Northern hairy-nosed wombat
| Northern Hairy-nosed Wombat[1] | |
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| Genus: | Gray, 1863
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| Species: | L. krefftii
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| Binomial name | |
| Lasiorhinus krefftii (Owen, 1873)
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| Northern Hairy-nosed Wombat range | |
The Northern Hairy-nosed Wombat (Lasiorhinus krefftii), also known as the Yaminon, is one of three species of wombats. It was found across New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland as recently as 100 years ago, but is now restricted to one place, a 3 km² range within the 32 km² Epping Forest National Park in Queensland. It is one of the rarest large mammals in the world and is critically endangered.
Description
Yaminons can be 35 cm high, up to 1 m long and up to 40 kg. The females are a little bit bigger than the males because they have an extra layer of fat. It is slightly larger than the Common Wombat and able to breed somewhat faster (two young every three years). The northern hairy-nosed wombat's nose is very important in their survival because they have very poor eyesight so they can smell their food in the dark. It takes about a day for a northern hairy-nosed wombat to dig a burrow with their sharp claws (The wombat's claws are about 5 cm in length).
Behaviour
The Northern hairy-nosed wombat is nocturnal, and has been known to share burrows[3]. Its diet is made up of coarse grass and various types of roots. Its habitat has become infested with African buffel grass, which out-competes the native grasses the Yaminon prefers to feed on. One young can be born, often during the wet season. It stays in the pouch for 6-9 months, leaving its mother after a year[4].
Phylogeny
Placental and marsupial mammals are an example of divergent evolution, an evolutionary concept occurring when a single group of organisms splits into two groups and each group evolves in increasingly different directions. The wombat, with all marsupials, diverged from placental mammals during the Cretaceous. The Hairy-nosed Wombat shares marsupial ancestors with kangaroos and the koala.
Analogous Structures
Though the Northern Hairy-nosed wombat shares many similar structural features to that of the Marmot, these males are not closely related. The Marmot is a placental mammal living in such environments as mountains. Both species have long, strong claws, well designed to dig burrows. This being analogous, both species has evolved this similarity over a period of time.
Homologous Structures
A homologous structure and characteristic which is present in all Wombats, including Hairy-Nosed Wombats, have a pouch which opens at the female Wombat's rear end. This characteristic is not common among other marsupials. Having its pouch opening at its rear end is an advantage due to the wombats constant burrowing, as the risk of dirt entering the pouch and harming the offspring is very high. The pouch opening being at the Wombats rear end also provides better protection when the mother walks and runs, and also against predators.
Preservation
The Northern Hairy-nosed Wombat is listed as "endangered" by the Australian Species Profile and Threats Database (SPRAT),[5] and "critically endangered" by the IUCN.[2] Its range is restricted to about 300 ha (750 acres) of the Epping Forest in east-central Queensland, 120 km northwest of Clermont. A two metre-high predator-proof fence was constructed around 25 km² of the park in 2000. Recently, a second colony of wombats has been established at Richard Underwood Nature Refuge at Yarran Downs near St George in southern Queensland. [6] This second colony was established in 2008 and is also in a reserve surrounded by a predator proof fence. [7]
References
- ^ Groves, C. P. (2005). "Order Diprotodontia". In Wilson, D. E.; Reeder, D. M (eds.). Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 43. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494.
- ^ a b Template:IUCN2008
- ^ http://australian-animals.net/wombat-n.htm
- ^ http://australian-animals.net/wombat-n.htm
- ^ "Lasiorhinus krefftii Northern Hairy-nosed Wombat". Species Profile and Threats Database. Retrieved 2007-01-05.
{{cite web}}: External link in|work= - ^ http://www.derm.qld.gov.au/wildlife-ecosystems/wildlife/threatened_plants_and_animals/endangered/northern_hairynosed_wombat/
- ^ http://www.derm.qld.gov.au/wildlife-ecosystems/wildlife/threatened_plants_and_animals/endangered/northern_hairynosed_wombat/
- Underhill D (1993) Australia's Dangerous Creatures, Reader's Digest, Sydney, New South Wales, ISBN 0-86438-018-6