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Bettongini
Bettongini is a tribe of mammals. It contains two extant genera and one recently extinct one: * ''Aepyprymnus'' * ''Bettongia'' * †''Caloprymnus The desert rat-kangaroo (''Caloprymnus campestris''), also called the buff-nosed rat-kangaroo, plains rat-kangaroo or oolacunta,Tony Robinson & Tiana Forrest (2012A possible sighting of the Desert Rat-kangaroo or Oolacunta (''Caloprymnus campestr ...'' References Further reading * Taxa described in 1987 {{Diprotodont-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bettongia Tropica
The northern bettong (''Bettongia tropica'') is a small, endangered, gerbil-like mammal native to forests in northeast Australia. A member of the rat-kangaroo family (Potoroidae), it moves by hopping and lives in burrows, feeding at night on roots and fungi. It is also a marsupial and carries its young in a pouch. The northern bettong is threatened by habitat loss, and is now restricted to a few small areas. Habitat The northern bettong is restricted to some areas of mixed open ''Eucalyptus'' woodlands and ''Allocasuarina'' forests bordering rainforests in far northeastern Queensland, Australia. Lifespan The typical bettong lives in the wild for about 4 to 6 years. According to the Smithsonian's National Zoologist, they can, under proper care, live up to the age of 15 years. Behavior All species of the bettong are nocturnal. They carry nesting materials with their long tails and can be found in burrows that they escape to during the day. They like to feed at night and their ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rufous Rat-kangaroo
The rufous rat-kangaroo or rufous bettong (''Aepyprymnus rufescens'') is a small, jumping, rat-like marsupial native to eastern Australia. It is the only species in the genus ''Aepyprymnus''. The largest member of the potoroo/bettong family ( Potoroidae), it is about the size of a rabbit. The rufous rat-kangaroo is active at night when it digs for plant roots and fungi, and like other marsupials it carries its young in a pouch. Though its range is reduced, the population is healthy and stable. Taxonomy The rufous rat-kangaroo is the only member of its genus, and is the largest of all the potoroids. It is generally grey with a hint of reddish brown and its scientific name means "reddish high-rump". It was once thought of as a solitary, nocturnal animal, but recent observation indicates that the rufous rat-kangaroo may form loose, polygynous associations. It feeds mostly on tubers and fungi, but also on leaves and other vegetation. Description A species of the family Potoroi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bettong
Bettongs, species of the genus ''Bettongia'', are potoroine marsupials once common in Australia. They are important ecosystem engineers displaced during the colonisation of the continent, and are vulnerable to threatening factors such as altered fire regimes, land clearing, pastoralism and introduced predatory species such as the fox and cat. Conservation status All species of the genus have been severely affected by ecological changes since the European colonisation of Australia. Those that have not become extinct became largely confined to islands and protected reserves and are dependent on re-population programs. The diversity of the genus was poorly understood before their extirpation from the mainland, and new taxa have been identified in specimens newly discovered and already held in museum collections. In August 2021, 40 bettongs were released in different parts of South Australia after being raised in captivity to increase their numbers. Taxonomy Four extant specie ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Edward Gray
John Edward Gray (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 a zoological name. Gray was keeper of zoology at the British Museum in London from 1840 until Christmas 1874, before the natural history holdings were split off to the Natural History Museum. He published several catalogues of the museum collections that included comprehensive discussions of animal groups and descriptions of new species. He improved the zoological collections to make them amongst the best in the world. Biography Gray was born in Walsall, but his family soon moved to London, where Gray studied medicine. He assisted his father in writing ''The Natural Arrangement of British Plants'' (1821). After being blackballed by the Linnean Society of London, Gray shifted his interest from botany to zoology. He began his zoological ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Desert Rat-kangaroo
The desert rat-kangaroo (''Caloprymnus campestris''), also called the buff-nosed rat-kangaroo, plains rat-kangaroo or oolacunta,Tony Robinson & Tiana Forrest (2012A possible sighting of the Desert Rat-kangaroo or Oolacunta (''Caloprymnus campestris'') on the Peake Station, South Australia''The South Australian Naturalist'', 86(2) Jul-Dec 2012. Retrieved 8 May 2016. is an extinct small hopping marsupial endemic to desert regions of Central Australia. It was first recorded in the early 1840s and described by John Gould in London in 1843, on the basis of three specimens sent to him by George Grey, the governor of South Australia at the time. Description It was formed like a kangaroo, but had the bulk of a small rabbit, and was described as having a delicate and slender form. The length of the head and body combined is estimated to be about 254–282 mm in addition to a 307 to 377 mm long tail. Its head was short, blunt, and wide, different from that of any kangaroo or walla ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oldfield Thomas
Michael Rogers Oldfield Thomas (21 February 1858 – 16 June 1929) was a British zoologist. Career Thomas worked at the Natural History Museum, London, Natural History Museum on mammals, describing about 2,000 new species and subspecies for the first time. He was appointed to the museum secretary's office in 1876, transferring to the zoological department in 1878. In 1891, Thomas married Mary Kane, daughter of Sir Andrew Clark, 1st Baronet, Sir Andrew Clark, heiress to a small fortune, which gave him the finances to hire mammal collectors and present their specimens to the museum. He also did field work himself in Western Europe and South America. His wife shared his interest in natural history, and accompanied him on collecting trips. In 1896, when William Henry Flower took control of the department, he hired Richard Lydekker to rearrange the exhibitions, allowing Thomas to concentrate on these new specimens. Thomas viewed his taxonomy efforts from the scope of British impe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
