Kowari (Dasyuroides byrnei)

Description

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Kowari fact file

• Description
• Biology
• Range
• Habitat
• Status
• Threats
• Conservation
• Find out more
• Glossary
• References
• Print factsheet

Kowari description

The kowari is a robust, rat-like carnivorous marsupial, with a pointed snout and a distinctive black brush on the terminal half of the tail, which may have a signalling function. In contrast to the tail brush, the body and the rest of the tail are light grey-brown to sandy-brown in colour, with a faint reddish tinge, and the underparts are whitish ^{(2) (3) (4) (5)}. The body fur is soft and dense ⁽²⁾. The head of the kowari is rather pointed, with large eyes and thin, sparsely-haired ears, and the limbs are quite long, with narrow hind feet that lack a first toe. The male kowari is larger than the female ^{(2) (4)}. The calls of this species include a loud, defensive staccato chattering, and a threatening hiss that is accompanied by vigorous tail movements ⁽⁴⁾.

Also known as

brush-tailed marsupial rat, bushy-tailed marsupial rat, Byrne’s crest-tailed marsupial rat, kawiri, Kayer rat.

Synonyms

Dasycercus byrnei.

French

Rat Marsupial À Double Crête.

Size

Head-body length: 13.5 - 18.2 cm ⁽²⁾

Tail length: 11 - 14 cm ⁽²⁾

Weight

70 - 140 g ⁽²⁾

Kowari biology

Although it climbs well, and is also capable of large vertical leaps ⁽²⁾, the kowari is primarily terrestrial. Most active at night, it runs with a bounding gait, and shelters by day in a burrow in which it constructs a sleeping nest of leaves and other soft materials. The kowari may dig its own burrow, or take over and modify that of another species. Each burrow may have several entrances, and an individual may use a number of different burrows, sometimes sharing with other kowaris. The kowari takes a variety of prey, including insects, spiders, small vertebrates and carrion, and may enter short periods of torpor when food is scarce ^{(2) (4)}.

Kowaris occupy overlapping ranges, which are scent-marked with urine, faeces, and secretions from a gland on the chest ⁽⁴⁾. Mating takes places between April and December, the female giving birth to between 2 and 7 young after a gestation period of 30 to 36 days. The rather underdeveloped young, which measure a mere 4 millimetres long at birth, attach firmly to a teat within the female’s partially enclosed pouch, until about 56 days old. After this, the young are left in the nest or ride on the female’s back, until weaned at about 95 to 100 days. The female may then go on to produce a second litter. The kowari reaches maturity at around 10 to 11 months, and can live for up to 7 years in captivity ^{(2) (4) (7)}.

Kowari range

The kowari occurs in Australia, where it is patchily distributed in southwest Queensland and northeast South Australia ^{(1) (2) (5) (6)}. Although previously recorded in the Northern Territory, its presence there is now doubtful ^{(5) (6)}.

Kowari habitat

The kowari inhabits patches of gibber plain (stony desert with sparse scrub vegetation) between grassland, sand dunes and river channels ^{(1) (2) (4) (5) (6)}.

Kowari status

Classified as Vulnerable (VU) on the IUCN Red List ⁽¹⁾.

Kowari threats

Kowari numbers naturally fluctuate with climatic conditions, but overall the species is undergoing a decline, with a population now estimated at fewer than 10,000 mature individuals ⁽¹⁾. The kowari is thought to be under threat from the clearance of vegetation due to agriculture and overgrazing by cattle, rabbits and goats, which reduces cover and food for the kowari’s prey. Introduced predators such as dogs, cats and foxes may also be a problem, both as predators and competitors, although their impact on the kowari population is not clear ^{(2) (4) (5) (6) (8)}. Road building and an increase in traffic are also a potential threat, particularly as the stones of gibber plains are often taken to be used as a road base ^{(5) (6) (8)}.

Kowari conservation

The kowari is listed as a threatened species in Australia, and occurs in a few protected areas within its range, including Diamantina and Astrebla Downs National Parks ⁽¹⁾. A range of conservation measures have been recommended for the species, including long-term population monitoring, habitat management, research into the impacts of cattle grazing, the surveying of additional sites where the species may occur, and further studies into its biology and ecology ^{(5) (6) (8)}. Introduced species such as foxes and rabbits may also need to be controlled if the kowari is to survive and thrive in the long-term ⁽⁸⁾.

View information on this species at the UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre.

Find out more

To find out more about the conservation of this and other marsupials, see:

• Maxwell, S., Burbidge, A.A. and Morris, K.D. (1996) The 1996 Action Plan for Australian Marsupials and Monotremes. Wildlife Australia, Canberra. Available at:
  http://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/threatened/publications/action/marsupials/index.html
• Australian Wildlife Conservancy:
  http://www.australianwildlife.org/Home.aspx
• Australian Government - Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts:
  http://www.environment.gov.au/index.html

Authentication

Glossary

Carnivorous marsupial

A marsupial (a group of mammals in which the young are typically raised in a pouch) in the order Dasyuromorphia, a group which includes the quolls, dunnarts, numbat, Tasmanian devil and thylacine. Most members of the group are specialised for an insectivorous (insect-eating) or carnivorous (meat-eating) diet.

Carrion

The flesh of a dead animal.

Gestation

The state of being pregnant; the period from conception to birth.

Marsupial

A diverse group of mammals characterised by their reproduction, in which gestation is very short, and the female typically has a pouch (marsupium) in which the young are raised. When born, the tiny young crawls to the mother’s teats, where it attaches and stays for a variable amount of time, whilst it continues to develop. Marsupials also differ from placental mammals in their dentition.

Torpor

A sleep-like state in which the body processes slow to a fraction of their normal rate.

Vertebrates

Animals with a backbone, including mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and fish.

References

1. IUCN Red List (October, 2009)
   http://www.iucnredlist.org/
2. Nowak, R.M. (1991) Walker’s Mammals of the World. The Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore and London.
3. Macdonald, D.W. (2006) The Encyclopedia of Mammals. Oxford University Press, Oxford.
4. Cronin, L. (2008) Cronin’s Key Guide Australian Mammals. Allen & Unwin, Sydney.
5. Department of Natural Resources, Environment and the Arts, Northern Territory Government: Threatened Species of the Northern Territory - Kowari Dasyuroides byrnei (October, 2009)
   http://www.nt.gov.au/nreta/wildlife/animals/threatened/pdf/mammals/kowari_dd.pdf
6. Maxwell, S., Burbidge, A.A. and Morris, K.D. (1996) The 1996 Action Plan for Australian Marsupials and Monotremes. Wildlife Australia, Canberra. Available at:
   http://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/threatened/publications/action/marsupials/index.html
7. Meißner, K. and Gansloßer, U. (1985) Development of young of the kowari Dasyuroides byrnei Spencer, 1896. Zoo Biology, 4(4): 351 - 359.
8. Approved Conservation Advice for Dasycercus byrnei (Kowari) (October, 2009)
   http://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/threatened/species/pubs/66679-conservation-advice.pdf