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Showing posts with the label marsupial

Native Species in Australia are Being Saved

Creatures of the antipodes are in danger of dying out. Australian native made up of varied being, native saved, species, * native b species b in b native b being b saved b native* Because Australia's native species are declining there is less genetic diversity in their makeup. This country has more animals threatened with extinction than anywhere else. Invasive pests, global warming and deforestation are taking their toll.  ⎳ native a species a in a are a native a being a saved ⎳ Mountain Pygmy Possum require protection from non-natives and selective breeding to vary genes.  Such a program has improved the situation with the population increasing, though there is a long way to go before its future is assured.   ⦿3 species up u saved being australia ⦿3 Similar plans have been carried out for the Tasmanian Devil and the Eastern Barred Bandicoot, but until genetic variation is established and occurs naturally without intervention they must be closely monitored.   ⧗ blog on be

Tasmanian Tiger Did Not Fill the Evolutionary NIche of a Dog

It was believed that the Tasmanian Tiger perished in mainland Australia due to the dingo taking over their habitat. New findings show the dingo did not directly compete with the marsupial dog. They had different ways of getting their food. Dingos were brought to Australia from Asia in recent times. It is not native to Australia. The demise of the Tasmanian tiger on the larger part of Australia 3,000 years ago was coincidental. Settlers in Tasmania feared their cattle and sheep would be slaughtered so they eradicated the quite timid animal in the early twentieth century. Dingoes are wild dogs that run for long periods running down their prey. Tasmanian tigers were not distance runners. They ambushed sick and young animals. The tiger's skeletal structure was more like cats than dogs, particularly the elbow joint which was feline in character. The dingo has elbows that lock, while the marsupial dog had a flexible joint. This undermines the theory that the Tasmanian tiger fil

Ancient Marsupial Found With Specialised Teeth for Eating Snails

Evidence of the existence of specialised ancient marsupials have been found in Australia. They had teeth that were "hammer-like" for crushing snail shells. Lizards living today in rain forests have similar teeth. They had premolars like the teeth in humans located between the molars and canines. Researchers could not determine at first what the strange teeth were used for. It was the first time that such teeth had been found in marsupials. Like the Tasmanian tiger a marsupial which filled the role of native dog in Australia, so this marsupial more than 10 million years ago, lived in the niche that the pink-tongued skink holds today. This wet rain forest lizard is quite large, about 40 cm in length, so it's ancestor would have been a tough competitor. The extinct marsupial became extinct when the weather changed in Australia and inland rain forests receded toward the coast. Lizards could survive in the new environment. The marsupial could not. Riversleigh in norther