Aepyprymnus rufescens (Gray, 1837)

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 : 625

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Rufous Bettong

Aepyprymnus rufescens

French: Bettong rousséatre / German: Rotes Rattenkdnguru / Spanish: Betong rojizo

Other common names: Rufous Rat-kangaroo

Taxonomy. Bettongia ruféscens Gray, 1837 ,

type locality not given. Identified by T. Iredale and E. Le. G. Troughton in 1934 as “ New South Wales,” Australia.

This species is monotypic.

Distribution. E Australia from Cooktown, N Queensland, S on both sides of the Great Dividing Range to near Newcastle, New South Wales.

Descriptive notes. Head-body 34.5-40 cm (males) and 36.3-48 cm (females), tail 31:4-40.7 cm (males) and 32:2-39 cm (females); weight 1.9-3 kg (males) and 1.3-3 kg (females). A large reddish potoroid with a short furred muzzle and relatively long ears. Reddish brown, grizzled with silvery gray, dorsally; pale gray to white ventrally. Pale limbs and hip stripe, bare pink skin around eyes. Ears pink and lightly furred inside, margins white, back of ears dark and finely furred. Tail light gray-brown, paler ventrally and sometimes also distally. Diploid chromosome number is 32.

Habitat. Coastal woodland, wet sclerophyll forest, and dry sclerophyll forest, as well as dry open forest and woodland on western slopes of Great Dividing Range, at up to 700 m elevation. Preferred habitat lacks a shrub layer, but often has a dense understory of tall native grasses.

Food and Feeding. Omnivorous, consuming roots, tubers, herbs, fungi, and invertebrates, obtained mostly by digging with the strong, long-clawed forepaws. Seasonal changes in diet include an increase in insect consumption in drier months, and shifts in home range use coincide with the appearance of fungi in wetter months.

Breeding. Females reach sexual maturity at about eleven months and males at c.13 months. Females are continuous breeders, producing one young per pregnancy and up to three young per year. Females exhibit embryonic diapause and usually mate within a few hours of having given birth. The estrous cycle is 23 days and gestation 22-23 days. Young spend around four months in the pouch and are weaned at about five months. After permanent pouch emergence, young accompany their mother for several months, including sharing her daytime nest, before dispersing and settling in their own home range by about twelve months of age. The mating system appears mixed, with evidence of both promiscuity and serial monogamy.

Activity patterns. Nocturnal; shelters during the day in individual nests, emerging after dark to forage and returning before sunrise. Males tend to emerge before females. Activity outside the nest is reduced during rain. Individuals move quickly and widely when foraging, sometimes covering large distances (up to 24-5 km recorded). Foraging is interspersed with periods of rest, grooming, nestbuilding, and social interactions. Nests are elaborate and ovoid, constructed in shallow excavations dug with the forepaws, and have a single entrance; they consist of an exterior of dry grass, leaves, and bark, lined with fine dry plant material. Nests are placed under grass tussocks or shrubs, against or under a fallen tree, or among rocks, but also can be in exposed locations. Multiple nests are used by the same individual and tend to be clustered in one or two core areas ofits home range.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. Predominantly solitary, although regular male-female pairs are also observed. Home ranges are large for a potoroid, 75-110 ha for males and 45-60 ha for females, but are likely to vary with habitat quality and population density. Home ranges of different sexes overlap, but individuals of the same sex typically avoid each other, although females are more tolerant of one another than are males. Young females tend to establish a home range adjacent to their mother, and young males disperse up to 6-5 km.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List. Although the Rufous Bettong remains common in the north of its range, it has declined significantly in the south, with populations in northern Victoria and in southern and central New South Wales now extinct and those in northern New South Wales fragmented. Loss of habitat due to land-clearing and livestock grazing, competition with introduced European Rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus), and predation by introduced Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes) appear to be the causes of the decline.

Bibliography. Burnett & Winter (2008f), Claridge et al. (2007), Dennis (1988), Dennis & Johnson (2008b), Frederick & Johnson (1996), Hayman (1989), Iredale & Troughton (1934), Johnson, C.N. & Payne (2002), Johnson, PM. (1978, 1980a, 2003), Mcllwee & Johnson (1998), Menkhorst & Knight (2001), Pope et al. (2005), Seebeck et al. (1989), Wallis et al. (1989).

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. E Australia from Cooktown, N Queensland, S on both sides of the Great Dividing Range to near Newcastle, New South Wales.