2023-10-26 12:54:53
A Crested-tailed Mulgara. – BOBBY TAMAYO, SIMPSON DESERT, QLD
MADRID, 26 Oct. (EUROPA PRESS) –
Three new species of mulgarasa small Australian marsupial, have been identified among museum specimens and bones found in caves, but they are probably already extinct.
The study, led by Curtin University PhD student Jake Newman-Martin, focused on these small carnivorous marsupials. related to the Tasmanian devil and quoll and that they are important for the arid and semi-arid regions that inhabit South Australia, Western Australia and the Northern Territory and Queensland.
The researchers analyzed preserved specimens of mulgaras from museums around the world, including bones found in caves that until then had not been identifiable.
Newman-Martin said the research had identified six species of mulgara, as opposed to the previously accepted two, and also concluded that a third previously named species of mulgara was in fact a valid species. However, four of the proposed species seemed already extinct.
“Known as ‘ecosystem engineers,’ mulgaras are immensely important to the regions they inhabit, helping to control the population of insects and small rodents and helping to remove desert soils through excavation,” Newman-Martin said. it’s a statement.
“By taking precise measurements of the skulls and teeth of preserved mulgara specimens, we were able to differentiate the species, the exact number of which had previously been the source of some debate.
“Until now it was not possible to use mulgara skulls and teeth because no study had documented or measured the bones in detail. Our study shows that mulgaras are actually much more diverse than previously thought“.
Research co-author Dr Kenny Travouillon, curator of mammalogy at the Western Australian Museum, said that while the discovery of more mulgara species may seem like good news, the fact that they were probably already extinct was disconcerting.
“While Australia is famous for its diverse and unique marsupials, it also has the highest mammal extinction rate in the world, with many species suffering the impacts of environmental degradation and the introduction of predators such as foxes and cats,” said Dr Travouillon.
“The species most at risk are often overlooked: small marsupials, whose abundance and distribution have suffered a great decline since European colonization. Mulgaras may even represent the first recorded Australian extinction within the broader family of related animals (Dasyuridae) and are sadly disappearing with even less recognition than their now infamous ‘cousins’ the Tasmanian tiger (Thylacine).
“Many more undescribed species are likely to have already gone extinct before science can know them, highlighting the need to better understand Australian wildlife and the growing threats to our ecosystems.”
The study has been published in the journal Alcheringa: An Australasian Journal of Palaeontology.
#species #extinct #marsupials