Warks Road Antechinus

Alastair,

I have a book at home which may help you. It is probably out of date but
still relevant for lack of any more recent works.
It contains in a table structure all the mammal, bird, reptile and
amphibian species found in the ACT , their abundance status, and what
vegetation communities they are found in.
I think its called something like 'Ecological Surveys of the ACT' and came
with a large format colour map of the ACT's vegetation communities'
distribution.

I will take a look tonight and email you tomorrow with all the info
regarding Antechinus.

Cheers
Marnix



                                                                           
             "Alastair Smith"                                              
             <                                             
             l.com.au>                                                  To 
                                          "'Philip Veerman'"               
             19/02/2007 08:19             <>           
             PM                                                         cc 
                                          "Canberrabirds"                  
                                          < 
                                          .au>                             
                                                                   Subject 
                                          RE: [canberrabirds] Warks Road   
                                          Antechinus                       
                                                                           
                                                            Classification 
                                          |-------------------|            
                                          | [X] Unclassified  |            
                                          | [ ] In Confidence |            
                                          |-------------------|            
                                                                           
                                                                           
                                                                           
                                                                           
                                                                           
                                                                           




Philip,
I omitted the fact that it appeared to be a similar size (as well as
colour) to the White-browed Treecreeper (160-175mm) would indicate that it
was a largish species of antechinus (my initial reaction was that is was
another white-brow climbing down the stump). As such, this which would
probably rule out Agile (80-116mm) and point to yellow-footed (90-160mm) or
dusky (90-185mm). I presume both species a re found in the ACT but
interesting I cannot find a list of mammal species for the ACT (nor
birds/retiles for that matter) under the Environment ACT website.

Many thanks to all those who have replied on and offline – we’ll nail this
identification yet.
Cheers
Alastair


From: Philip Veerman 
Sent: Monday, 19 February 2007 6:16 PM
To: Alastair Smith
Cc: 
Subject: [canberrabirds] Warks Road Antechinus

I don't think that colour is enough of a guide. They are all pretty much
brownish. The size and shape are the issues. Most of the people who
identify these critters have them in hand whilst doing so. Although just
looking at a reference book now, suggests that size range within species is
much greater than between species. Although a lot of that is sexual
dimorphism, so if you don't know what sex it is, it is pretty hard to know
what size it should be. They are all mostly nocturnal but of course during
the breeding season, these critters go beserck and can be seen occasionally
during the daytime.

I once observed (and caught) a Pygmy Possum at Warks Road (about 22 years
ago), I have a photo of myself holding it.

Philip