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Potorous platyops (Gould, 1844:103)

Broad-faced potoroo, Broad-faced rat-kangaroo, moda, Broad-toothed Potoroo (idiosyncratic) (used by CALM, 1995), moda (Noongar), ?ngandalla (Barngarla (Eyre Peninsula); Schürmann, 1844)

 

 

Taxonomy & Nomenclature

Synonym/s: Hypsiprymnus platyops Gould, 1844:103 (basionym); Potorous morgani Finlayson, 1938:135; Potorous platyops morgani Finlayson, 1938:135; Potorus platyops (Gould, 1844:103) [orth. error used by Fraser & Wells, 2006:152]

 

Conservation Status

Extinct

Last record: 1874/5 or before (specimen); 1875 (Johnson, 2006:169; Fisher & Blomberg, 2012); 1976 or 1977 (possible unconfirmed report)

IUCN RedList status: Extinct

 

Modern reports

According to (Thornback & Jenkins, 1984):

"In 1977 it was reported that a recent intensive search for the species conducted by the Western Australian Department of Fisheries and Wildlife had failed to locate it, though in the same year there were reports of a small mammal seen by loggers clear-felling in the Shannon Basin which may have been this species or the western subspecies of the Long-nosed Potoroo ([b]Potorous tridactylus gilberti[/b]) which has also not been collected since the last century [(Anonymous, 1977)]." (p. 43)

 

That recent intensive search by the WA Department of Fisheries and Wildlife involved expeditions to islands off the south-west coast that had never been searched previously (Anonymous, 1976b).

 

Distribution

Western Australia (historically) and South Australia (including Kangaroo Island) (prehistorically), Australia

Type locality: "Walyema Swamps near Northam, W.A. (=Lake Walyormouring, W.A.)" (Calaby & Richardson, 1988:58) / "Walyema Swamps, about forty miles north-east of Northam, Western Australia"

 

Anatomy & Morphology

Body mass: 800gm (Johnson, 2006:169).

 

Biology & Ecology

"Ecology: temperate, terrestrial"

(Calaby & Richardson, 1988:58)

 

Hypodigm

Holotype: 46.4.25.11 (skull) / BMNH 44.9.30.4 (skin) (adult female) (Calaby & Richardson, 1988:58)

 

Syntypes (morgani):

SAM. P.168 ("partial skull & mandible" (Calaby & Richardson, 1988:58); "skull and partial skeleton")
SAM. P.3413 (partial skull) (Calaby & Richardson, 1988:58)



Historical records:

The first specimens were collected by John Gilbert in 1842-43 near Goomalling and King George's Sound, in the Wheatbelt and south-west of WA, respectively. Masters then collected four specimens at King George's Sound and the Pallinup River.

Five specimens were received by the National Museum, Victoria from dealers in 1874 and 1875 (Ride, 1970:199). These seem to be the last record of the species, as a report of a specimen sent to the Zoological Society of London in 1908 (Glauert, 1933:26; Troughton, 1957:165) is probably a misidentified juvenile Quokka (Setonix brachyurus) (Ride, 1970:199; Calaby, 1971).

 

Prehistoric records

Remains from Yanchep, Western Australia were reported by (Archer, 1972). Butler and Merrilees (1971) reported remains from Bremer Bay in the same state. Kendrick & Porter (1974) a single molar tooth from north-western WA. Lundelius and Turnbull (1984) found the species in Madura Cave, same state. The only prehistoric mainland records from SA that I am aware of are (Wakefield, 1964; McDowell & Medlin, 2010; McDowell et al. 2012).

 

Kangaroo Island, South Australia

Another species of Potorous, P. morgani, was described from two subfossil skulls found in Kelly Hill Caves, Kangaroo Island, South Australia (Finlayson, 1938). Further remains of P. morgani were reported by (Cooper & Condon, 1947). However, this species was later synonymized with P. platyops (Ride, 1970:224; Calaby & Richardson, 1988), where it has since stayed. Additional specimens from the same site by Matthew McDowell, as well as from Cape du Couedic and Seton Rockshelter have been excavated (Haouchar et al. 2014; K. Walshe, pers. comm. May 2014).

Robinson and Kemper (1999) state:

"Since P. platyops is known only as a living animal from the south-west of Western Australia at the time of European settlement and no sightings were recorded of animals that fit its description, it is likely that it was already extinct on Kangaroo Island at that time." (p. 187)

More recent remains from Kangaroo Island have been reported by (Walshe, 2014) which show that it was present on Kangaroo Island post-European contact (contra Robinson & Kemper, 1999), and became extinct due to hunting pressure (K. Walshe, pers. comm. April 2014). The species may therefore be mentioned in early KI literature, however I know of no such mention, and clearly nor do (Robinson & Kemper, 1999:187).

 

Media

Modern photos of the degraded habitat near Lake Walyormouring close to Goomalling where John Gilbert collected a specimen in 1842-43 have been taken by Dr. Rob Davis.

 

References

Original scientific description:

Gould, John. (1844). Exhibition and character of a number of animals, &c. transmitted from Australia by Mr. Gilbert. Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond. 1844: 103-107.

 

Other references:

Abbott, Ian. (2001). Aboriginal names of mammals species in south-west Western Australia. CALMScience 3(4): 433-486.

Abbott, Ian. (2008). Historical perspectives of the ecology of some conspicuous vertebrate species in south-west Western Australia. Conservation Science W. Aust. 6(3): 1-214.

Anonymous. (1970). Kangaroos & wallabies facing extinction. S.W.A.N.S. 1(2): 11.

Anonymous. (1973). Additional protection for rare fauna. S.W.A.N.S. 4(2): 31-33.

Anonymous. (1976a). Our Diminishing Heritage. S.W.A.N.S. 6(1): 12-13.

Anonymous. (1976b). Potoroo search—a continuing saga. S.W.A.N.S. 6(2): 38-39.

Anonymous. (1977a). The elusive Potoroo. Oryx 14(2): 119.

Anonymous. (1977b). Terrestrial native mammals of Western Australia. S.W.A.N.S. 7(1): 7-8. [a mere listing as being native to WA]

Archer, M. (1972). Phascolarctos (Marsupialia, Vombatoidea) and an Associated Fossil Fauna From Koala Cave Near Yanchep, Western Australia. Helictite 10(3): 49-59.

Australasian Mammal Assessment Workshop. (2008). Potorous platyops. In: IUCN 2011. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2011.1. (http://www.iucnredlist.org). Downloaded on 24 September 2011.

Bamford, Mandy et al. (2009). Mammals of the Avon Region. Bentley, W.A.: Department of Environment and Conservation. 132 pp. [pp. 66-67]

Baynes, Alexander and Jones, Barbara. (1993). The mammals of Cape Range peninsula, Western Australia, pp. 207-226. In: Humphreys, W. F. (ed.). The Biogeography of Cape Range, Western Australia. Perth: Western Australian Museum.

Brown, Steven P. and Wells, Roderick T. (2000). A middle Pleistocene vertebrate fossil assemblage from Cathedral Cave, Naracoorte, South Australia. Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia 124(2): 91-104.

Burbidge, Andrew A. (2004). Threatened Animals of Western Australia. Department of Conservation and Land Management, Western Australia.

Burbidge, Andrew A. and McKenzie, Norman L. (1989). Patterns in the modern decline of western Australia's vertebrate fauna: Causes and conservation implications. Biological Conservation 50(1-4): 143-198. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0006-3207(89)90009-8

Burbidge, A.A. & Woinarski, J. 2016. Potorous platyops. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016: e.T18103A21960570. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-2.RLTS.T18103A21960570.en. Accessed on 20 June 2022.

Butler, W. H. and Merrilees, D. (1971). Remains of Potorous platyops (Marsupialia, Macropodidae) and other mammals from Bremer Bay, Western Australia. Journal of the Royal Society of Western Australia 54(2): 53-58.

Calaby, J. H. (1954). Comments on Gilbert's Notebook on Marsupials. W. A. Nat. 4: 147-148.

Calaby, J. H. (1969). Australian Mammals since 1770. Australian Natural History 16(8): 271-275.

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Calaby, J. H. and Richardson, B. J. (1988). Potoroidae, pp. 53-59. In: Walton, D. W. (ed.). Zoological Catalogue of Australia. Volume 5. Mammalia. Canberra: Australian Government Publishing Service. x + 273 pp. [p. 58]

CALM. (1995). Dryandra Woodland Management Plan 1995-2005. Perth: Department of Conservation and Land Management. [idiosyncratic common name: Broad-toothed Potoroo; cites (Sanders & Harold, 1991) in regards to this species only inhabiting the Wheatbelt in WA but no such mention can be found in S&H]

Condon, H. T. (1967). Kangaroo Island and its vertebrate land fauna. Australian Natural History 15(12): 409-412.

Cooper, H. M. and Condon, H. T. (1947). On some fragments of emu egg-shell from an ancient camp-site on Kangaroo Island. South Australian Ornithologist 18(7): 66-68.

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Endangered Species Committee of the Total Environment Centre. (1983). Our Wildlife in Peril. Frenchs Forest, NSW: A H & A W Reed.

Finlayson, Hedley Herbert. (1938). On a new species of Potorous (Marsupialia) from a cave deposit on Kangaroo Island, South Australia. Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia 62(1): 132-140.

Fisher, Diana O. and Blomberg, Simon P. (2012). Inferring Extinction of Mammals from Sighting Records, Threats, and Biological Traits. Conservation Biology 26(1): 57-67. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1523-1739.2011.01797.x

Fisher, Diana O. and Humphreys, Aelys M. (2024). Evidence for modern extinction in plants and animals. Biological Conservation 298: 110772. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2024.110772

Friend, J. Anthony and Kitchener, D. J. (2023). Broad-faced Potoroo, Potorous platyops, pp. 304. In: Baker, Andrew M. and Gynther, Ian C. (eds.). Strahan’s Mammals of Australia (4th ed.). Wahroonga, NSW: Reed New Holland Publishers. 848 pp.

Frith, H. J. (1979). Wildlife Conservation, revised edition. Angus & Robertson. xiv + 416 pp. [pl. 56 (between p. 258/259), p. 295, p. 304 (species account)]

Glauert, Ludwig. (1933). The distribution of the marsupials in Western Australia. Journal of the Royal Society of Western Australia 19: 17-32.

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Haouchar, Dalal et al. (2014). Thorough assessment of DNA preservation from fossil bone and sediments excavated from a late Pleistocene-Holocene cave deposit on Kangaroo Island, South Australia. Quaternary Science Reviews 84: 56-64.

Hope, J. H., R. J. Lampert, E. Edmondson, M. J. Smith, and G. F. Van Tets. (1977). Late Pleistocene faunal remains from Seton rock shelter, Kangaroo Island, South Australia. Journal of Biogeography 4: 363-385.

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Iredale, Tom and Troughton, Ellis Le Geyt. (1934). A check-list of the mammals recorded from Australia. Mem. Aust. Mus. 6: i-xii, 1-122.

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Johnson, Chris N. (2006). Australia's Mammal Extinctions: A 50 000 Year History. Port Melbourne, Victoria: Cambridge University Press. x + 278 pp. [pl. 22, p. 169]

Johnston, P. G. and Sharman, G. B. (1976). Studies on populations of Potorous Desmarest (Marsupialia). I. Morphological variation. Aust. J. Zool. 24: 573-588.

Johnston, P. G. and Sharman, G. B. (1977). Studies on populations of Potorous Desmarest (Marsupialia). II. Electrophoretic, chromosomal and breeding studies. Aust. J. Zool. 25: 733-747.

Kendrick, George W. and Porter, Jennifer K. (1974). Remains of a Thylacine (Marsupialia: Dasyuroidea) and other fauna from caves in the Cape Range, Western Australia. Journal of the Royal Society of Western Australia 56(4): 116-122.

Kitchener, D. J. (1983). Broad-faced potoroo Potorous platyops, pp. 182. In: Strahan, R. (ed.). Complete Book of Australian Mammals. Sydney: Angus & Robertson.

Kitchener, D. J. (1995). Broad-faced Potoroo, Potorous platyops, pp. 300-301. In: Strahan, Ronald (ed.). The Mammals of Australia. Chatswood, N.S.W.: Reed Books. 756 pp.

Kitchener, D. J., Chapman, A., Muir, B. G. and Palmer, M. (1980). The conservation value for mammals of reserves in the western Australian wheatbelt. Biological Conservation 18(3): 179-207. [last specimen in WA Wheatbelt collected in c.1875]

Kitchener, D. J. and Friend, J. A. (2008). Broad-faced Potoroo, Potorous platyops. In: S. Van Dyck and R. Strahan (eds), The mammals of Australia. Third Edition, pp. 301-302. Reed New Holland, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.

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Woinarski, John C. Z., Braby, M. F., Burbidge, A. A., Coates, D., Garnett, S. T., Fensham, R. J., Legge, S. M., McKenzie, N. L., Silcock, J L. and Murphy, B. P. (2019). Reading the black book: The number, timing, distribution and causes of listed extinctions in Australia. Biological Conservation 239: 108261. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2019.108261

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http://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/938502#page/57/mode/1up

ftp://rock.geosociety.org/pub/reposit/2007/2007016.pdf

https://archive.org/stream/MemoirsQueensla28Quee#page/364/mode/2up

https://extinctanimals.proboards.com/thread/6299/potorous-platyops-broad-faced-potoroo

 

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