Red-tailed phascogale

The red-tailed phascogale (Phascogale calura), also known as the red-tailed wambenger, red-tailed mousesack or kenngoor, is a small carnivorous marsupial found in inland areas of south-western Western Australia, and has been reintroduced in sanctuaries in WA and the Northern Territory. It is listed as near threatened by the IUCN Red List, vulnerable under the federal EPBC Act, and its status varies between extinct and conservation-dependent under respective legislation in other states and territories of Australia.

Red-tailed phascogale[1]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Infraclass: Marsupialia
Order: Dasyuromorphia
Family: Dasyuridae
Genus: Phascogale
Species:
P. calura
Binomial name
Phascogale calura
Gould, 1844
Red-tailed phascogale range

It is closely related to the brush-tailed phascogale (Phascogale tapoatafa), but is smaller and browner.

Taxonomy

The red-tailed phascogale or Phascogale calura is one of three members of the phascogale genus, the others being the brush-tailed phascogale (P. tapoatafa) and the Northern brush-tailed phascogale (P. pirata). The species was described in 1844 by ornithologist John Gould. Its scientific name means "beautiful-tailed pouched-weasel".[3]

Alternative names for the species include red-tailed wambenger, kenngoor (the latter in the Nyoongar language),[4] and red-tailed mousesack.[5]

Description
Red-tailed phascogale showing characteristic tail.

The red-tailed phascogale is smaller and browner than its close relative the brush-tailed phascogale.[6] It is around 10 cm (3.9 in) long and weighs about 60 g (2.1 oz).[7]

As in the brush-tailed phascogale, male red-tailed phascogales die following their first mating as a result of stress-related diseases.[6] Males rarely live past 11.5 months, although females can live to three years old. In captivity males and females can survive up to five years.[8][9]

The animal can leap up to 2 m (6 ft 7 in).[7]

An arboreal and carnivorous species, the red-tailed phascogale has a varied diet, and can feed on insects and spiders, but also small birds and small mammals, notably the house mouse (Mus musculus), which has become ubiquitous in the landscape since its introduction by Europeans.[10][11]

The red-tailed phascogale does not drink, as its water is metabolised through its food.[3]

Distribution and habitat

The red-tailed phascogale was once found across the whole of mainland Australia,[7] and formerly widespread throughout central and western Australia but is now restricted to the southern Western Australian wheatbelt.[12]

It is found in dense and tall climax vegetation, and appears to prefer those containing the Wandoo (Eucalyptus wandoo) and the rock sheoak (Allocasuarina huegeliana), as it has developed a resistance to the fluoroacetate the plants produce that is lethal to livestock.[3] Most native animals have a resistance to this fluoracetate, but introduced species, like the red fox (Vulpes vulpes), do not, so it has been suggested that the red-tailed phascogale's survival in these areas could be attributed to this chemical.[3]

Conservation status

The animal is classified as near threatened by the IUCN Red List and vulnerable under the Australian EPBC Act.[4]

As of August 2022, the species' status under the various state and territory legislation is as follows:

Conservation measures

The species was reintroduced to the Wadderin Sanctuary in the central wheatbelt of Western Australia in 2009.[13][14]

Recent conservation efforts in Central Australia have paid off, and 30 were released at the remote Newhaven Wildlife Sanctuary, near Lake Mackay, Northern Territory in June 2020 after a captive breeding program at the Alice Springs Desert Park. They were bred from a small group taken from the wild in Western Australia, after their delicate breeding cycle was carefully managed. The animals were microchipped before release, and will be tracked for their whole lives.[15]

In a surprise to scientists, a red-tailed phascogale was observed in August 2022 at the Paruna Wildlife Sanctuary, a sanctuary run by the Australian Wildlife Conservancy 50 km (31 mi) north-east of Perth, in the Avon Valley. The species had not been seen near this location for several decades, with the closest known population around 100 km (62 mi) away to the south-east.[7]

Model species

The species is used as a model species in research.[16] Studies have been conducted on behavioural thermoregulation and have indicated they bask to reduce their energy demands.[17] Captive nutrition trials found red-tailed phascogales consume up to 39% of their body mass in food per day and their daily maintenance energy requirements are approximately 954 kJ kg0.75day−1.[18] Like many other mammals their food intake during lactation changes to meet the increasing demands of the young.[19]

Most notably the red-tailed phascogale has been used to study the marsupial immune system, development of their immune tissues,[20] and expression of and localisation of key immune cells.[21] They have an active complement system,[22] like other marsupials,[23] and the expression levels of complement components vary in developing young.[24] The serum of red-tailed phascogales has been shown to have antimicrobial properties against some bacterial species.[25] Reference genes have been evaluated in pouch young and adults.[26]

Red-tailed phascogales also express T-cell receptors and co-receptors,[27] major histocompatibility complex,[28] and interleukin-6 and its receptor.[29]

Given their semelparous reproductive strategy they have been investigated in terms of their immunosenescense in captivity[30] and immune response.[31]

References
  1. Groves, C. P. (2005). Wilson, D. E.; Reeder, D. M. (eds.). Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. pp. 31–32. ISBN 0-801-88221-4. OCLC 62265494.
  2. Burbidge, A.A.; Woinarski, J. (2019). "Phascogale calura". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2019: e.T16888A21944219. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-2.RLTS.T16888A21944219.en. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  3. Bradley, A. J. (1995), "Red-tailed Phascogale", in Strahan, Ronald (ed.), The Mammals of Australia, Reed Books, pp. 102–103, ISBN 978-0-7301-0484-1
  4. "Phascogale calura — Red-tailed Phascogale, Red-tailed Wambenger, Kenngoor". Species Profile and Threats Database. Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water, Australian Government. 7 July 2022. Retrieved 25 August 2022.
  5. "Red-Tailed Phascogale - Appearance, Diet, Habitat". The Animal Facts. 23 August 2022. Retrieved 25 August 2022.
  6. Menkhorst, Peter; Knight, Frank (2001), A Field Guide to the Mammals of Australia, Oxford University Press, p. 50, ISBN 978-0-19-550870-3
  7. McManus, Sam (24 August 2022). "Red-tailed phascogale spotted in WA's Paruna Sanctuary to the surprise of scientists". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 25 August 2022.
  8. Bradley, A. J., Foster, W. K., and Taggart, D. A. (2008). Red-tailed phascogale (Phascogale calura). In ‘The Mammals of Australia’. (Eds S. Van Dyck and R. Strahan.) pp. 101–102. (New Holland: Sydney.)
  9. Stannard, H.; Borthwick, C.; Ong, O.; Old, J. (2013). "Longevity and breeding in the red-tailed phascogale Phascogale calura". Australian Mammalogy. 35 (2): 217–219. doi:10.1071/AM12042. doi:https://dx.doi.org/10.1071/AM12042
  10. Kitchener, D.J., 1981. Breeding, diet and habitat preference of Phascogale calura (Gould, 1844)(Marsupialia: Dasyuridae) in the southern wheatbelt, Western Australia. Records of the Western Australian Museum, 9, pp.173-186.
  11. Stannard, H.J., Caton, W. and Old, J.M., 2010. The diet of red‐tailed phascogales in a trial translocation at Alice Springs Desert Park, Northern Territory, Australia. Journal of Zoology, 280(4), pp.326-331. doi:https://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-7998.2009.00658.x
  12. Short, J.; Hide, A (2012). "Distribution and status of the red-tailed phascogale Phascogale calura". Australian Mammalogy. 34: 88–99. doi:10.1071/AM11017.
  13. Short, J.; Hide, A. (2014). "Successful reintroduction of the brushtail possum to Wadderin Sanctuary in the eastern wheatbelt of Western Australia". Australian Mammalogy. 36 (2): 229–241. doi:10.1071/AM14005.
  14. Short, J.; Hide, A. (2015). "Successful reintroduction of red-tailed phascogale to Wadderin Sanctuary in the eastern wheatbelt of Western Australia". Australian Mammalogy. in press.
  15. Beavan, Katrina (23 June 2020). "Red-tailed phascogales return to Central Australian landscape for the first time in decades". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 24 June 2020.
  16. Old, J.M.; Ong, O.T.W.; Stannard, H.J. (2021). "Red-tailed phascogales – A review of their biology and importance as model marsupial species". Journal of Experimental Zoology A. 335 (2): 217–227. doi:10.1002/jez.2438. PMID 33382214. S2CID 229930762.
  17. Stannard, H.; Fabian, M.; Old, J. (2015). "To bask or not to bask: Behavioural thermoregulation in two species of dasyurid, Phascogale calura and Antechinomys laniger". Journal of Thermal Biology. 53: 66–71. doi:10.1016/j.jtherbio.2015.08.012. PMID 26590457.
  18. Stannard, H.J. and Old, J.M., 2012. Digestibility of feeding regimes of the red-tailed phascogale (Phascogale calura) and the kultarr (Antechinomys laniger) in captivity. Australian Journal of Zoology, 59(4), pp.257-263. doi:https://dx.doi.org/10.1071/ZO11069
  19. Stannard, H.; Old, J. (2015). "Changes to food intake and nutrition of female red-tailed phascogales (Phascogale calura) during late lactation". Physiology and Behavior. 151: 398–403. doi:10.1016/j.physbeh.2015.08.012. PMID 26260432. S2CID 6485078.
  20. Borthwick, C.; Young, L.; Old, J. (2016). "Histological development of the immune tissues of a marsupial, the red-tailed phascogale (Phascogale calura)". Anatomical Record. 299 (2): 207–219. doi:10.1002/ar.23297. PMID 26599205. S2CID 26070813.
  21. Borthwick, C.; Young, L.; Old, J. (2019). "An examination of the development and localisation of key immune cells in developing pouch young of the red-tailed phascogale (Phascogale calura)". Anatomical Record. 302 (11): 1985–2002. doi:10.1002/ar.24176. PMID 31120185.
  22. Ong, O.; Young, L.; Old, J. (2016). "Preliminary genomic survey and sequence analysis of the complement system in non-eutherian mammals". Australian Mammalogy. 38: 80–90. doi:10.1071/AM15036.
  23. Ong, O.; Young, L.; Old, J. (2015). "Detection of an active complement system in red-tailed phascogales (Phascogale calura)". Comparative Clinical Pathology. 24 (6): 1527–1534. doi:10.1007/s00580-015-2111-2. S2CID 29065218.
  24. Ong, O.; Young, L.; Old, J. (2016). "Sequences and expression of pathway-specific complement components in developing red-tailed phascogale Phascogale calura". Developmental and Comparative Immunology. 65: 314–320. doi:10.1016/j.dci.2016.08.003. PMID 27514577.
  25. Ong, O.; Green-Barber, J.; Kanuri, A.; Young, L.; Old, J. (2017). "Antimicrobial activity of red-tailed phascogale (Phascogale calura) serum". Comparative Immunology Microbiology and Infectious Diseases. 51: 41–48. doi:10.1016/j.cimid.2017.03.001. PMID 28504094.
  26. Ong, Oselyne TW; Young, Lauren J; Old, Julie M (6 September 2016). "Evaluation of reference genes for gene expression in red-tailed phascogale (Phascogale calura) liver, lung, small intestine and spleen". PeerJ. 4: e2552. doi:10.7287/peerj.preprints.2422v1. PMC 5068414. PMID 27761339.
  27. Borthwick, C.; Young, L.; Old, J. (2018). "Molecular identification and gene expression profiles of the T-cell receptors and co-receptors in developing red-tailed phascogale (Phascogale calura) pouch young". Molecular Immunology. 101: 268–275. doi:10.1016/j.molimm.2018.07.005. PMID 30029061. S2CID 51706551.
  28. Hermsen, E.; Young, L.; Old, J. (2016). "MHC Class II in the red-tailed phascogale (Phascogale calura)". Australian Mammalogy. 39: 28–32. doi:10.1071/AM16002.
  29. Borthwick, C.; McAllan, B.; Young, L.; Old, J. (2016). "Identification of the mRNA encoding interleukin-6 and its receptor, interleukin-6 receptor α, in five marsupial species". Developmental and Comparative Immunology. 65: 211–217. doi:10.1016/j.dci.2016.07.008. PMID 27431929.
  30. Letendre, C.; Young, L.J.; Old, J.M. (2018). "Immunosenescence in a captive semelparous marsupial, the red-tailed phascogale (Phascogale calura)". BMC Zoology. 3: 10. doi:10.1186/s40850-018-0036-3.
  31. Letendre, C.; Young, L.J.; Old, J.M. (2018). "Limitations in the isolation and stimulation of splenic mononuclear cells in a dasyurid marsupial, Phascogale calura". BMC Research Notes. 11 (1): 856. doi:10.1186/s13104-018-3824-5. PMC 6180634. PMID 30305168.
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