. These young were almost fully enclosed by the circular fold of pouch skin for the first three weeks of pouch life. One young was lost during the fourth week, and at the end of that time, the pouch fold covered only one young and heads of the remaining three. Short white hairs had emerged on backs of young at this stage. Thirty-nine days after birth, a young male (body weight 0-8 g) was found abandoned in the cage. At 41 days old, a young female (body weight 0-7 g) was found dead. The two remaining young (one detached and one suckling) disappeared a few days later. In the wild of Murchison, female Greater Long-tailed Dunnarts have been recorded with pouch young in October-November, and dispersingjuveniles have been trapped in March-April.

Activity patterns. Under cold conditions, a Greater Long-tailed Dunnart may become torpid. Its striated footpads, long tail, and behavior in captivity suggest that it may be an active and capable climber.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. There is no information available for this species.

Status and Conservation. CITES Appendix I. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List. Although notlisted federally in Australia, the Greater Long-tailed Dunnart is listed as vulnerable in Northern Territory’s legislation. The Greater Long-tailed Dunnart has a wide distribution, presumably has a large overall population, occurs in a number of protected areas, and does not face any major conservation threats. Nevertheless, in Northern Territory, the Greater Long-tailed Dunnart has been recorded at only six sites, all in West MacDonnell National Park between Serpentine Gorge and Mount Sonder. In Western Australia,it is found more broadly, in areas including Pilbara, Murchison, North-eastern Goldfields, Ashburton, and Gibson Desert regions. The Greater Longtailed Dunnart is a rare species and patchily distributed, but it can be locally common. In its distribution in central Australia,it is affected by spread of exotic buftelgrass ( Cenchrus ciliaris, Poaceae ), which tends to increase frequency and intensity of fires (this is also likely to be an issue in some areas in Western Australia). It is present in a few protected areas (e.g. Gibson Desert Nature Reserve and Kennedy Range National Park in Western Australia, and West MacDonnell National Park in the Northern Territory).

Bibliography. Archer (1981a), Baverstock et al. (1984), Blacket, Adams et al. (2001), Blacket, Cooper et al. (2006), Burbidge & McKenzie (1976), Burbidge, McKenzie & Fuller (2008), Krajewski et al. (2012), McKenzie, Hall & Muir (2000), McKenzie, Woinarski & Burbidge (2008), Meredith, Westerman, Case & Springer (2008), Pavey (2006b), Spencer (1909), Woolley & Valente (1986).

Figures

56. Kangaroo Island Dunnart (Sminthopsis aitken), 57. Chestnut Dunnart (Sminthopsis archer), 58. Kakadu Dunnart (Sminthopsis bindi), 59. Butler's Dunnart (Sminthopsis butleri), 60. Fat-tailed Dunnart (Smunthopsis crassicaudata), 61. Little Long-tailed Dunnart (Sminthopsis dolichura), 62. Julia Creek Dunnart (Smunthopsis douglasi), 63. Gilbert's Dunnart (Sminthopsis gilbert), 64. White-tailed Dunnart (Sminthopsis granulipes), 65. Grey-bellied Dunnart (Sminthopsis griseoventer), 66. Greater Hairy-footed Dunnart (Smunthopsis hirtipes), 67. White-footed Dunnart (Sminthopsis leucopus), 68. Greater Long-tailed Dunnart (Sminthopsis longicaudata), 69. Stripe-faced Dunnart (Sminthopsis macroura), 70. Common Dunnart (Sminthopsis murina), 71. Ooldea Dunnart (Sminthopsis ooldea), 72. Sandhill Dunnart (Sminthopsis psammophila), 73. Red-cheeked Dunnart (Sminthopsis virginiae), 74. Lesser Hairy-footed Dunnart (Sminthopsis youngsoni)

Distribution. Australia, in rocky areas of C Western Australia and SW Northern Territory.