A new species from the Antechinus stuartii stuartii
complex, A. agilis, sp. nov., is
described from Victoria and south-eastern New South Wales. It differs from
A. stuartii primarily in its smaller average size,
lighter and greyer fur colour, relatively smaller anterior and posterior
palatal vacuities, and more rounded premolars. The species can be
distinguished in the field on external morphology.
A. agilis resembles
A. stuartii adustus from northern Queensland more
closely in skull and dental morphology than it does
A. stuartii from central coastal New South Wales, with
which it is parapatric and occasionally sympatric in the southern coastal part
of the State. Considerable morphological variation is apparent amongst
populations regarded previously as A. stuartii from
southern Queensland and northern New South Wales, suggesting that more than
one taxon is included currently under A. stuartii.
Further clarification of the relationships of A. agilis
requires evaluation of variation in such populations of
A. stuartii and also with
A. flavipes from northern New South Wales and southern
and central Queensland.
Hollows in trees are recognized as a critical and threatened resource for a wide range of fauna in Australian forests and woodlands, yet little data are available on the impact of fire on hollow-bearing trees. We report an opportunistic, post-fire assessment of the proportion of burnt, hollow-bearing trees that collapsed in stands near roads following low intensity prescription burns in three areas of mixed eucalypt forest in the Pilliga forests. Mean collapse rates on 29 plots (40 by 50m), separated by burn Area, ranged from 14?26% for a total of 329 burnt hollow-bearing trees. Collapse rates on individual plots ranged from 0?50%. Collapsed, hollow-bearing trees were predominantly older, with 40% of senescent trees and 44% of live stags collapsing. The best predictor in models of tree collapse was the presence of a basal fire entry point. We cannot determine the extent to which collapse rates on our plots are representative of burnt areas away from containment roads due to sampling limitations, but they appear to be higher than those reported from wildfire and more intense prescription burns in southern Australia. Our results point to an urgent need for comprehensively designed studies to address the impacts of prescribed burns on hollow-bearing trees.
Abstract. The Australian Museum (AM) Mammal Collection represents one of the most significant world collections from the Australo-Pacific region, with over 50,000 mammal specimens of some 650 species from the region. The Collection contains about 882 primary (name bearing) and secondary mammal type specimens, representing 210 proposed names (species and subspecies), 124 of which are currently recognized as valid taxa. All are of taxa originating from the Australian region, Indonesia, Melanesia and the south-west Pacific. The 205 primary type specimens comprise 145 holotype specimens (on which 149 names are based), seven lectotypes, two neotypes; 33 syntypes of 18 taxa; and 18 specimens suspected to be syntypes of 11 taxa. Primary type material of the 185 named taxa represent 4 monotremes, 62 marsupials, 2 canids, 9 cetaceans, 68 rodents and 40 bats. The 677 secondary type specimens comprise 659 paratypes, 15 paralectotypes, and three suspected paralectotypes. This is the first published list of non-fossil mammal types in the AM Collection since the publication of Krefft's catalogue in 1864. Individual accounts are presented discussing type status of 233 taxa by their originally proposed names, which includes taxa for which the type series has not been located since publication of the name. Registration data are given, with additional information not included in the published description, along with new information on many taxa proposed in the 19th century. Photographs of the primary type specimens of 43 taxa are provided, many of which are the first published images. New insights and a summary of current information is given for 14 taxa for which type material has not been located in world collections but we believe might have originally been lodged in the AM.Type material of seven taxa named by Krefft, Gray and Ramsay (all suspected junior synonyms), were identified in the AM Collection and are reported here for the first time since their original publication. The type series of many taxa proposed by Krefft and Ramsay are not fully defined and syntypes could remain unrecognized in the many institutions to which they extensively exchanged specimens during the 19th century. No nomenclatural actions are taken in this paper. *
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