Potorous longipes, Seebeck & Johnston, 1980

Russell A. Mittermeier & Don E. Wilson, 2015, Potoroidae, Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 5 Monotremes and Marsupials, Barcelona: Lynx Edicions, pp. 600-628 : 627

6.

Long-footed Potoroo

Potorous longipes

French: Potorou a longues pattes / German: LangfulR-Kaninchenkanguru / Spanish: Potoro de pies largos

Taxonomy. Potorous longipes Seebeck & Johnston, 1980, “ Princes Highway at Bellbird Creek , 32 km E of Orbost, Victoria,” Australia.

This species is monotypic.

Distribution. SE Australia: confined to two subpopulations in NE Victoria (East Gippsland and the Barry Mts) and another in far SE New South Wales (South East Forests National Park and Yambulla State Forest).

Descriptive notes. Head-body 38-41.5 cm, tail 31.5-32.5 cm; weight 1.6-2.2 kg. A large potoroo with foot length exceeding head length. Lightly grizzled brown dorsally, pale gray ventrally. Cheeks, feet, and forepaws grayish. Ears short and rounded, with well-furred backs. Tail thick and sparsely furred, paler ventrally. Diploid chromosome numberis 24.

Habitat. Temperate rainforest, riparian forest, wet sclerophyll forest, and adjacent dry forest with dense understory, at 100-1100 m elevation. Evidently confined to localities with high soil-moisture content throughout year.

Food and Feeding. Mycophagous, feeding primarily on hypogeal (truffle-like) fungi obtained by digging with the strongly clawed forepaws. Epigeal (above-ground) fungi are also consumed. Fungi comprise at least 80% and often more than 90% of diet. Invertebrates, seeds, fruit, and plant leaves/stems also are eaten.

Breeding. Poorly known. Both sexes are believed to reach sexual maturity at approximately two years. Females can breed throughout year, although fewer young are produced in late summer and autumn. Gestation length is believed to be similar to that of the Long-nosed Potoroo, P. tridactylus (38 days), and embryonic diapause is likely. The single young remains in the pouch for about five months. Two or three young can be produced per year. After weaning, the young potoroo remains in its mother’s home range until at least twelve months of age before dispersing.

Activity patterns. Nocturnal; commences activity around sunset and usually ceases before sunrise. During the day these potoroos shelter alone, or sometimes in pairs, in shallow excavations (“squats”) in dense vegetation or at the base of a shrub or tree. Individuals have multiple squats (2-16) in their home range and regularly change between them. Squats tend to be clustered on the edges of gullies and rainforest.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. Social organization and homerange size appear to be variable. In low-density populations, home ranges were found to be 22-65 ha for males and 40-43 ha for females, male and female of a pair occupy almost completely overlapping home ranges, which show minimal overlap with adjoining pairs. This is suggestive of stable monogamous pairing and territoriality. Pairmembers were also observed foraging together. At a site with higher population density, however, home ranges were smaller (16 ha for males, 14-23 ha for females), and considerable overlap in home range occurred between males and females, individuals appearing to be solitary. Dispersal is apparently male-biased, with young females recorded as establishing home ranges close to their mothers, whereas young males dispersed up to 3 km from their natal home range.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Endangered on The IUCN Red List and in Australia. The Long-footed Potoroo is one of the most cryptic and elusive mammals in Australia. It has a highly restricted and fragmented distribution, occurs at low density, and the total population may be only a few thousand individuals at most. It is threatened by predation from introduced Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes) and domestic/feral dogs, as well as competition for its specialized food resource from feral pigs. While large parts of the Long-footed Potoroo’s habitat are in protected areas, other parts are subject to timber-harvesting operations, which can degrade habitat and open up access for introduced predators. In both New South Wales and Victoria, detailed forestrymanagement prescriptions have been implemented in an attempt to minimize the impact of logging on the species. A Recovery Plan has been prepared for this potoroid and a captive population was established in 1980. The species has, however, failed to thrive in captivity.

Bibliography. Claridge (2002), Claridge et al. (2007), Green & Mitchell (1997), Green, Mitchell & Tennant (1998), Green, Tory et al. (1999), Hayman (1989), McKnight (2008d), Menkhorst & Knight (2001), Menkhorst & Seebeck (2008), Nunan et al. (2000), Scotts & Seebeck (1989), Seebeck & Johnston (1980), Seebeck et al. (1989), Woinarski et al. (2014bo).

Figures

1. Rufous Bettong (Aepyprymnus rufescens), 2. Burrowing Bettong (Bettongia lesueur), 3. Eastern Bettong (Bettongia gaimardi), 4. Brush-tailed Bettong (Bettongia penicillata), 5. Northern Bettong (Bettongia tropica), 6. Long-footed Potoroo (Potorous longipes), 7. Long-nosed Potoroo (Potorous tridactylus), 8. Gilbert's Potoroo (Potorous gilbertii)

Distribution. SE Australia: confined to two subpopulations in NE Victoria (East Gippsland and the Barry Mts) and another in far SE New South Wales (South East Forests National Park and Yambulla State Forest).