Numbat - Myrmecobius fasciatus an Endangered species

Numbat - an Endangered species


Australian Endangered Species Profile Sheet

Common Names: Numbat, Banded Ant-eater, Walpurti

The name 'Numbat' comes from Aboriginal people in the York and Toodyay districts (east of Perth), and the name 'Walpurti' is used by desert language groups in parts of Western Australia, South Australia and the Northern Territory.

Scientific Name: Myrmecobius fasciatus

The scientific name comes from myrmex meaning ant, bios meaning life, fasciatus meaning striped or banded.

Conservation Status: Endangered



DESCRIPTION

Amongst the most beautiful of marsupials, Numbats are mostly reddish brown with a horizontal black stripe through their eyes. On the animal's rump are from four to 11 wide black and white bands. Each Numbat can be recognised by its individual pattern of bands. Under their body, Numbat's have off-white hair and their tails are covered with long brown hairs, some with white tips. The underside of the tail near the body is brick-red.

Adult Numbats have a head and body length of 20 to 25cm and a tail length of 15 to 18cm. Females weigh about 500g while males are usually heavier weighing around 700g. Numbats have a small flat head with a long nose, pointed ears and a very long tongue. They also have 50 to 52 small teeth.

DISTRIBUTION

Numbats were once spread widely but sparsely through much of southern Australia from the west coast to western NSW. Numbats disappeared from New South Wales soon after 1900 but were in north-west South Australia until about the 1950s. In Western Australia Numbats were still widespread in the 1950s but disappeared from the arid zone between the 1950s and 1970s. Numbats decreased to about seven small populations in the 1970s, and by 1986 only two populations were left.

Since then, Numbats have begun to make a comeback as a direct result of recovery actions. There are now three populations in a small area of south-west Western Australia, with another three being re-established nearby.

HABITAT

Numbats used to occur in a number of different habitats including eucalypt forest and woodland, mulga woodland and spinifex country. They are now mostly found in shrubby Eucalypt woodlands in the wettest parts of their former range. These woodlands provide Numbats with hollow logs and branches for shelter, and termites to feed on. Numbats will only live where termites are available for food.

ECOLOGY

Numbats feed only on any species of termite available. They also eat ants by accident with the termites. Numbats detect termites in shallow soil using their front feet to dig an access hole into the insect's gallery, then rapidly extract them with their long sticky tongue. Each individual eats from 15 000 to 20000 termites in a day.

Unlike most marsupials, Numbats are active during the day and rest at night. They use hollow logs or burrows for resting at night or during the day as a refuge from predators. Burrows are mostly used in colder weather and for rearing young. They are one to two metres long with a nest at the end made from bark and leaves. The entrances are well hidden under logs or piles of branches.

Numbats usually have up to four young, born between late January and late February. Adult females have four teats and no pouch. The young attach themselves to the teats and grip onto the short hairs surrounding the nipples. After six months the young are placed in a burrow and the mother continues to suckle them. Juveniles are carried on the mother's back if she has to move them from one nest to another. By October the young feed independently, but they do not leave their mother's home range until November or December, when they are at least nine months old.

Numbats are solitary and territorial. Once a juvenile has established its home range, it will stay in or close to that area for the rest of its life.

THREATS TO SURVIVAL

Numbats have disappeared from more than 90% of their former range for several reasons. Their habitat has been cleared in many places for agriculture and housing, and in other places the fire pattern has changed. Fox numbers have increased in recent years and are causing problems for much of Australia's wildlife. Feral cats are also becoming a greater problem.

RECOVERY ACTION

In 1982 fox control was started in one of the few remaining woodland areas where Numbats could be found. This was very successful and Numbat numbers increased dramatically. All Numbat populations are now protected by fox control.

Putting Numbats back into areas where they used to live (reintroduction) has also helped numbers to increase. If there are only one or two populations left then Numbats are more likely to become extinct because of predation or disease. Each new population also allows for more Numbats in total.

Numbats have proven difficult to breed in captivity, and most of the animals released into other areas have come from wild populations. It is useful to have Numbats breeding in captivity for education and in case something drastic happens to the wild populations.

Numbats now occur in areas secure from clearing, mostly in State Forests and Nature Reserves. But even in these areas of good habitat, Numbats have recently disappeared. By keeping suitable habitat and constantly controlling foxes, we may be able to save Numbats.

RELATED SPECIES

Numbats are the only species in the family Myrmecobiidae. Their closest relatives are the carnivorous marsupials of the family Dasyuridae, which includes the Chuditch and the Red-tailed Phascogale, both endangered species found only in Western Australia.

DEFINITIONS

Presumed extinct: An animal or plant species that has not been found in the wild during the past 50 years, despite thorough searching.

Endangered: An animal or plant species that is in danger of extinction and will probably not survive if threats to it continue.

Vulnerable: An animal or plant species that will probably become endangered if threats to it continue.

MORE INFORMATION

Friend J A (1994) Numbat Recovery Plan
Available from the Australian Nature Conservation Agency for $10.

Flannery T (1990) Australia's Vanishing Mammals. R D Press, Sydney.

Endangered Species Unit
Australian Nature Conservation Agency
GPO Box 636
CANBERRA ACT 2601
Phone: 06 250 0200

February 1994