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Quoll

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Quoll
Tiger quoll (Dasyurus maculatus)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Chordata
Class:
Mammalia
Infraclass:
Marsupialia
Order:
Dasyuromorphia
Family:
Dasyuridae
Subfamily:
Dasyurinae
Tribe:
Dasyurini
Genus:
Dasyurus

Type species
Dasyurus viverrinus
Anon., 1791
(= Didelphis viverrina Shaw, 1800)
Species

The quoll or native cat, (genus Dasyurus), is a carnivorous marsupial native to Australia and New Guinea. Quolls are primarily nocturnal and spend most of the day in their dens. There are six species of quoll.

Taxonomy

Skeleton of tiger quoll

The genus Dasyurus comprises the following species:[1]

There is at least one fossil species from the Pliocene, that is D. dunmalli, described by Bartholomai in 1971. The name Dasyurus means "hairy-tail",[2] and was coined by Étienne Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire in 1796. The first species described, the tiger quoll, was originally placed in the American opossum genus Didelphis. The tribe Dasyurini to which quolls belong also includes the Tasmanian devil, the antechinus, the Kowari, and the mulgara.[3] In 1770, Captain Cook explored the east coast of Australia. While there, he collected quolls. He used the original Aboriginal name for the animals. [4]

Description

Western Quoll

Quolls are carnivorous marsupials native to Australia, New Guinea, and Tasmania. Adults are between 25 and 75 centimeters (9.8 and 29.5 in) long, with hairy tails about 20 to 35 centimeters (14 in) long. Females have six nipples and develop a pouch—which opens towards the tail only during the breeding season (with the exception of the tiger quoll who has a true pouch), when they are rearing young. They do not have prehensile tails, but do have ridges on the pads of their feet, to walk the rough ground.[5] Their coats are brown or black, with some color variants in between. They have a bright pink nose and a long snout. Early settlers referred to quolls as "native cats", "native polecats", or "spotted marten". Their lifespan is anywhere from two to five years and the larger sub-species of quoll tend to live longer than the smaller.[6] Quolls are largely solitary animals and are also nocturnal. [7]The average weights of quolls differ greatly depending on the sub-species. Male western and eastern quolls weigh about 1.3 kg and females weigh on average .9 kg. Tiger quolls, are the largest sub-species of quolls, the males weigh around 7 kg and females weigh 4 kg. Northern quolls, are the smallest sub-species of quolls, with the males weighing on average .4-.9 kg and the females weigh about .3-.5 kg. [8]

Habitat

File:Once more.png
Range of Quoll

Quolls are indigenous to Australia, New Guinea, and Tasmaina where they live in forests and open valley land. Although primarily ground-dwelling they have developed secondary arboreal characteristics. They were once found all over the three land masses, but now are found in only a few areas. Each species of quoll lives in different areas. [9] [10] [11]

Bronze quoll

The bronze quoll is the only mammal that is found in the Trans Fly ecoregion in the southern part of New Guinea that cannot also be found in northern Australia. They are found in the southern part of New Guinea south of the Fly River.[9] A study conducted by the University of New South Wales suggests that bronze quolls might be related to the western quoll. The theory is that a land bridge once connected Australia and New Guinea. Around 6 to 8,000 years ago increase in water temperatures caused ice caps to melt causing a rise in sea level which effectively covered the land bridge. Many believe that the bronze quoll was "stranded" in New Guinea when the land bridge disappeared. The study, conducted in 2007, found striking similarities in the genetic makeup of the bronze and western quolls, which shared 98% of their DNA.[12]

Eastern quoll

The last recorded sighting of the eastern quoll on the continent of Australia was in the 1960s, and it is now considered extinct there. But they do inhabit much of nearby Tasmania, where they can be found in rainforests, heathland, alpine areas, and scrubs. The eastern quoll tends to live in dry grasslands and forests. They are common in Tasmania and can be found near farms as they eat pasture food. Eastern quolls can be seen in the Mt. Field National Park.[13]


New Guinean quoll

The New Guinean quoll can be found throughout the majority of New Guinea. They tend to live at about 1,000 m elevation and can't be found in the south-western lowlands. They can also be found on Yapen Island.[10]


Northern quoll

A century ago, the northern quoll could be found in the northern third of Australia. They tend to reside in high rocky areas and/or areas with heavy rainfall. As of 2010, the northern quoll can be found in Cape Cleveland/Mt Elliott, Mareeba, Crediton, Eungella, Clarke Range, Cleveland, Cape Upstart, Cape Gloucester, Condor Range, and also in north and central Queensland. It can also be found in several areas in the Pilbara, including the lower reaches of the Fortescue River, Wittenoom Gorge, and banded ironstone ranges northeast of Marble Bar. Many northern quolls can also be found on the minor islands surrounding northern Australia including: Vanderlin, Channel, Marchinbar, Inglis, Groote and North-east,Adolphus, Augustus, Bigge, Boongaree, Capstan, Dolphin, Hidden, Koolan, Purrungku, Uwins and Wollaston, Burbidge and McKenzie, and Palmer Island. In 2003, northern quolls were translocated to Astell and Pobassoo Islands, part of the English Company archipelago in the Northern Territory.[14]

Tiger quoll

The tiger quoll, also known as the spotted quoll resides in south-eastern Australia. They tend to like rock dens more than dens made out of wood. In a study submitted by Belcher and Darrant in 2006, the habitiat of tiger quolls was directly related to the amount of prey found in the area. Gullies and drainage ditches were used quite often by the quolls and ridges with rocky outcrops were used to make the rock dens that the animals enjoy. More tiger quolls were found in gullies, low slopes, and riparian flats than mid-slopes, and very few dens were found in the upper slopes or ridges of south-eastern Australia.[15]


Western quoll

The western quoll once existed as two subspecies and was found in 70 per cent of Australia, but is now found only in the south-west of Western Australia. They can be spotted at low-densities in the Jarrah Forest and more scarcely in the shrublands and woodlands of the central and southern wheat belt.[11]

Behaviour

Tiger quoll sleeping at Sydney Wildlife World

Quolls are primarily nocturnal, sleeping in hollowed out logs or rocky dens and coming out to hunt during the night, though on rare occasions they can be seen looking for prey during the day. They are mostly ground-dwelling creatures, but due to their second aboreal characteristics, it is not uncommon to see them climbing trees. Quolls mark their territory several kilometers away from their dens. Male's territory often overlaps many female's territories and male and female quolls only meet for mating.[7]. Quolls have communal "bathroom" spots, usually on an outcropping used for marking territory and social functions.These communal latrines may have up to one hundred droppings in them. [16] Quolls are solitary creatures, with contact with others mostly when mating or in social activities such as in the latrines. [17]

Diet

Eastern quoll feeding on meat

Quolls are mostly carnivorous; the larger species eat birds, reptiles and small mammals such as rabbits, bandicoots, echidnas, and possums. The smaller quolls primarily eat insects, birds, frogs, lizards and fruit, but every variety of quoll has been known to eat carrion. The quoll's diet is dominated by medium-sized mammals such as brush-tailed possums, rabbits and hares. The exact mix is adaptable based on reduced availability after bushfires, and can include carrion or bandicoots when food is scarce.[18] Quolls can obtain all the water they need from the food they eat.This makes them quite adaptable during droughts or other periods where a shortage of water is present.[16] Quolls hunt by stalking their prey. Depending on the size of the prey, a quoll may leap or pounce onto it.Small prey is pinned down with the front paws and devoured, while they jump onto large prey, sinking their claws into the prey and latching on to the neck with their mouth. A quoll's paws and vibrissae on their wrists allow them to reach into small burrows to find prey.[16]

Reproduction

Mating occurs during the winter season. Once a female quoll has been impregnated, the folds on her stomach convert into a pouch that opens at the back. The gestation period is 21 days. A baby quoll, or pup, is the size of a grain of rice. Up to 18 quolls are born to each litter, but only six survive the first two weeks. The survivors stay in their mother's pouch for eight weeks, suckling on one of the mother's six teats for milk. On the ninth week the pups venture out of the pouch and onto the mother's back where they reside for six weeks.[19] Quolls reach maturity at one year old, and have a natural lifespan of between two and five years.[20] In a study published in 2008, the pouch of a spotted-tail quoll was studied. Researchers found that pouch appearance is a reliable indicator of a quoll's reproductive status. During the follicular phase, pouches were found to be red in color, had many secretions, and sex-hormones were very high. Post-ovulation, pouches became deep and wet. Researchers and scientists can now use this information to determine wher a female quoll is in her ovarian cycle. This is a non-invasive technique and will be helpful in breeding management.[21]

Threats

Cane toads

The cane toad is a significant threat to the quolls

Cane toads are a significant threat to Northern quolls. When a quoll has eaten a cane toad it dies rather quickly, owing to the toad's poison. Cane toads can also shoot venom, which can easily blind an animal. The Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities has stated that cane toads are highly invasive in environments and are major threats to the quoll's survival. Cane toads were introduced into Queensland in 1935 and their population has been growing exponentially since then.[14]

Feral predators

Feral predators such as foxes and cats are another threat to quolls. The predators not only eat quolls, but competition for food has also increased as quolls and the feral predators have similar diets. For example both quolls and feral predators catch and consume rabbits. Since the introduction of foxes, the rabbit population has dropped dramatically. Foxes have been eradicated from many of the islands off the coast of Australia in an effort to protect the quoll.[14]


Habitat destruction

The quolls are severely suffering from urbanization, housing development, mining development, and expansion of agricultural lands. Habitats are also being destroyed by large herbivores. They trample the grass and overgrowth, making both camouflage and habitability impossible. Forest fires and weeds also contribute to habitat destruction.[14]

Poison Baiting

The poison sodium monofluroacetate is commonly used in Australia to control pests such as European rabbits, foxes, feral predators, and wild dogs such as dingoes. It is cooked into meat and then the meat is put into the wild for the animals to ingest. The poison is extremely toxic to wild dogs and other pests, but considerably less toxic to quolls. A main factor in how the poison will affect a quoll is in the size. Bigger quolls will suffer no ill effects from eating one peace of prepared meat with sodium monofluroacetate in it but will suffer if they eat more than one piece within a short period of time. One piece of meat may be lethal to female and juvenile quolls. Since quolls are carnivores and will readily consume any meat left out, they are at high risk from the poison. The meat is supposed to be buried at least eight centimeters under the ground, but have been found under minimal dirt which quolls can dig around to get to the meat. The poisoning is currently being investigated, as many believe that the number of quolls protected from predators by the bait is much more than those who ingest the poison and die. [22] [14]

Conservation efforts

Since 1770, all Australian quolls have declined in number owing to habitat loss caused by urbanization. Quolls are threatened by toxic cane toads, but a University of Sydney project revealed in 2010 is teaching them to avoid eating the invasive amphibians.[23] In 2008 the Northern Territory Wildlife Park in Australia recorded their first litter of quoll pups in the park. The quolls bred well in captivity, with over fifteen litters in the 2008 breeding season alone.[24] In late October of 2011, a litter of five tiger quoll pups were born at WILD LIFE Sydney in Darling Harbour, Australia. The pups were born to inexperienced parents, both just one year old. The reason being that male quolls can easily kill a female if they do not want to mate. Four of the quoll pups will be sent to other zoos or wildlife parks across Australia but one-whom the researchers named Nelson, will stay at the center to become an "ambassador for all quolls". [25]

References

  1. ^ (Groves 2005, pp. 24–25)
  2. ^ (Strahan 2008, pp. 62–64)
  3. ^ (Groves 2005, pp. 24–25)
  4. ^ "Australian Threatened Species, Tiger Quoll, Spotted-tailed Quoll or Spot-tailed Quoll, Dasyurus maculatus" (PDF). Australian Government: Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population, and Communities. June 3 2011. Retrieved October 25 2011. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help)
  5. ^ (McCay 1999, p. [page needed])
  6. ^ "Quolls of Australia". Australian Government:Department of Environment an Heritage. {{cite web}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Missing or empty |url= (help)
  7. ^ a b York Fei Leung. "Dasyurus geoffroii". University of Michigan Museum of Zoology. Retrieved 31 October 2011. {{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help)
  8. ^ "Quolls of Australia". Australian Government:Department of the Environment and Heritage. 2003. Retrieved November 2, 2011.
  9. ^ a b "Dasyurus spartacus". IUCN. Retrieved 20 October 2011.
  10. ^ a b "Dasyurus albopunctatus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Retrieved 20 October 2011.
  11. ^ a b "Dasyurus geoffroii". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Retrieved 20 October 2011.
  12. ^ "New Guinea's bronze quoll could be a long lost Aussie". UNSW. Retrieved 20 October 2011.
  13. ^ "Eastern Quoll, Dasyurus viverrinus". Parks and Wildlife Service, Tasmania. {{cite web}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Missing or empty |url= (help)
  14. ^ a b c d e Hill B.M. and Ward S.J. "National Recovery Plan for the Northern Quoll Dasyurus hallucatus" (PDF). Department of Natural Resources, Environment, The Arts and Sport, Darwin. p. 1,3,6,7. Retrieved 20 October 2011. Cite error: The named reference "Hill" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  15. ^ Belcher; Darrant (2006). "Habitat Use by Tiger Quoll (Dasyurus maculatus) (Marsupialia: Dasyuridae)in south-eastern Australia". Journal of Zoology. 269 (2). ZSL: 183–190. doi:10.1111/j.1469-7998.2006.00056.x. Retrieved 20 October 2011.
  16. ^ a b c Jones, Menna E.; Rose, Robert K.; Burnett, Scott (2001). "Dasyurus maculatus" (PDF). Mammalian Species (676). American Society of Mammalogists: 1–9. Retrieved October 25 2011. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)}
  17. ^ "Native Plants and Animals". Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water and Environment. Retrieved 1 November 2011. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |published= ignored (help)}
  18. ^ Attention: This template ({{cite doi}}) is deprecated. To cite the publication identified by doi:10.1071/WR05101, please use {{cite journal}} (if it was published in a bona fide academic journal, otherwise {{cite report}} with |doi=10.1071/WR05101 instead.
  19. ^ "Parks and Wildlife Service-Spotted-tail Quoll". Parks and Wildlife Service Tasmania. Retrieved 19 October 2011.
  20. ^ "Quolls of Australia". Government of Australia. June 3, 2011. Retrieved October 6, 2011.
  21. ^ Hesterman, H.; Jones, S. M.; Schwarzenberger, F. (2008). "Pouch appearance is a reliable indicator of the reproductive status in the Tasmanian devil and the spotted-tailed quoll". Journal of Zoology. 275 (2). The Zoological Society of London: 130–138. doi:10.1111/j.1469-7998.2008.00419.x. Retrieved October 26 2011. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)}
  22. ^ "Draft revised Tiger Quoll Action Statement". Otway Ranges Environment Network. June 2001.
  23. ^ "Taste training for northern quolls". Australian Geographic. Retrieved April 15 2010. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  24. ^ "Endangered Quolls breeding well in captivity in Darwin". Wildlife Extra. Retrieved November 2 2011. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  25. ^ Liz T. Williams (October 26 2011). "Baby quolls a boost for breeding program". Australian Geographic. Retrieved November 2 2011. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help)

Bibliography

  • Groves, C.; Wilson, D.E.; Reeder, D.M. (2005). Mammal Species of the World. John Hopkins University Press. pp. 24–25. ISBN 0-801-88221-4. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
  • McCay, George (1999). Mammals. Fog City Press. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help); Invalid |ref=harv (help)
  • Strahan, Ronald (2008). The Mammals of Australia. New Holland. pp. 62–64. ISBN 9781877069253. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)


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