Julia Creek dunnart
Scientific name: Sminthopsis douglasi
(sminthopsis = mouse-like; douglasi = named after A.M. Douglas, Western
Australian naturalist and collector for the Western Australia Museum)
Copyright: Greg Mifsud
Animal group: Marsupial carnivores
Conservation status: This species is listed as Endangered in Queensland (Nature Conservation Act 1992) and is Endangered nationally (Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999).
Description: With a body length of 13-13.5cm and a tail 12-13cm long the Julia Creek dunnart is the largest of the 19 species of Sminthopsis found in Australia and Papua New Guinea.
It is sandy brown in colour, speckled with grey above and almost white below. Its face has rufous hair on the cheeks and at the base of the ears. A darker face stripe runs from behind the nose to the top of the head and there is also a fine ring of darker hair around the eyes.
It can also store food in its tail as fat, and individuals will have a swollen base to their tail when food is abundant.
Habitat and distribution: It lives on the Mitchell Grass Downs of north-western Queensland where it finds shelter in the cracking clay soils during the dry season or among the low grass and shrubs following summer rain.
Julia Creek dunnarts have also been found in Bladensburg National Park and Moorrinya National Park. These are the only protected areas on which they are known to occur.
Life history and behaviour: The Julia Creek dunnart is nocturnal, emerging from its shelter in the cracked soil to feed on insects, spiders, centipedes, scorpions, skinks and long-tailed planigales (the smallest marsupial in the world).
From studies of captive individuals it appears that the Julia Creek dunnart may be able to breed throughout the year. Females are able to breed from between 17 and 27 weeks of age and males mature slightly later. This later maturity in males may be a way of limiting inbreeding within small populations. Females can have up to eight young after a gestation period of only 13 days.
Threatening processes: Before 1990, this species was only known from four skins held in the Queensland and Australian museums and was believed to be extinct.
In 1990 a new survey program began with the help of local landowners and revealed a number of new specimens from owl pellets (i.e. the indigestible remains of an owl’s prey that are disgorged as pellets) and domestic cat kills. In 1991 and 1992 the first live specimens were caught (including one rescued from a cat).
The Julia Creek dunnart is an animal that has adapted to surviving in a difficult environment and is likely to have a patchy distribution made up of small populations scattered over the Mitchell Grass Downs country.
Its low numbers and sparse distribution leave it vulnerable to new threatening processes including predation by feral cats, invasion of prickly acacia and possible impacts of heavy grazing. Feral cats are significant predators of Julia Creek dunnarts while prickly acacia is shading out understorey plants and changing the structure of the habitat needed by these dunnarts.
Recovery actions: Fauna surveys are being conducted to discover how abundant and widespread this species is and to learn more about its habitat requirements and ecology. Julia Creek dunnarts are now known to occur on two national parks and these areas can be managed to preserve their habitat.
Private landholders are also being encouraged to manage their properties in ways that contribute to the conservation of this species.
Successful captive breeding programs are also underway at David Fleay Wildlife Park on the Gold Coast. These programs are providing valuable information about the breeding biology of this species and establishing captive populations that could be released back in to the wild in the future.
Julia Creek dunnarts at David Fleay Wildlife Park also play an important educational role as visitors can see them on display and learn more about them and their conservation needs.
Further information:
Lundie-Jenkins, G. and Payne, A. (2002). Recovery plan for the Julia
Creek dunnart (Sminthopsis douglasi) 2000-2004. Queensland
Parks and Wildlife Service, Brisbane.
Recovery plan for the Julia Creek dunnart
Woolley, P.A. (2002), Julia Creek Dunnart, in Strahan, R. (ed.). (2002). The Mammals of Australia. Reed New Holland.
Julia Creek dunnart reintroduction media release
Last updated: 31 August 2007
