Geographic Range
Planigale tenuirostris occupies inland SE Australia. (Painter et al, 1995)
- Biogeographic Regions
- australian
Habitat
P. tenuirostris lives in low shrubland and tussock grassland with cracking clay soils. It lives in the deepest realms of the soil cavities and occasionally emerges at the surface . (Moss, 1988) Preferred habit is away from water in more open, less densely vegetated areas. (Read, 1987)
- Habitat Regions
- temperate
Physical Description
P. tenuirostris is a rodent-like marsupial. It is small when compared to other Planigale spp. It has a flat skull that can be used for shoveling (Painter et al, 1995). The fur is brownish, but breeding males have fur discoloration (Read, 1987).
- Other Physical Features
- endothermic
- bilateral symmetry
Reproduction
The female P. tenuirostris has 12 teats and a pouch. Estrus in females lasts 1 day and the estrus cycle is 33 days. In males, spermatogenesis occurs in July and aspermatogenesis occurs the following March. The breeding season coincides with increases in food availability during the spring and summer. (Read, 1984)
- Key Reproductive Features
- seasonal breeding
- gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate)
- sexual
- fertilization
- viviparous
Young P. tenuirostris detach from the teats at 36 days. The eyes open at 51 days. and weaning occurs at 95 days after birth. (Read, 1985)
- Parental Investment
- altricial
- female parental care
Lifespan/Longevity
It has been estimated that less than 15% of individuals in wild populations survive to an age of 2 years (Read, 1995).
Behavior
P. tenuirostris is nocturnal in both summer and winter (unlike other Planigale spp. that are diurnal in winter). Short-term activity cycles were recorded as 1 hr 25 min in summer and 2 hr 56 min in winter. A significant amount of time is spent both deep in the soil cavities and above ground. (Read, 1989)
Communication and Perception
Food Habits
P. tenuirostris is a generalist insectivore; their diet reflects the available prey. Arthropods eaten include Coleoptera (beetles) and Araneidae (orbweavers), taxa not bigger than 800 cu mm. They may also eat small lizards. (Read, 1987)
- Primary Diet
-
carnivore
- insectivore
- eats non-insect arthropods
- Animal Foods
- reptiles
- insects
- terrestrial non-insect arthropods
Predation
Becaue P. tenuirostris spends so much time below the ground (where no larger species coud fit), it is well protected from predators. (Moss, 1988)
Ecosystem Roles
P. tenuirostris lives in sympatry with P. gilesi and the two appear to partitioning food resources. This is partly due to body size differences ( P. gilesi is larger than P. tenuirostris ). Also, partitioning occurs due to the fact that P. tenuirostris lives in the deepest parts of the cavities, while P. gilesi lives at intermediate crack depths. (Read, 1987)
Conservation Status
P. tenuirostris is fairly uncommon. (Read, 1987)
Additional Links
Contributors
Bradley Reuter (author), University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, Bret Weinstein (editor), University of Michigan-Ann Arbor.
- Australian
-
Living in Australia, New Zealand, Tasmania, New Guinea and associated islands.
- native range
-
the area in which the animal is naturally found, the region in which it is endemic.
- temperate
-
that region of the Earth between 23.5 degrees North and 60 degrees North (between the Tropic of Cancer and the Arctic Circle) and between 23.5 degrees South and 60 degrees South (between the Tropic of Capricorn and the Antarctic Circle).
- endothermic
-
animals that use metabolically generated heat to regulate body temperature independently of ambient temperature. Endothermy is a synapomorphy of the Mammalia, although it may have arisen in a (now extinct) synapsid ancestor; the fossil record does not distinguish these possibilities. Convergent in birds.
- bilateral symmetry
-
having body symmetry such that the animal can be divided in one plane into two mirror-image halves. Animals with bilateral symmetry have dorsal and ventral sides, as well as anterior and posterior ends. Synapomorphy of the Bilateria.
- seasonal breeding
-
breeding is confined to a particular season
- sexual
-
reproduction that includes combining the genetic contribution of two individuals, a male and a female
- fertilization
-
union of egg and spermatozoan
- internal fertilization
-
fertilization takes place within the female's body
- viviparous
-
reproduction in which fertilization and development take place within the female body and the developing embryo derives nourishment from the female.
- altricial
-
young are born in a relatively underdeveloped state; they are unable to feed or care for themselves or locomote independently for a period of time after birth/hatching. In birds, naked and helpless after hatching.
- female parental care
-
parental care is carried out by females
- nocturnal
-
active during the night
- motile
-
having the capacity to move from one place to another.
- solitary
-
lives alone
- carnivore
-
an animal that mainly eats meat
- insectivore
-
An animal that eats mainly insects or spiders.
- tactile
-
uses touch to communicate
- chemical
-
uses smells or other chemicals to communicate
References
Moss, G., D. Croft. 1988. Behavioral mechanisms of microhabitat selection and competition among three species of arid zone Dasyurid marsupial. Australian Journal of Ecology , 13(4): 485-494.
Painter, J., C. Krajewski, M. Westerman. 1995. Molecular phylogeny of the marsupial genus Planigale (Dasyuridae). Journal of Mammalogy , 76(2): 406-413.
Read, D. 1995. Narrow-nosed Planigale, *Planigale tenuirostris*. Pp. 113-115 in Mammals of Australia . Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press.
Read, D. 1985. Development and growth of Planigale tenuirostris Marsupialia Dasyuridae in the laboratory. Australian Mammalogy , 8(1-2): 69-78.
Read, D. 1987. Diets of sympatric Planigale gilesi and Planigale tenuirostris Marsupialia Dasyuridae relationships of season and body size. Australian Mammalogy , 10(1-2): 11-22.
Read, D. 1987. Habitat use by Sminthropsis crassicaudata, Planigale gilesi and Planigale tenuirostris Marsupialia Dasyuridae in semiarid New South Wales, Australia. Australian Wildlife Research , 14(4): 385-396.
Read, D. 1989. Microhabitat separation and diel activity patterns of Planigale gilesi and Planigale tenuirostris Marsupialia Dasyuridae. Australian Mammalogy , 12(1-2): 45-54.
Read, D. 1984. Reproduction and breeding season of Planigale gilesi and Planigale tenuirostris Marsupialia Dasyuridae. Australian Mammalogy , 7(3-4): 161-174.