Desert Rat-kangaroo - Rediscovery and Extinction

Rediscovery and Extinction

The desert rat-kangaroo was discovered in the early 1840s. However, after these early sightings, it was no longer recorded for 90 years (aside from an unconfirmed report in 1878), and was widely believed to be extinct. This species, even before European colonisation, was apparently never abundant Following the relief of drought conditions which improved the local habitat, the animal was rediscovered in 1931 when Hedley Finlayson found a thriving colony of them. He made multiple returns, but after a few years the population disappeared. The last confirmed record of the species came in 1935 from near Ooroowilanie, east of Lake Eyre.

Caloprymnus campestris was well adapted to the extremely barren and arid regions it inhabited, these traits of its which saved it from competition by introduced species like the rabbit or sheep. However, as early as the 1930s the red fox has spread to the areas inhabited by the desert rat kangaroo. Thus the rapid decline of the desert rat-kangaroo shortly after its recovery in 1931 correlates with the invasion of its habitat by the red fox. Predation by the red fox and cats as well as variable seasonal patterns and overhunting by indigenous Australians were blamed for the extinction of this species.

There have been no reliable records of the species since 1935, but there were unconfirmed sightings in Queensland following periods of rain in 1956-1957 and 1974-1975. Also, recent remains of this species have been found in the mid 1980s inside caves.

The desert rat-kangaroo was declared extinct in 1994, making it the only mammal species to be recovered and then lost again.