Kowari

Kowari
Kowari[1]
Conservation status
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Infraclass: Marsupialia
Order: Dasyuromorphia
Family: Dasyuridae
Subfamily: Dasyurinae
Tribe: Dasyurini
Genus: Dasyuroides
Spencer, 1896
Species: D. byrnei
Binomial name
Dasyuroides byrnei
Spencer, 1896
Subspecies
  • D. b. byrnei
  • D. b. pallidior
Distribution of the Kowari

The Kowari (Dasyuroides byrnei), also known as the Brush-tailed Marsupial Rat, Kayer Rat, Byrne's Crest-tailed Marsupial Rat, Bushy-tailed Marsupial Rat and Kawiri, is a small carnivorous marsupial native to the dry grasslands and deserts of central Australia. It is monotypical of its genus.

Contents

Description

The Kowari is 16.5-18 cm long, with a 13-14 cm tail. Its diet consists mainly of insects and spiders, but probably also small lizards, birds or rodents.[1] It is known as a voracious predator. It lives in underground burrows, singly or in small groups. It emerges to hunt among grass tussocks for food. It breeds in winter, from May-October, and gives birth to litters of 5-6 young after a gestation of 32 days.[1]

The Kowari is coloured ashy-grey, and its distinguishing feature is the brush of black hairs on the end of its tail, which differs from that found in the mulgaras (Dasycercus) in that it completely encircles the end of the tail. They have a life span of 3-6 years.[3]

Habitat

The Kowari is found in stony desert areas of the Lake Eyre drainage basin, in north-eastern South Australia and southwestern Queensland. West of Lake Eyre it is declining, and is now possibly extinct in this area.[4]

Classification

The Kowari is the only member of its genus. The genus name, Dasyuroides, indicates that it resembles Dasyurus, the quolls. First described in 1896 by Sir Walter Baldwin Spencer, it was for some time included in the genus Dasycercus.

The Kowari is a member of the family Dasyuridae, and is most closely related to the Mulgara.

Two subspecies of the Kowari are recognised:[3]

  • D. b. byrnei, found in the north-eastern part of the range
  • D. b. pallidior, found in the south-western part of the range

References

  1. ^ a b c Groves, C. (2005). Wilson, D. E., & Reeder, D. M, eds. ed. Mammal Species of the World (3rd ed.). Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. pp. 24. OCLC 62265494. ISBN 0-801-88221-4. http://www.bucknell.edu/msw3. 
  2. ^ McKnight, M., Canty, P., Brandle, R., Robinson, T. & Watson, M. (2008). Dasyuroides byrnei. In: IUCN 2008. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Downloaded on 28 December 2008. Database entry includes justification for why this species is listed as vulnerable
  3. ^ a b Aslin, H.J.; Lim, L. (1995). "Kowari". In Strahan, Ronald. The Mammals of Australia. Reed Books. pp. 59–61 
  4. ^ Menkhorst, Peter (2001). A Field Guide to the Mammals of Australia. Oxford University Press. pp. 52. 

External links


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужен реферат?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Kowari — Dasycercus byrnei Kowari …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Kowari — Doppelkamm Beutelmaus Systematik Unterklasse: Beutelsäuger (Metatheria) Überordnung: Australidelphia Ordnung: Raubbeutlerartige (Dasyuromorphia) …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • kowari — šukauodegė sterbliažiurkė statusas T sritis zoologija | vardynas taksono rangas rūšis atitikmenys: lot. Dasyuroides byrnei angl. Byrne’s pouched mouse; crest tailed marsupial rat; kowari vok. Doppelkammbeutelmaus rus. гребнехвостая сумчатая… …   Žinduolių pavadinimų žodynas

  • KOWARI - Residual-Stress Diffractometer — KOWARI is the name of the new neutron Residual Stress Diffractometer at Australia s new research reactor OPAL, ANSTO. Strain scanning using thermal neutrons is a powder diffraction technique in a polycrystalline block of material probing the… …   Wikipedia

  • Kowari (disambiguation) — Kowari may refer to:* The Kowari, an Australasian marsupial. * KOWARI Residual Stress Diffractometer, a neutron diffractometer at Australia s research reactor, OPAL. * Kowari (software), an open source metadata database written in Java …   Wikipedia

  • kowari — noun Any of various small marsupials of the genus Dasyuroides similar to rats …   Wiktionary

  • kowari — /kəˈwari / (say kuh wahree) noun a small carnivorous, brush tailed dasyurid, Dasyuroides byrnei, living in burrows in the arid region at the junction of the NT, SA and Qld. {Australian Aboriginal; Diyari and Ngamini (SA languages) kawiri} …  

  • Mulgara (software) — Mulgara Semantic Store Stable release 2.1.10 / July 19, 2011; 2 months ago (2011 07 19) Written in Java Operating system Cross platform …   Wikipedia

  • Open-pool Australian lightwater reactor — For other uses, see Opal (disambiguation). Science with Neutrons Foundations Neutron temperature Flux  …   Wikipedia

  • Dasycercus Byrnei — Kowari …   Wikipédia en Français

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”