The honey possum or noolbenger (''Tarsipes rostratus''), is a tiny species of marsupial that feeds on the nectar and pollen of a diverse range of flowering plants. Found in southwest Australia, it is an important pollinator for such plants as ''
Banksia attenuata
''Banksia attenuata'', commonly known as the candlestick banksia, slender banksia, or biara to the Noongar people, is a species of plant in the family Proteaceae. Commonly a tree, it reaches high, but it is often a shrub in drier areas high. ...
'', ''
Banksia coccinea
''Banksia coccinea'', commonly known as the scarlet banksia, waratah banksia or Albany banksia, is an erect shrub or small tree in the family Proteaceae. Its distribution in the wild is along the south west coast of Western Australia, from Denm ...
'' and ''
Adenanthos cuneatus
''Adenanthos cuneatus'', also known as coastal jugflower, flame bush, bridle bush and sweat bush, is a shrub of the family Proteaceae, native to the south coast of Western Australia. The French naturalist Jacques Labillardière originally descr ...
''.
Taxonomy
The first description of the
diprotodont
Diprotodontia (, from Greek "two forward teeth") is the largest extant order of marsupials, with about 155 species, including the kangaroos, wallabies, possums, koala, wombats, and many others. Extinct diprotodonts include the hippopotamus-sized ...
species was published by
Paul Gervais
Paul Gervais full name François Louis Paul Gervais (26 September 1816 – 10 February 1879) was a French palaeontologist and entomologist.
Biography
Gervais was born in Paris, where he obtained the diplomas of doctor of science and of medicine ...
and
Jules Verreaux
Jules Pierre Verreaux (24 August 1807 – 7 September 1873) was a French botanist and ornithologist and a professional collector of and trader in natural history specimens. He was the brother of Édouard Verreaux and nephew of Pierre Antoine Dela ...
on 3 March 1842, referring to a specimen collected by Verreaux. The
lectotype
In biology, a type is a particular specimen (or in some cases a group of specimens) of an organism to which the scientific name of that organism is formally attached. In other words, a type is an example that serves to anchor or centralizes the ...
nominated for this species, held in the collection at
National Museum of Natural History, France
The French National Museum of Natural History, known in French as the ' (abbreviation MNHN), is the national natural history museum of France and a ' of higher education part of Sorbonne Universities. The main museum, with four galleries, is loc ...
, was collected the
Swan River Colony
The Swan River Colony, also known as the Swan River Settlement, or just Swan River, was a British colony established in 1829 on the Swan River, in Western Australia. This initial settlement place on the Swan River was soon named Perth, and it ...
.
A description of a second species ''Tarsipes spenserae'',
published five days later by
John Edward Gray
John Edward Gray, FRS (12 February 1800 – 7 March 1875) was a British zoologist. He was the elder brother of zoologist George Robert Gray and son of the pharmacologist and botanist Samuel Frederick Gray (1766–1828). The same is used for ...
and current until the 1970s, was thought to have been published earlier by
T. S. Palmer in 1904
and displaced the usage of ''T. rostratus''. A review by Mahoney in 1984 again reduced ''T. spenserae'' to a synonym for the species, as was the emendation to its spelling as ''spencerae'' cited by
William Ride
William David Lindsay Ride (8 May 19266 November 2011), usually credited as W. D. L. Ride, was an Australian vertebrate zoologist and paleontologist who was the chair of the committee that wrote updated editions of the International Code of Zoo ...
(1970) and others.
Gray's specimen was provided by
George Grey
Sir George Grey, KCB (14 April 1812 – 19 September 1898) was a British soldier, explorer, colonial administrator and writer. He served in a succession of governing positions: Governor of South Australia, twice Governor of New Zealand, Go ...
to the
British Museum of Natural History
The Natural History Museum in London is a museum that exhibits a vast range of specimens from various segments of natural history. It is one of three major museums on Exhibition Road in South Kensington, the others being the Science Museum an ...
, the skin of a male also collected at King George Sound.
The author was aware of the description prepared by Gervais, who after examining his specimen suggested it represented a second species.
The population is the only known species in the genus ''Tarsipes'', and assigned to a monotypic
diprotodont
Diprotodontia (, from Greek "two forward teeth") is the largest extant order of marsupials, with about 155 species, including the kangaroos, wallabies, possums, koala, wombats, and many others. Extinct diprotodonts include the hippopotamus-sized ...
family Tarsipedidae.
The name of the genus means "tarsier-foot", given for a resemblance to
tarsier
Tarsiers ( ) are haplorhine primates of the family Tarsiidae, which is itself the lone extant family within the infraorder Tarsiiformes. Although the group was once more widespread, all of its species living today are found in Maritime Southeast ...
's simian-like feet and toes noted by the earliest descriptions.
The poorly resolved phylogeny of ancestral marsupial relationships has presented this taxon, unique in many characteristics, in an arrangement of other higher classifications, including the separation as a superfamily Tarsipedoidea, later abandoned in favour grouping of South American and Australian marsupials as a monophyletic clade that ignores the modern geographic remoteness of these continent's fauna.
The relationships of the monotypic family within the
Diprotodontia
Diprotodontia (, from Greek language, Greek "two forward teeth") is the largest extant order (biology), order of marsupials, with about 155 species, including the kangaroos, Wallaby, wallabies, Phalangeriformes, possums, koala, wombats, and many ...
order as a
petauroid
Petauroidea is a superfamily of marsupials from Australia and New Guinea. It is part of the suborder Phalangeriformes within the order Diprotodontia, which also includes, among others, wombats, kangaroos, cuscuses. The superfamily Phalangeroidea, ...
alliance may be summarised as,
*Superfamily
Petauroidea
Petauroidea is a superfamily of marsupials from Australia and New Guinea. It is part of the suborder Phalangeriformes within the order Diprotodontia, which also includes, among others, wombats, kangaroos, cuscuses. The superfamily Phalangeroidea, ...
** Family
Pseudocheiridae
Pseudocheiridae is a family of arboreal marsupials containing 17 extant species of ringtailed possums and close relatives. They are found in forested areas and shrublands throughout Australia and New Guinea.
Characteristics
Physically, they app ...
ringtail possums
** Family
Petauridae
Petauridae is a family of possums containing 13 species: four species of trioks and striped possum (genus ''Dactylopsila''), eight species of wrist-winged glider (genus ''Petaurus''), and Leadbeater's possum (''Gymnobelideus leadbeateri''), whic ...
gliders and trioks
** Family Tarsipedidae
*** Genus ''Tarsipes''
**** ''Tarsipes rostratus''
** Family
Acrobatidae
The Acrobatidae are a small family of flying and gliding animals, gliding marsupials containing two genera, each with a single species, the feathertail glider (''Acrobates pygmaeus'') from Australia and feather-tailed possum (''Distoechurus penn ...
gliders
The closest relationship to other taxa was theorised to be ''
Dromiciops gliroides
The monito del monte or colocolo opossum, ''Dromiciops gliroides'', also called ''chumaihuén'' in Mapudungun, is a diminutive marsupial native only to southwestern South America (Argentina and Chile). It is the only extant species in the ancien ...
'', another smaller marsupial that occurs in South America and is known as the extant member of a genus that is represented in the
Gondwana
Gondwana () was a large landmass, often referred to as a supercontinent, that formed during the late Neoproterozoic (about 550 million years ago) and began to break up during the Jurassic period (about 180 million years ago). The final stages ...
n fossil record. This was supported by phylogenetic analysis,
but this is no longer believed to be true.
At Grey's suggestion, the maiden name of his wife
Eliza Lucy Spencer
Eliza Lucy Grey, Lady Grey (; 17 December 1822 – 4 September 1898), was the daughter of British Royal Navy officer Captain Sir Richard Spencer and Ann, Lady Spencer. She was the wife of Sir George Grey.
Early life
Elizabeth Lucy Spencer was ...
was assigned to the epithet. Eliza or Elizabeth was the daughter of the government resident at King George Sound,
Richard Spencer, prompting the unacceptable correction by Ride in 1970.
The common names include those cited or coined by Gilbert, Gould and
Ellis Troughton
Ellis Le Geyt Troughton (born in Sydney on 29 April 1893; died 30 November 1974) was an Australian zoologist and mammalogist.
Biography
Ellis Troughton began to exercise his interest in mammals at fourteen years of age, taking a role at the Au ...
, honey and long-snouted phalanger, tait and noolbenger in the local languages, or the descriptive brown barred mouse. An ethnographic survey of
Noongar
The Noongar (, also spelt Noongah, Nyungar , Nyoongar, Nyoongah, Nyungah, Nyugah, and Yunga ) are Aboriginal Australian peoples who live in the south-west corner of Western Australia, from Geraldton on the west coast to Esperance on the so ...
words recorded for the species found three names were in use, and proposed that these be regularised for spelling and pronunciation as ''ngoolboongoor'' (ngool'bong'oor), ''djebin'' (dje'bin) and ''dat''.
The term honey mouse was recorded by Troughton in 1922 as commonly used in the districts around King George Sound.
Description
A tiny marsupial that climbs woody plants to feed on the pollen and nectar, the honey, of banksia and eucalypts. They resemble a small mouse or the arboreal possums of Australia, and are readily distinguished by the exceptionally long muzzle and three brown stripes from the head to the rump.
The pelage is a cream colour below that merges to rufous at the flanks, the overall coloration of the upperparts is a mix of brown and grey hairs. A dark brown central stripe extends from the rump to a mid-point between the ears, this is a more distinct stripe than the two paler adjacent stripes. The length of the tail is from 70 to 100 millimetres, exceeding the combined body and head length of 65 to 85 mm, and has a
prehensile
Prehensility is the quality of an appendage or organ (anatomy), organ that has Adaptation (biology), adapted for grasping or holding. The word is derived from the Latin term ''prehendere'', meaning "to grasp". The ability to grasp is likely der ...
ability that assists in climbing. The recorded weight range for the species is 5 to 10 grams.
The number of teeth are fewer and most much smaller than is typical for marsupials, with the molars reduced to tiny cones. The
dental formula
Dentition pertains to the development of teeth and their arrangement in the mouth. In particular, it is the characteristic arrangement, kind, and number of teeth in a given species at a given age. That is, the number, type, and morpho-physiolo ...
of I2/1 C1/0 P1/0 M3/3 totals no more than 22 teeth.
The morphology of the elongated snout's jaws and dentition presents a number of unique characteristics suited to the specialisation as a
palynivore
In zoology, a palynivore /pəˈlɪnəvɔːɹ/, meaning "pollen eater" (from Greek παλύνω palunō, "strew, sprinkle", and Latin, vorare, meaning "to devour") is an herbivorous animal which selectively eats the nutrient-rich pollen produced b ...
and
nectivore.
''Tarsipes'' tongue is extensible and the end covered in brush-like
papillae, with the redundant action of the modified or reduced teeth being replaced by the interaction of the tongue, keel-like lower incisors and a fine combing surface at the palate.
The testes are very large in size, noted as proportionally the greatest for a mammal at 4.6 percent of the body weight. The sperm also has an exceptional length; its tail (flagellum) measurement of 360
micrometre
The micrometre ( international spelling as used by the International Bureau of Weights and Measures; SI symbol: μm) or micrometer (American spelling), also commonly known as a micron, is a unit of length in the International System of Unit ...
s also cited as the longest known.
Specialised characters of ''T. rostratus'' include visual acuity for detecting the bright yellow inflorescence of ''
Banksia attenuata
''Banksia attenuata'', commonly known as the candlestick banksia, slender banksia, or biara to the Noongar people, is a species of plant in the family Proteaceae. Commonly a tree, it reaches high, but it is often a shrub in drier areas high. ...
''.
They have a typical
lifespan between one and two years.
They have
trichromat
Trichromacy or trichromatism is the possessing of three independent channels for conveying color information, derived from the three different types of cone cells in the eye. Organisms with trichromacy are called trichromats.
The normal exp ...
vision, similar to some other marsupials as well as
primates
Primates are a diverse order of mammals. They are divided into the strepsirrhines, which include the lemurs, galagos, and lorisids, and the haplorhines, which include the tarsiers and the simians (monkeys and apes, the latter including huma ...
but unlike most mammals which have
dichromat
Dichromacy (from Greek ''di'', meaning "two" and ''chromo'', meaning "color") is the state of having two types of functioning photoreceptors, called cone cells, in the eyes. Organisms with dichromacy are called dichromats. Dichromats require ...
vision.
Behaviour
The honey possum is mainly
nocturnal
Nocturnality is an animal behavior characterized by being active during the night and sleeping during the day. The common adjective is "nocturnal", versus diurnal meaning the opposite.
Nocturnal creatures generally have highly developed sens ...
, but will come out to feed during daylight in cooler weather. Generally, though, it spends the days asleep in a shelter of convenience: a rock cranny, a tree cavity, the hollow inside of a grass tree, or an abandoned bird nest. When food is scarce, or in cold weather, it becomes
torpid
Torpor is a state of decreased physiological activity in an animal, usually marked by a reduced body temperature and metabolic rate. Torpor enables animals to survive periods of reduced food availability. The term "torpor" can refer to the time ...
to conserve energy. In comparison to other marsupials of a similar size, ''T. rostratus'' has a high body temperature and metabolic rate that is termed
euthermic. Lacking fat reserves, but able to reduce their body temperature, exposure to cooler temperatures or lack of food induces one of two states of torpor. One response is a shallow and brief period, similar to torpid
dasyurid
The Dasyuridae are a family of marsupials native to Australia and New Guinea, including 71 extant species divided into 17 genera. Many are small and mouse-like or shrew-like, giving some of them the name marsupial mice or marsupial shrews, but th ...
s, where the body temperature is above 10–15 degrees Celsius, and another deeper state like the
burramyids that lasts for multiple days and reduces their temperature to less than 10 °C.
The species is able to climb with the assistance of the prehensile tail and an opposable first toe at the long hindfoot that is able to grip like a monkey's paw. The bristle-like papillae at the upper surface of the tongue increase in length toward the tip, and this is used to gather the pollen and nectar by rapidly wiping it into the inflorescence.
Both its front and back feet are adept at grasping, enabling it to climb trees with ease, as well as traverse the
undergrowth
Undergrowth usually refers to the vegetation in the lower part of a forest, which can obstruct passage through the forest. The height of undergrowth is usually considered to be 0.3 – 3 m (1 – 9 ft.). Undergrowth can also refer to all ...
at speed. The honey possum can also use its prehensile
tail
The tail is the section at the rear end of certain kinds of animals’ bodies; in general, the term refers to a distinct, flexible appendage to the torso. It is the part of the body that corresponds roughly to the sacrum and coccyx in mammals, r ...
(which is longer than its head and body combined) to grip, much like another arm.
Radio-tracking has shown that males particularly are quite mobile, moving distances of up to 0.5 km in a night and use areas averaging 0.8 hectares.
Males seem to venture out in a larger range, and some evidence indicates greater distances covered; evidence of pollen found on an individual in a study area was from a banksia not found within three kilometres of the collection site.
![Australian zoologist vol 3 p 152 illustration](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f5/Australian_zoologist_vol_3_p_152_illustration.png)
The plant species that provide nectar and pollen to ''T. rostratus'' are primarily genera of Proteaceae, ''
Banksia
''Banksia'' is a genus of around 170 species in the plant family Proteaceae. These Australian wildflowers and popular garden plants are easily recognised by their characteristic flower spikes, and fruiting "cones" and heads. ''Banksias'' range i ...
'' and ''
Adenanthos
''Adenanthos'' is a genus of Australian native shrubs in the flowering plant family Proteaceae. Variable in habit and leaf shape, it is the only genus in the family where solitary flowers are the norm. It was discovered in 1791, and formally publ ...
'', and Myrtaceae, eucalypts and ''
Agonis
''Agonis'' is a genus in the plant family Myrtaceae. All are endemic (ecology), endemic to Western Australia, growing near the coast in the Southwest Australia, south west.
Description
Only one, ''Agonis flexuosa'', grows to tree size; the o ...
'', and those of
Epacridaceae, shrubby heath plants, although it is also known to visit the inflorescence of ''
Anigozanthos
''Anigozanthos'' is a genus of Southwest Australian plants of the bloodwort family Haemodoraceae. The 11 species and their subspecies are commonly known as kangaroo paw or catspaw, depending on their size, and the shape and color of their flo ...
'', the kangaroo paws, and the tall spikes of ''
Xanthorrhoea
''Xanthorrhoea'' () is a genus of about 30 species of flowering plants endemic to Australia. Species are known by the name grass tree.
Description
All are perennials and have a secondary thickening meristem in the stem. Many, but not all, sp ...
'', the grass-trees.
Study of the amount of nectar and pollen has concluded that a nine gram individual requires around seven millilitres of nectar and one gram of pollen each day to maintain an energetic balance. This amount of pollen provides sufficient nitrogen for the species high activity metabolism, and the additional nitrogen requirements of females during lactation is available in the pollen of ''Banksia'' species.
The ingestion of excess water when feeding at wet flowers, a frequent circumstance in the high rainfall regions of its range, is able to be eliminated by kidneys that can process up to two times the animals body weight in water.
Pollen grains are digested over the course of six hours, extracting almost all the nutrients they contain.
Reproduction
Breeding depends on the availability of nectar and can occur at any time of the year. Females are
promiscuous
Promiscuity is the practice of engaging in sexual activity frequently with different Sexual partner, partners or being indiscriminate in the choice of sexual partners. The term can carry a moral judgment. A common example of behavior viewed as pro ...
, mating with a large number of males and may simultaneously carry embryos from different progenitors. Competition has led to the males having very large
testicle
A testicle or testis (plural testes) is the male reproductive gland or gonad in all bilaterians, including humans. It is homologous to the female ovary. The functions of the testes are to produce both sperm and androgens, primarily testostero ...
s relative to their body weight, at a relative mass of 4.2% it is amongst the large known for a mammal. Their sperm is the largest in the mammal world, measuring 365 micrometres.
The development of blastocysts corresponds to day length, induced by a shorter
photoperiod
Photoperiodism is the physiological reaction of organisms to the length of night or a dark period. It occurs in plants and animals. Plant photoperiodism can also be defined as the developmental responses of plants to the relative lengths of light a ...
, but other reproductive processes are prompted by other factor, probably food availability.
Gestation lasts for 28 days, with two to four young being produced. At birth, they are the smallest of any mammal, weighing 0.005 g. Nurturing and development within the pouch lasts for about 60 days, after which they emerge covered in fur and with open eyes, weighing some 2.5 g. As soon as they emerge, they are often left in a sheltered area (such as a hollow in a tree) while the mother searches for food for herself, but within days, they learn to grab hold of the mother's back and travel with her. However, their weight soon becomes too much, and they stop nursing at around 11 weeks, and start to make their own homes shortly thereafter.
As is common in marsupials, a second litter is often born when the pouch is vacated by the first, fertilised embryos being
stopped from developing.
Most of the time, honey possums stick to separate
territories
A territory is an area of land, sea, or space, particularly belonging or connected to a country, person, or animal.
In international politics, a territory is usually either the total area from which a state may extract power resources or an ...
of about one hectare (2.5 acres),
outside of the breeding season. They live in small groups of no more than 10, which results in them engaging in combat with one another only rarely. During the breeding season, females move into smaller areas with their young, which they will defend fiercely, especially from any males.
Distribution
Although restricted to a fairly small range in the southwest of
Western Australia
Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...
, it is locally common and does not seem to be threatened with extinction so long as its habitat of heath, shrubland, and woodland
remains intact and diverse.
Records of locations held at the
Western Australian Museum
The Western Australian Museum is a statutory authority within the Culture and the Arts Portfolio, established under the ''Museum Act 1969''.
The museum has six main sites. The state museum, now known as WA Museum Boola Bardip, officially re-ope ...
indicate they are more common in regions of high Proteaceae diversity, areas such as
banksia woodlands where species can be found flowering at all times of the year.
Ecology
''Tarsipe rostratus'' is a
keystone species
A keystone species is a species which has a disproportionately large effect on its natural environment relative to its abundance, a concept introduced in 1969 by the zoologist Robert T. Paine. Keystone species play a critical role in maintaini ...
in the ecology of the coastal sands of Southwest Australia, complex assemblages of plants known as
kwongan
Kwongan is plant community found in south-western Western Australia. The name is a Bibbelmun (Noongar) Aboriginal term of wide geographical use defined by Beard (1976) as
Kwongan has replaced other terms applied by European botanists such as ...
, and are likely to be the primary pollinator of woody shrubs such as banksia and ''Adenanthos''. Their feeding activity involves visits to many individual plants and the head carries a small pollen load that can convey more effectively than the birds that visit the same flowers. The favoured species ''Banksia attenuata'' appears to be obliged to this animal as a pollination vector, and both species have evolved to suit their
mutualistic interactions.
The effect of fire frequency on the population was evaluated in a study over a twenty three-year period, giving indications of resilience of the species to the first fire in the area and a subsequent burn six years later. The effect of increased frequency and intensity of fire, due to global warming and
prescribed burn
A controlled or prescribed burn, also known as hazard reduction burning, backfire, swailing, or a burn-off, is a fire set intentionally for purposes of forest management, farming, prairie restoration or greenhouse gas abatement. A control ...
s can adversely affect the suitability of the local habitat.
The species is susceptible to the impact of ''
Phytophthora cinnamomi
''Phytophthora cinnamomi'' is a soil-borne water mould that produces an infection which causes a condition in plants variously called "root rot", "dieback", or (in certain '' Castanea'' species), "ink disease". The plant pathogen is one of the wo ...
'', a soil borne fungal-like species that is associated with
forest dieback
Forest dieback (also "", a German loan word) is a condition in trees or woody plants in which peripheral parts are killed, either by pathogens, parasites or conditions like acid rain, drought, and more. These episodes can have disastrous conseq ...
in the eucalypt forests and banksia woodlands of the region. The flowers of the nine plant species most favoured by ''T. rostratus'' provide food throughout the year, and five of these are vulnerable to the withering condition caused by ''P. cinnamomi'' pathogen.
![Banksia attenuata gnangarra 04](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/04/Banksia_attenuata_gnangarra_04.jpg)
It is the only entirely
nectarivorous
In zoology, a nectarivore is an animal which derives its energy and nutrient requirements from a diet consisting mainly or exclusively of the sugar-rich nectar produced by flowering plants.
Nectar as a food source presents a number of benefits a ...
mammal which is not a bat;
it has a long, pointed snout and a long, protrusile tongue with a brush tip that gathers
pollen
Pollen is a powdery substance produced by seed plants. It consists of pollen grains (highly reduced microgametophytes), which produce male gametes (sperm cells). Pollen grains have a hard coat made of sporopollenin that protects the gametophyt ...
and
nectar
Nectar is a sugar-rich liquid produced by plants in glands called nectaries or nectarines, either within the flowers with which it attracts pollinating animals, or by extrafloral nectaries, which provide a nutrient source to animal mutualists ...
, like a
honeyeater
The honeyeaters are a large and diverse family (biology), family, Meliphagidae, of small to medium-sized birds. The family includes the Epthianura, Australian chats, myzomelas, friarbirds, wattlebirds, Manorina, miners and melidectes. They are ...
or a
hummingbird
Hummingbirds are birds native to the Americas and comprise the biological family Trochilidae. With about 361 species and 113 genera, they occur from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego, but the vast majority of the species are found in the tropics aro ...
. Floral diversity is particularly important for the honey possum, as it cannot survive without a year-round supply of nectar and, unlike nectarivorous birds, it cannot easily travel long distances in search of fresh supplies.
Natural history
An animal well known to the
Noongar people
The Noongar (, also spelt Noongah, Nyungar , Nyoongar, Nyoongah, Nyungah, Nyugah, and Yunga ) are Aboriginal Australian peoples who live in the south-west corner of Western Australia, from Geraldton on the west coast to Esperance on the so ...
of southwest, and incorporated into their culture, the name ''ngoolboongoor'' from the indigenous language has been proposed for modern usage as a common name, written as noolbenger.
Honey possums continue to be an iconic animal to the people of the region, and was selected by
Amok Island
Amok may refer to:
* Running amok, the act of behaving disruptively or uncontrollably.
Film
* ''Amok'' (1934 film), a French film
* ''Amok'' (1944 film), a Mexican romantic drama
* ''Amok'' (1983 film), a Moroccan drama
* ''Amok'' (2022 short-f ...
to feature in a large public art project on silos in the wheatbelt.
The first report of the species was compiled by John Gilbert, the careful and thorough field collector commissioned by Gould to travel to the new colony at the Swan River on the west coast of Australia. Gilbert obtained access to Noongar informants that provided him with the names and details of the animals habits and, with some difficulty, four specimens for scientific examination. Both he and Gould recognised the unique characters of the unknown species.
The next major field study was undertaken by the
mammalogist In zoology, mammalogy is the study of mammals – a class of vertebrates with characteristics such as homeothermic metabolism, fur, four-chambered hearts, and complex nervous system
In biology, the nervous system is the highly complex part o ...
Ellis Troughton at the suggestion of
H. L. White
Henry Luke White (9 May 1860 – 30 June 1927) was a wealthy Pastoral farming, grazier, and a keen philatelist, book collector, amateur ornithologist and oologist, oölogist of Scone, New South Wales, Scone, New South Wales, Australia.
Persona ...
, who provided an introduction to the professional collector
F. Lawson Whitlock. Troughton's visit to King George Sound was guided by Whitlock to the source of a specimen he had sent to White, a man in the same region named David Morgan who accommodated the biologist while he searched extensively and unsuccessfully for further specimens. Troughton was eventually provided with a series of a dozen specimens when he was preparing to leave Albany port, a collection assembled over many years by the cats of Hugh Leishman at
Nannarup.
The collection of the
Australian Museum
The Australian Museum is a heritage-listed museum at 1 William Street, Sydney central business district, New South Wales, Australia. It is the oldest museum in Australia,Design 5, 2016, p.1 and the fifth oldest natural history museum in the ...
was increased when Morgan continued to forward specimens to Troughton, firstly with two pregnant females that were also killed by a cat, and then with a report of living animals he was able to maintain in captivity for five to six weeks. Morgan reported that his cat would bring a mangled specimen on a daily basis for a period of time, and observed it seeking them in a flowering shrub at dusk, but thought their local appearance was seasonally related and became absent outside the breeding season.
Closer study of the reproductive processes was allowed by the capture, extended observation and dissection of the species in University programs, the first success in captivity beginning in 1974. Examination of the reproductive strategies has allowed comparison to the other modern marsupial families, in particular the evolution of
embryonic diapause Embryonic diapause (from late 19th century English: dia- ‘through’ + pause- 'delay') (aka delayed implantation in mammals) is an evolutionary reproductive strategy used by several animal species across a number of kingdoms, including approximate ...
.
The population structure and feeding habits of ''T. rostratrus'' was poorly understood until a biological study at the
Fitzgerald River National Park
Fitzgerald River National Park is a national park in the Shires of Ravensthorpe and the Jerramungup in Western Australia, southeast of Perth. The park is recognised on Australia's National Heritage List for its outstanding diversity of native ...
was completed in 1984.
A diet consisting entirely of nectar is unusual for a terrestrial vertebrate species, usually birds and flying mammals, and specialisation to the niche provided by the success of plant families
Proteaceae
The Proteaceae form a family of flowering plants predominantly distributed in the Southern Hemisphere. The family comprises 83 genera with about 1,660 known species. Together with the Platanaceae and Nelumbonaceae, they make up the order Pro ...
and
Myrtaceae
Myrtaceae, the myrtle family, is a family of dicotyledonous plants placed within the order Myrtales. Myrtle, pōhutukawa, bay rum tree, clove, guava, acca (feijoa), allspice, and eucalyptus are some notable members of this group. All speci ...
began around forty million years ago.
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q752020
Mammals of Western Australia
Possums
Mammals described in 1842
Taxa named by Paul Gervais
Diprotodonts
Endemic fauna of Southwest Australia