Lagostrophus fasciatus

1.

Banded Hare Wallaby

Lagostrophus fasciatus

French: Wallaby rayé / German: Banderkanguru / Spanish: Ualabiliebre de bandas

Other common names: Banded Hare-wallaby

Taxonomy. Kangurus fasciatus Péron & Lesueur, 1807,

“ I'ile Bernier [= Bernier Island],” Shark Bay, Western Australia, Australia.

Subspecies baudinettei, named by K. M. Helgen and T. F. Flannery in 2003, from southern South Australia (subfossil remains indicate once found also in western New South Wales and Victoria) is extinct. One extant subspecies recognized.

Subspecies and Distribution.

L. f. fasciatus Peron & Lesueur, 1807 — Dorre and Bernier Is, in Shark Bay, Western Australia. Recently introduced into Faure I, also in Shark Bay.

Descriptive notes. Head-body 40-45 cm, tail 23-36 cm; weight 1.2-3 kg. Small, short-faced, dark, shaggy wallaby, with banded rump. Grizzled dark gray dorsally, paler whitish-gray ventrally. Head and face gray, flanks and legs more rufous, paws and feet dark. Distinct dark transverse bands on lower back and rump. Tail gray and lightly furred, with short dark terminal crest. Extinct subspecies L. f. baudinettei had dorsal coloration more rufous, banding pattern less distinct, and dorsal caudal crest more prominent. Diploid chromosome number of L. f. fasciatus is 24.

Habitat. Semi-arid shrublands and eucalypt woodlands with dense understory of shrubs.

Food and Feeding. Browse from malvaceous, leguminous, and other shrubs makes up most of the diet, although grasses, flowers, seeds, and bark are also consumed. Free water is rarely available on Bernier and Dorre Islands, but heavy dews are frequent.

Breeding. Sexual maturity in females is reached just before twelve months, although breeding usually does not take place until following year. Males reach sexual maturity in their second year. Breeding occurs throughout year, but may be reduced during drought. A single young is born after a gestation period of c.30 days, and females usually rear only a single young each year. Exhibits embryonic diapause and post-partum estrus, females typically mating shortly after giving birth.

Activity patterns. Nocturnal; shelters during day in dense vegetation, emerging at night, along well-established runways, to feed in more open areas. Daytime resting sites are either shallow scrapes or simply bare ground from which leaflitter had been removed, and are regularly reused.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. Largely solitary, although several individuals (adult male and one or two females) will sometimes shelter together during day. Males appear to defend territories and are highly aggressive toward each other. Females also have well-defined home ranges, but are less aggressive toward each other. Male home ranges overlap with those of several females. In a reintroduced population, home ranges (95% minimum convex polygon) averaged 13 ha and were similar for both sexes.

Status and Conservation. CITES Appendix I. Classified as Endangered on The IUCN Red List. Mainland population is listed as extinct and the island populations as vulnerable in Australia. Subspecies fasciatus was previously widespread in south-west Western Australia, but subsequently declined; last recorded from the mainland in 1906. In South Australia baudinettei appears to have become extinct several decades earlier. The eradication of fasciatus from mainland and Dirk Hartog Island (Western Australia) was most likely caused by habitat loss and degradation due to clearing for agriculture, and grazing by introduced sheep and European Rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus), as well as predation by introduced domestic/feral cats (Felis catus) and Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes). It is now restricted to Bernier and Dorre islands, in Shark Bay, Western Australia. These island populations total 7000-10,000 and fluctuate with rainfall. Potential threats to the island populations include accidental introduction of exotic predators and competitors, extensive wildfire, disease, and prolonged drought. Several recovery plans have been prepared and a captive population established. Both of the islands are protected areas. Trial reintroduction to Dirk Hartog Island and Peron Peninsula, Western Australia, failed owing to predation by feral cats and drought. A recent translocation to Faure Island, in Shark Bay, appears to have been successful.

Bibliography. Hardman (2006), Hardman & Moro (2006a), Hayman (1989), Helgen & Flannery (2003), Prince & Richards (2008), Richards (2012b), Richards, Morris, Burbidge & Friend (2008), Richards, Short et al. (2001), Ride & Tyndale-Biscoe (1962), Short & Turner (1992), Short et al. (1997), Tyndale-Biscoe (1965), Woinarski et al. (2014bc).