Species Mesembriomys macrurus (Peters, 1876)

Museums

Regional Maps

• Hapalotis macrura Peters, W. 1876. Über die von S.M.S. Gazelle gesammelten Säugethiere aus den Abtheilungen der Nager, Hufthiere, Sirenen, Cetaceen und Beutelthiere. Monatsberichte der Königlichen Preussischen Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Berlin 1876: 355-366 pls 1-3 [355].

  Type data:

   Holotype ZMB 5036 ♀ skull (skin not found in ZMB), at a small mainland creek, Mermaid Strait, WA.
• Hapalotis boweri Ramsay, E.P. 1887. Description of a new species of Hapalotis, (H. boweri) from North West Australia. Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales 2 1: 1153-1154 pl. 18 [1153].

  Type data:

   Holotype whereabouts unknown (not found in AM; AM M2350, a skin with the skull now missing, is identified in the AM Register as the type of H. boweri figured by Ramsay, op. cit. pl. 18), Derby district, WA.

  Type locality references:

  Anon. 1886. Note of exhibit (Untitled). Abstr. Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S.W. 1886: v. [for 24th November].

 

Taxonomic Decision for Synonymy

• Mahoney, J.A. in Walton, D.W. (ed.) 1988. Zoological Catalogue of Australia Volume 5. Mammalia. Canberra : Australian Government Publishing Service x 274 pp. [Date published 13/Apr/1988]

 

Distribution

Extra Distribution Information

Probably extinct in NW coastal region.

IBRA and IMCRA regions

IBRA

NT, WA: Arnhem Coast (ARC), Arnhem Plateau (ARP), Central Arnhem (CA), Carnarvon (CAR), Central Kimberley (CK), Daly Basin (DAB), Darwin Coastal (DAC), Dampierland (DL), Northern Kimberley (NK), Pine Creek (PCK), Pilbara (PIL), Tiwi Cobourg (TIW), Victoria Bonaparte (VB), Yalgoo (YAL)

Ecological Descriptors

Closed forest, coastal, herbivore, terrestrial, tussock grassland, woodland.

 

General References

Braithwaite, R.W. & Muller, W.J. 1997. Rainfall, groundwater and refuges: predicting extinctions of Australian tropical mammal species. Australian Journal of Ecology 22: 57-67

Kitchener, D.J., Keller, L.E., Chapman, A., McKenzie, N.L., Start, A.N. & Kenneally, K.F. 1981. Observations on Mammals of the Mitchell Plateau area, Kimberley, Western Australia. pp. 123–169 in, Biological Survey of Mitchell Plateau and Admiralty Gulf, Kimberley, Western Australia. Papers resulting from a joint field expedition to Mitchell Plateau, Kimberley, by the Western Australia Museum, Perth, and the Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago, U.S.A., 1976–1977. 274 pp.

Lee, A.K. 1995. The Action Plan for Australian Rodents. Canberra : Australian Nature Conservation Agency 62 pp.

McKenzie, N.L. & Kerle, J.A. 1995. Golden-backed Tree-rat Mesembriomys macrurus. pp. 566-568 in Strahan, R. (ed.). The Mammals of Australia: The National Photographic Index of Australian Wildlife. Sydney : Reed New Holland 756 pp.

Watts, C.H.S. & Aslin, H.J. 1981. The Rodents of Australia. Sydney : Angus & Robertson xii 321 pp. 16 pls

 

Common Name References

ABRS 2001. Census of Australian Vertebrates. Australian Biological Resources Study (Golden-backed Tree-rat)