The black-footed tree-rat (''Mesembriomys gouldii''), also known as Djintamoonga, is one of two

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...

Australian rodent species in the genus '' Mesembriomys.'' Both the black-footed tree-rat and its congener, the

golden-backed tree-rat The golden-backed tree rat (''Mesembriomys macrurus'') is a species of rodent in the family Muridae, found only in Australia. It is present in the Charnley River–Artesian Range Wildlife Sanctuary Charnley River–Artesian Range Wildlife ...

('' M. macrurus''), are found in northern Australia. The species is one of the largest murids found in Australia. Haematological and

blood chemistry Clinical chemistry (also known as chemical pathology, clinical biochemistry or medical biochemistry) is the area of chemistry that is generally concerned with analysis of bodily fluids for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes. It is an applied ...

research has been performed on the black-footed tree-rat to aid in the captive and natural management of Australian native murids held in captivity for

conservation Conservation is the preservation or efficient use of resources, or the conservation of various quantities under physical laws. Conservation may also refer to: Environment and natural resources * Nature conservation, the protection and manageme ...

purposes.

Description

The tree-rat has a greyish-brown coat that is shaggy and coarse and has a creamy white underbelly. The hind feet are black with well developed pads and strong sharp claws. They have large ears and a long tail with a brush of white hair at the tip. They grow to a mass of . The head and body length of the tree-rat is typically with a tail length of . Three subspecies of the black-footed tree-rat have been recognised, based on minor morphological differences in skull and foot shape, as well as variation in colouration. Research into the population genomics of the species agrees with the subspecific delimitation, with the

Gulf of Carpentaria The Gulf of Carpentaria (, ) is a large, shallow sea enclosed on three sides by northern Australia and bounded on the north by the eastern Arafura Sea (the body of water that lies between Australia and New Guinea). The northern boundary i ...

separating the

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , establishe ...

subspecies from the other mainland subspecies found in the

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory shares its borders with Western Aust ...

and Western Australia. The third subspecies is found on Melville Island in the Northern Territory.

Behaviour

The black-footed tree-rat is typically solitary and

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 ...

, although multiple individuals can sometimes be found denning in the same hollow or fallen log. Individuals are semi-

arboreal Arboreal locomotion is the locomotion of animals in trees. In habitats in which trees are present, animals have evolved to move in them. Some animals may scale trees only occasionally, but others are exclusively arboreal. The habitats pose nu ...

, but spend time on the ground foraging or moving between trees. The species typically shelters in tree hollows (typically

Eucalyptus miniata ''Eucalyptus miniata'', commonly known as the Darwin woollybutt or woolewoorrng, is a species of medium-sized to tall tree that is endemic to northern Australia. It has rough, fibrous, brownish bark on the trunk, smooth greyish bark above. Adult ...

or E. tetrodonta) and

pandanus ''Pandanus'' is a genus of monocots with some 750 accepted species. They are palm-like, dioecious trees and shrubs native to the Old World tropics and subtropics. The greatest number of species are found in Madagascar and Malaysia. Common name ...

stands during the day. Individuals have a mean home range area of about 40 hectares, although this can vary considerably.

Feeding

It is a

folivore In zoology, a folivore is a herbivore that specializes in eating leaves. Mature leaves contain a high proportion of hard-to-digest cellulose, less energy than other types of foods, and often toxic compounds.Jones, S., Martin, R., & Pilbeam, D. (1 ...

and

frugivore A frugivore is an animal that thrives mostly on raw fruits or succulent fruit-like produce of plants such as roots, shoots, nuts and seeds. Approximately 20% of mammalian herbivores eat fruit. Frugivores are highly dependent on the abundance and ...

and its diet may be supplemented by

invertebrate Invertebrates are a paraphyletic group of animals that neither possess nor develop a vertebral column (commonly known as a ''backbone'' or ''spine''), derived from the notochord. This is a grouping including all animals apart from the chorda ...

s such as

termite Termites are small insects that live in colonies and have distinct castes ( eusocial) and feed on wood or other dead plant matter. Termites comprise the infraorder Isoptera, or alternatively the epifamily Termitoidae, within the order Blat ...

s and

mollusc Mollusca is the second-largest phylum of invertebrate animals after the Arthropoda, the members of which are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 85,000 extant species of molluscs are recognized. The number of fossil species is est ...

Distribution

''Mesembriomys gouldii'' has a range extending from the

savannah A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach the ground to ...

s of

Cape York Peninsula Cape York Peninsula is a large peninsula located in Far North Queensland, Australia. It is the largest unspoiled wilderness in northern Australia.Mittermeier, R.E. et al. (2002). Wilderness: Earth’s last wild places. Mexico City: Agrupación ...

westward to the Kimberley region 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 t ...

Habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...

s such as tropical woodlands or open forest are suitable for the tree rat, although it persists well in the more complex coastal vine thickets and closed forests. It is not common in many areas and many geographic regions show substantial population declines. One study in the Northern Territory found that the extent of occurrence had declined by over 30% compared to the pre-European distribution, and that breadth of occupied environmental space had declined by over 40%. The same study observed that the species was contracting to areas of higher rainfall, milder temperatures, and higher vegetation complexity than it was present in historically. Genetic estimation of effective population size trajectories in four black-footed tree-rat populations showed that most populations are undergoing severe declines, although the population around the city of Darwin in the Northern Territory appears to have been more stable. The estimated global population is 30,000, although the distribution and density is poorly known in Western Australia and Queensland, where records are far more sparse.

References

Footnotes

Bibliography

* Topi Pigula http://zoommagazin.iprima.cz/priroda/vedci-jasaji-nad-obri-krysou-ma-cerne-tlapky-zije-na-stromech http://zoommagazin.iprima.cz/ Czech TV Prima ZOOM – article about endangered rat] *Musser, G. G. and M. D. Carleton. 2005. Superfamily Muroidea. pp. 894–1531 ''in'' Mammal Species of the World a Taxonomic and Geographic Reference. D. E. Wilson and D. M. Reeder eds. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore. {{Taxonbar, from=Q1763261 Mesembriomys Mammals of the Northern Territory Mammals of Queensland Rodents of Australia Mammals described in 1843