Northern marsupial moles perceive their environment with their forelimbs and via structures in their inner ear. These structures allow them to sense orientation while underground. They likely sense shifts in sand, which helps them identify prey location. Because of their fossorial lifestyle, they lack functional eyes and tissue has grown over the area where eyes would be.
Communication Channels: tactile ; acoustic
Perception Channels: tactile ; vibrations ; chemical
Northern marsupial moles are generally considered endangered, though they are considered "Data Deficient" by the IUCN due to their rareness. This species has been known to science for over a century and to indigenous peoples for thousands of years. The numbers of specimens collected has considerably decreased in recent years, appearing in museums at a rate of 5 to 15 per decade. In addition to predation, changes in fire and grazing regimes threaten northern marsupial moles. Conservation efforts have been implemented since the publication of Joe Benshemesh’s Recovery Plan in 2004, and additional research is underway to determine further conservation efforts.
CITES: no special status
There are no known adverse effects of northern marsupial moles on humans.
Northern marsupial moles have been featured in aboriginal mythology for thousands of years. Their daily movement aerates soil, which may aid agricultural practices. They may also control populations of insects.
Northern marsupial moles aerate soil and redistribute underground materials. They may also affect populations of undergrad invertebrates that are an important part of their diet.
Ecosystem Impact: soil aeration
Northern marsupial moles primarily consume invertebrates found underground. They also consume small salamanders, small lizards, eggs, as well as some seeds and vegetable matter. Specifically they prey on beetles, beetle larvae and pupae, ant eggs, and centipedes.
Animal Foods: amphibians; reptiles; eggs; insects
Plant Foods: leaves; seeds, grains, and nuts
Primary Diet: carnivore (Insectivore ); omnivore
Northern marsupial moles, Notoryctes caurinus are found in north-central Western Australia in and around the Great Sandy, Little Sandy, Gibson, and Great Victoria deserts. Specimens have been collected from Sturt Creek, Wallal Downs, Balgo Hill Mission, Warburton Range, the Canning Stock Route, Talawanna Track, and Nifty Mine. They have been sighted in other areas in north Western Australia, though their range is limited.
Biogeographic Regions: australian (Native )
Northern marsupial moles are fossorial and inhabit sand dunes, sandplains, dunefields, inter-dunal flats, and sandy soils along river flats. These habitats allow swift movement through burrow systems underground. Preferred habitat is sometimes associated with spinifex (Triodia basedowii). Although they spend the majority of their time underground, northern marsupial moles do surface occasionally, particularly in wet, cool weather. Because they cannot travel very far above ground, they prefer continuous areas of suitable habitat. Northern marsupial moles generally travel 0.1 to 2.5 m below the surface.
Range depth: 0.1 to 2.5 m.
Habitat Regions: terrestrial
Terrestrial Biomes: desert or dune
The lifespan of northern marsupial moles is currently unknown. Individuals of a similar species, Notoryctes typhlops, are expected to live 1.5 years in the wild.
Northern marsupial moles are very similar to in appearance to placental moles and have body characteristics comparable to golden moles, gophers, and mole rats. They have short, dense, cream colored fur, a reduced tail, and a tubular body shape. They also have short, strong forelimbs for digging, large flat claws on their third and fourth digits, keratinized skin on their snout, slit-like nostrils, and a pouch that opens to its posterior. Northern marsupial moles lack functional eyes and outer ear pinnae. Differentiating between sexes is difficult, as males have internal testes. Internally, northern marsupial moles have a conical skull that is thin-walled dorsally and anteriorly while strong at the basicranial region. The strengthened vertebral column is flat and and fused at vertebrae 4 and 5.
Northern marsupial moles are smaller but otherwise very similar in appearance to southern marsupial moles (Notoryctes typhlops). They weigh 30 to 70 g (40 g average) and measure 100 to 205 mm (160 mm average) in length.
Range mass: 30 to 70 g.
Average mass: 40 g.
Range length: 100 to 205 mm.
Average length: 160 mm.
Sexual Dimorphism: sexes alike
Other Physical Features: endothermic ; bilateral symmetry
Northern marsupial moles spend most of their time underground, allowing them to avoid predators. However, on the surface their slow, clumsy movements make them vulnerable to predation. Remains of this species have been found in the feces of red foxes (Vulpes vulpes), feral cats (Felis catus), and dingos (Canis lupusdingo).
Known Predators:
Little is known about the mating systems of northern marsupial moles.
As they are infrequently observed, little is known about the reproductive habits of northern marsupial moles. Because females have two teats within their pouch, they are thought to have a maximum of 2 offspring per litter. Young move directly to the pouch after birth. Northern marsupial moles breed around November.
Breeding season: Northern marsupial moles breed in November.
Range number of offspring: 1 to 2.
Key Reproductive Features: iteroparous ; seasonal breeding ; gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate); sexual
Northern marsupial moles are born underdeveloped and move to the mother's pouch directly after birth. Mothers lactate for an unknown period of time. There is no evidence of paternal investment.
Parental Investment: altricial ; female parental care ; pre-hatching/birth (Provisioning: Female, Protecting: Female); pre-weaning/fledging (Provisioning: Female, Protecting: Female)
The northern marsupial mole or kakarratul (Notoryctes caurinus) is a marsupial in the family Notoryctidae, an endemic animal of arid regions of Central Australia. It lives in the loose sand of dunes and river plains in the desert, spending nearly its entire life beneath ground. The facial features are reduced or absent, their small and strong body, weighing little more the 30 grams (1 ounce), is extremely specialised to moving through sand in search of prey. The species is elusive and it is one of the most poorly understood mammals of Australia.
A description of the species was published by Oldfield Thomas in 1920.[2] One of two extant species of the genus Notoryctes, following recognition of its separation from Notoryctes typhlops in 1988.[3] The specimen described by Thomas was collected in 1910 by a postal official at Wollal, at Ninety Mile Beach in north-western Australia, and this was conveyed to the Western Australian Museum. Thomas distinguished the new species from the southern N. typhlops, described in 1891 by E. C. Stirling, as smaller, particularly its claws and muzzle/nose, but with larger auditory bulla. He also described them as differing in dentition to the southern species, especially in their lower jaw.[2]
The northern marsupial mole is also called the northwestern marsupial mole.[3] Described as 'unimaginative', these common names were replaced with that derived from indigenous languages of the region in 1996, which has been widely accepted since.[4]
The kakarratul and itjaritjari, species Notoryctes typhlops, are superficially indistinguishable and unmistakable for any other animal. The dense pelage is short, smooth and finely haired, this is a uniform and pale yellow-pink colour. The length of the head and body combined is 120 to 160 mm and the stubby, leathery tail is 20 to 25 mm. The weight range is from 40 to 70 grams. The vestigial eyes are a non-functioning subcutaneous lens. and a leathery covering at the pointed snout protects the nostrils. No external ear is present, the opening for the reduced structure is covered in a dense layer of hairs.[4] A fossorial animal, the highly specialised form of the body is tubular, its head narrowing in view to a conical shape and the limbs are short and well suited to digging. The two claws of the third and fourth front toe are enlarged and able to shovel the sand ahead of themselves.[5] A pouch used in rearing young, a feature common to marsupials and as is usual for subterranean species, faces away from the direction of travel to avoid sand entering it.[4]
The anatomy of N. caurinus has been examined with CT scans, showing the skeletal tomography, and MRI that give some details of soft tissue structures, the 2003 study being the first since the details given by Thomas in 1920. The vertebrae at the hind part of kakarratul are completely fused, a unique characteristic amongst the marsupials, and the spinal column is greatly strengthened; the side view of the spine shows a flattened profile that is also advantageous to its fossorial habits. Results of soft tissue examination showed large amounts of subcutaneous fat at the shoulders and pelvic regions.[6] In an example of convergent evolution, the unusual metabolism of the species was compared to the physiology of a placental mammal of a golden mole found in Africa, similar in form and ecological factors, the subspecies Eremitalpa granti namibensis.[7]
The species is distributed over an area of northwest Australia, at aeolian dunes and other soft sand terrain of the Australian interior. The records include the Little Sandy and Great Sandy Deserts, and at northern areas of the Gibson Desert.[1] The kakarratul is not able to easily traverse hardened sands or other terrain.[4] It is thought both of these notoryctid species, the kakarratul and itjaritjari, may be sympatric where their distribution range overlaps in the south and east.[5] The population structure within the range is poorly examined. There are around three hundred specimens available in collections of museums and elsewhere, although information on the range is limited to the two thirds with details of the collection site.[4]
The habitat is at the series of sand dunes arising from the adjacent sandy plains, the populations seem to be restricted to these formations; they are noted as absent when dunes are poorly connected or become isolated.[1] The vegetation is typical of the central regions, acacia and other hardy shrubs or small trees, and this species is also often associated with habitat around Triodia (spinifex) hummocks.[4]
Very little is known of the habits of two species of Notoryctes, they are presumed to live a solitary existence. It is thought that they only emerge from the sand in wet weather.[5] When moving on the surface of the ground, their motion is sinewy and the belly leaves a slightly winding trail; the marks of the appendages leave light impressions on the sand at the side of this furrow and appear more reptilian than mammalian.[8] They enter the sandy soil at a shallow depth, but may tunnel deeply. A specimen was lost immediately after being placed on the ground, despite several people digging over the area to recover the animal.[8]
Their natural habitat is the hot and arid north-western deserts of country.[1] The diet consists of insect pupae and larvae.[9] The species eats the larvae and pupae of ants, beetles and other insects. It catches and eats them underground and therefore rarely comes to the surface. It is commonly preyed upon by the introduced red fox and feral cats, and in the scats of the dingo as well as some birds of prey, snakes and goannas.[1] Large numbers of specimens were collected in the early twentieth century, and informal reports of a fur trade using the pelt of the animal are noted.[4]
The effect on the ecology is largely unknown, but it is presumed to affect the populations of the small invertebrates in its diet.[4] The impact of the subterranean activity on soil turnover is also presumed to be significant, the species does not build burrows as the soil it lives in is too soft and they instead 'swim' in the soil in a reptilian fashion.[1] The tunnelling of the species while foraging causes the sand to shift as it falls behind them, the course of these has been measured at sites as moving in a criss-cross path of 30 to 60 kilometres per hectare that displaces 40 to 80 m3 of sand.[4]
As no member of this species has been successfully held in captivity for an extended period of time, very little is known about the breeding and reproduction habits of the N. caurinus. However they have been recorded as having one or two offspring at a time.[1] An early attempt to maintain a live specimen had it placed in a container of sand and fed on pieces of bread, but this died within a day.[8] The behaviour and whereabouts of both species of Notoryctes were well known to the inhabitants who lived in the same regions, often incorporated into myth and referred to by a variety of names. Since the earliest published description, local peoples have provided information and have been involved in their collection for curious visitors.[4]
The genus Notoryctes closely resembles a placental mammal found in Africa, known as the golden mole, and this is thought to be an example of convergent, rather than parallel, evolution. The features and tubular form of the body somewhat resemble the family Talpidae, referred to as moles, an animal that excavates tunnels rather than swimming through sand.
The IUCN redlist notes this species as Least Concern, the population evaluated as being widespread and assumed to be stable.[1] The conservation status in Western Australia is near threatened, and noted in the sensitive species list as rare (P4).
The northern marsupial mole or kakarratul (Notoryctes caurinus) is a marsupial in the family Notoryctidae, an endemic animal of arid regions of Central Australia. It lives in the loose sand of dunes and river plains in the desert, spending nearly its entire life beneath ground. The facial features are reduced or absent, their small and strong body, weighing little more the 30 grams (1 ounce), is extremely specialised to moving through sand in search of prey. The species is elusive and it is one of the most poorly understood mammals of Australia.
