The mammals of Cape Range peninsula, north-western Australia

WA Museum Records and Supplements | Updated 9 years ago

Abstract: Since the mammal material from the cave deposits of Cape Range was last studied two decades ago, the results of two collections of modem mammals, archaeological excavations in rock shelters in the western terraces and mammal remains collected as a by-product of surveys of the Cape Range cave invertebrates, have become available. The taxonomy of several mammal species has also been revised during that time, providing solutions to a number of outstanding problems of identification. The new material almost doubles the number of mammal species recorded from the peninsula to 49, comprising 38 native ground mammals, five bats and six introduced species.

Much of the small mammal material was probably accumulated by owls, some medium-sized species used the caves as shelters and their bones were probably contributed directly, and large mammal remains were accumulated by pitfall.

The original (i.e. immediately pre-European) mammal fauna of the peninsula consisted of the echidna, 12 or 13 dasyurids, three bandicoots, one rat-kangaroo, two kangaroos, one rock-wallaby, a possum, five bats, 13 rats and mice and the Dingo. The numbers of caves from which species are recorded are generally consistent with known habitat preferences in indicating whether the marsupials originally occurred in the range or on the surrounding plains. For example, remains of the hill kangaroo Macropus robustus are common in caves, whereas the plains kangaroo M. rufus is not recorded from any caves but has been collected on the plains on both the eastern and western sides of the peninsula. Speculative assigument of the other non-volant mammals suggests a total of 17 species originally inhabited the range and 22 originally occurred on the plains, with three species common to both. No species filling a probable plains wallaby niche is currently recorded.

Biogeographically, the Cape Range peninsula mammal fauna is composed principally of species that were originally widely distributed across the arid zone. There is a small component of northern species, for which the peninsula represents a western range limit, and a few north-western endemics. A southern element is lacking from the fauna, and no currently recognized mammal species is restricted to the peninsula.

The mammal fauna of Barrow Island is a subset of the Cape Range peninsula fauna. Once thought to be fully representative of the adjacent maiuland, the Barrow Island fauna is shown to be restricted, lacking the vast majority of regional small mammals.

At least half of the original Cape Range peninsula mammal fauna appears to have become extinct since European colonization of Australia. The Central Rock-rat, of which no living population is known, is more abundant in the cave deposits in Cape Range than anywhere else in its original distribution, suggesting that the Range may have provided particularly favourable habitat. It is possible that it still survives there. A survey of the vertebrates of Cape Range should be a high priority.

Author(s) Alexander Baynes and Barbara Jones : Part 1
Page Number
207