tag:theconversation.com,2011:/fr/topics/wombat-3061/articlesWombat – The Conversation2021-02-04T04:01:13Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1530942021-02-04T04:01:13Z2021-02-04T04:01:13ZThis unique ancient megabeast had perpetually ‘bent’ elbows<p>Imagine going through life with your arms permanently bent and locked at the elbows. Awkward, right? </p>
<p>Until recently we thought the mega-marsupial <a href="https://museumsvictoria.com.au/website/melbournemuseum/discoverycentre/600-million-years/timeline/quaternary/palorchestes/index.html"><em>Palorchestes azael</em></a> lived exactly like this. This rare, distant relative of the wombat became extinct (along with much of Australia’s megafauna) about 40,000 years ago.</p>
<p>But our research, published <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/share/author/8GU9UT45FRETQ33CMXHV?target=10.1111/joa.13389">today in the Journal of Anatomy</a>, shows <em>Palorchestes</em> could in fact move its elbows — but only a very tiny amount compared to other mammals. </p>
<p>Thus, we think this enigmatic creature would have had a highly unusual gait, which may provide a clue to why it went extinct. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/meet-the-giant-wombat-relative-that-scratched-out-a-living-in-australia-25-million-years-ago-141296">Meet the giant wombat relative that scratched out a living in Australia 25 million years ago</a>
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<h2>A strange setup</h2>
<p>The humble elbow has been around since the ancestors of all <a href="https://youtu.be/LcQdWIInnk8">four-limbed animals first hauled</a> themselves out of the water and onto land. </p>
<p>For most mammals, the elbow is a hinge-like joint that connects the humerus (which runs from shoulder to elbow) with the ulna and radius (which run from elbow to wrist). </p>
<p>The elbow allows the bending and straightening of the arm and is essential for four-legged walking. In the wild it’s also useful for tasks such as feeding, fighting, climbing and grooming. </p>
<p>But <em>Palorchestes</em> seemingly gave much of that up. Unlike other large mammals alive or extinct, it kept its arms in a perpetual “push-up” position.</p>
<p>So what would moving around have looked like for <em>Palorchestes</em>? And why might it have evolved such a narrow range of elbow motion in the first place? </p>
<h2>Peculiar <em>Palorchestes</em></h2>
<p><em>Palorchestes</em> was an unusual-looking marsupial. With a slender jaw indicating a long tongue and tiny nasal bones retracted high up in a narrow skull, some palaeontologists have suggested it had a tapir-like trunk (<a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/joa.13389">although others think this is unlikely</a>). </p>
<p>Fossils of <em>Palorchestes’s</em> robust bones show evidence of heavily muscled forelimbs with huge, sharp claws suited for clinging and tearing. And we recently found it may have grown to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0221824">weigh more than a tonne</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Large fossil claw on a human palm." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/378192/original/file-20210112-23-vaj5tw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/378192/original/file-20210112-23-vaj5tw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=520&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/378192/original/file-20210112-23-vaj5tw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=520&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/378192/original/file-20210112-23-vaj5tw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=520&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/378192/original/file-20210112-23-vaj5tw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=653&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/378192/original/file-20210112-23-vaj5tw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=653&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/378192/original/file-20210112-23-vaj5tw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=653&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">The massive claw bone of <em>Palorchestes azael</em> is equivalent to the bone we have in our fingertip. When <em>Palorchestes</em> was alive, this claw bone would have been covered by a keratin sheath that extended its length up to 50%.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Hazel Richards</span></span>
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<p>Still, for us the most interesting aspect of <em>Palorchestes</em> is its flattened elbow joint surfaces, which seem to indicate its elbows stayed bent at around a 100° angle.</p>
<p>We scanned the fossilised arm bones of <em>Palorchestes</em> and created computer simulations to model the full range of movements possible at its arm joint. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/378490/original/file-20210113-23-lccrm5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Photographs of pangolin, sloth bear, anteater, wombat, koala, aardvark." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/378490/original/file-20210113-23-lccrm5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/378490/original/file-20210113-23-lccrm5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=655&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/378490/original/file-20210113-23-lccrm5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=655&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/378490/original/file-20210113-23-lccrm5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=655&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/378490/original/file-20210113-23-lccrm5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=823&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/378490/original/file-20210113-23-lccrm5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=823&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/378490/original/file-20210113-23-lccrm5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=823&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"><em>Palorchestes</em> had drastically less elbow mobility than the living mammals we compared it to. Clockwise from the top left: pangolin, sloth bear, anteater, wombat, koala and aardvark.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Wikimedia Commons</span></span>
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<p>Our results indicate <em>Palorchestes</em> could move its elbows, but only in an off-axis motion that was tiny compared to other clawed mammals with chunky limbs such as wombats, pangolins, aardvarks and bears. Even its <a href="https://museumsvictoria.com.au/website/melbournemuseum/discoverycentre/600-million-years/timeline/quaternary/zygomaturus/index.html">closest extinct megafaunal relatives</a> had vastly more elbow function. </p>
<p>This suggests none of these creatures are good templates for understanding how <em>Palorchestes</em> moved.</p>
<p>By adding sliding movement as well as rotations, we used our 3D simulations to calculate the “average” motion in <em>Palorchestes</em>, from fully flexed to fully extended elbow poses. We found the axis of this small movement was skewed, like a “wonky” hinge. </p>
<p>The interactive below shows the maximum elbow motion that would have been theoretically possible for <em>Palorchestes azael</em>.</p>
<div class="sketchfab-embed-wrapper">
<iframe title="A 3D model" width="100%" height="480" src="https://sketchfab.com/models/fbf63a5f7b9b4011be63990cf4b2a242/embed?autostart=0&ui_controls=1&ui_infos=1&ui_inspector=1&ui_stop=1&ui_watermark=1&ui_watermark_link=1" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; fullscreen; vr" mozallowfullscreen="true" webkitallowfullscreen="true"></iframe>
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<a href="https://sketchfab.com/3d-models/maximum-elbow-motion-in-palorchestes-azael-fbf63a5f7b9b4011be63990cf4b2a242?utm_medium=embed&utm_source=website&utm_campaign=share-popup" target="_blank"></a>
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<p>This skew means <em>Palorchestes</em> probably held its arms sprawled out from its body, allowing what little elbow mobility was possible to contribute to each stride while walking.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/378217/original/file-20210112-13-1eoh823.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Two possible forelimb postures for Palorchestes" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/378217/original/file-20210112-13-1eoh823.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/378217/original/file-20210112-13-1eoh823.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=423&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/378217/original/file-20210112-13-1eoh823.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=423&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/378217/original/file-20210112-13-1eoh823.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=423&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/378217/original/file-20210112-13-1eoh823.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=532&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/378217/original/file-20210112-13-1eoh823.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=532&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/378217/original/file-20210112-13-1eoh823.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=532&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">We modelled the whole range of motion possible at Palorchestes’s elbow to calculate its ‘average’ movement. If placed in a ‘normal’ mammal forelimb posture, <em>Palorchestes’s</em> hands would splay out to the sides as the elbows moved (left image). Instead, having forelimbs in a sprawled posture would have let its minute elbow movements contribute to each stride (right image)</span>
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<h2>Arms akimbo make for awkward walking</h2>
<p>Our findings suggest <em>Palorchestes</em> would have trundled along on crouched forelimbs, with its elbows sprawled out to the sides — a highly inefficient gait compared with <a href="https://doi.org/10.1126/science.2740914">the pillar-like limbs</a> and tucked-in elbows of its relatives and large mammals alive today.</p>
<p>We think this posture was a compromise which let it use its strong arms and giant claws to access food in a specialised way, which was probably unique even back then.</p>
<p>While exact details remain a mystery, it could be that <em>Palorchestes</em> clung to tree trunks and hauled itself up onto its back legs to reach higher foliage with its long tongue. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/378210/original/file-20210112-13-bcyneg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Painting of Palorchestes rearing up against a tree" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/378210/original/file-20210112-13-bcyneg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/378210/original/file-20210112-13-bcyneg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=932&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/378210/original/file-20210112-13-bcyneg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=932&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/378210/original/file-20210112-13-bcyneg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=932&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/378210/original/file-20210112-13-bcyneg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1171&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/378210/original/file-20210112-13-bcyneg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1171&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/378210/original/file-20210112-13-bcyneg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1171&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">This reconstruction of <em>Palorchestes azael</em> is from the 1980s. Although we now know the forelimb position shown here was highly unlikely, Palorchestes may have still used its strong arms and bent elbows to haul itself up against trees like this for better access to foliage.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Peter Schouten</span></span>
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<p>Or it might have used its huge, bulky body to push over tree ferns to access the young nutritious fronds higher up. </p>
<p>Whatever it did, <em>Palorchestes</em> was evidently pretty successful. While its fossils are rare, they’re widely distributed right across eastern Australia. </p>
<h2>The specialisation trap</h2>
<p>The fossils of <em>Palorchestes</em> tell us it was a specialist, highly adapted to a forest landscape. </p>
<p>Large animals have large appetites to match, but <em>Palorchestes’s</em> inefficient walk probably limited its ability to roam widely in search of food. </p>
<p>This would be no problem in times of plenty. But when shifts in Australia’s climate caused sweeping environmental changes across <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-15785-w">the eastern half of the continent</a>, large specialised megafauna such as <em>Palorchestes</em> were especially vulnerable. </p>
<p>Even small changes in the vegetation mix would have made it difficult to find enough food.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Lush Tasmanian forest with a Dicksonia tree fern and mossy logs" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/378194/original/file-20210112-17-10o3j7z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/378194/original/file-20210112-17-10o3j7z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=394&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/378194/original/file-20210112-17-10o3j7z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=394&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/378194/original/file-20210112-17-10o3j7z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=394&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/378194/original/file-20210112-17-10o3j7z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=495&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/378194/original/file-20210112-17-10o3j7z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=495&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/378194/original/file-20210112-17-10o3j7z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=495&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption"><em>Palorchestes</em> probably lived in forests such as this one in Tasmania and may have used its specialised forelimbs to tear apart ferns and logs.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Wikimedia Commons</span></span>
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<p>So an adaptation that can be a recipe for success in one environment can lead to a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/icb/42.2.265">species’ demise in a changing world</a>. </p>
<p>And while there’s nothing like <em>Palorchestes</em> alive today, many unique species now face the same fate due to drastic changes in their habitats. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/did-people-or-climate-kill-off-the-megafauna-actually-it-was-both-127803">Did people or climate kill off the megafauna? Actually, it was both</a>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/153094/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Hazel L Richards is supported by an Australian Government Research Training Program scholarship and a Monash-Museums Victoria PhD top-up scholarship. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alistair Evans receives funding from Australian Research Council, and is an Honorary Research Affiliate at Museums Victoria.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Justin W. Adams receives funding from the Australian Research Council and is a Research Associate with the Palaeo-Research Institute at the University of Johannesburg, South Africa.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Peter Bishop receives funding from Harvard University and is an Honorary Researcher in the Geosciences Program of the Queensland Museum.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>David Hocking does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>A new study shows Palorchestes had unique elbows unlike any other mammal, which may have contributed to its extinction.Hazel L. Richards, PhD candidate, Monash UniversityAlistair Evans, Associate Professor, Monash UniversityDavid Hocking, Adjunct Research Associate, Monash UniversityJustin W. Adams, Senior Lecturer, Department of Anatomy and Developmental Biology, Monash UniversityPeter Bishop, Postdoctoral research fellow, Harvard Kennedy SchoolLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1412962020-06-25T20:14:17Z2020-06-25T20:14:17ZMeet the giant wombat relative that scratched out a living in Australia 25 million years ago<p>Wombats are among the most peculiar of animals. They look like a massively overgrown guinea pig with a boofy head, a waddling gait, squared-off butt, backwards-facing pouch and ever-growing molars. </p>
<p>Indeed, wombats are oddballs and don’t look much like their nearest living relatives, the koala. But koalas and wombats (collectively known as <a href="https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/tetrapod-zoology/vombatiform-radiation-part-i/">“vombatiformes”</a>) are the last survivors of a once far more diverse group of <a href="https://australian.museum/learn/species-identification/ask-an-expert/what-is-a-marsupial/">marsupials</a> whose fossil history stretches back for at least 25 million years.</p>
<p>Working out how this diverse group fizzled out to just wombats and koalas has taken centuries of extraordinary discoveries in the fossil record. We are announcing one of these today in our research <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-66425-8">published in Scientific Reports</a>.</p>
<p><em>Mukupirna nambensis</em> is one of the oldest discovered Australian marsupials. Its unveiling has deepened our understanding of the relationships and evolutionary history of one of the strangest groups that once ruled this continent.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/aboriginal-australians-co-existed-with-the-megafauna-for-at-least-17-000-years-70589">Aboriginal Australians co-existed with the megafauna for at least 17,000 years</a>
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<h2>Acupuncturing the earth</h2>
<p>In 1973 at Lake Pinpa – a small dry salt lake in South Australia – a multi-institutional expedition <a href="https://books.google.com.au/books?id=LwMkO0M1mPQC&pg=PA23&lpg=PA23&dq=dick+tedford+lake+pinpa&source=bl&ots=GgedFpuV0d&sig=ACfU3U3r3Hheo6D9PGDk6FByRV_RpwUtFA&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiKs92RgZzqAhU8yjgGHRrPDrYQ6AEwAHoECAoQAQ#v=onepage&q=dick%20tedford%20lake%20pinpa&f=false">led by</a> palaeontologist Dick Tedford from the American Museum of Natural History discovered a host of extinct animals.</p>
<p>A combination of drought and strong winds had blown the sand off the surface of the lake bed, revealing the remains of animals that died after getting stuck in mud 25 million years ago. </p>
<p>One of the discoveries was a skull and partial skeleton of a large, distinctive wombat-like animal that was clearly new to science – <em>Mukupirna</em>. </p>
<p>Its fossils were found by pushing a metal rod into the clay at intervals across the lake surface, a bit like acupuncturing the skin of Mother Earth. If the rod struck something hard, the team excavated down to find what was commonly the fossilised skeleton of an otherwise unseen animal. </p>
<p>Once uncovered, they were encased in plaster shells for transport back to the Museum of Natural History, where they were subjected to years of careful preparation. Although <em>Mukupirna</em> was discovered this way in 1973, it’s only now we can formally announce this discovery to the world.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/343909/original/file-20200625-33557-1bz7zth.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/343909/original/file-20200625-33557-1bz7zth.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/343909/original/file-20200625-33557-1bz7zth.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=796&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/343909/original/file-20200625-33557-1bz7zth.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=796&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/343909/original/file-20200625-33557-1bz7zth.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=796&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/343909/original/file-20200625-33557-1bz7zth.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1001&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/343909/original/file-20200625-33557-1bz7zth.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1001&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/343909/original/file-20200625-33557-1bz7zth.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1001&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">This photo shows the skull of the giant wombat relative <em>Mukupirna nambensis</em>. The front of the skull is towards the top of the photograph. The skull is 19.7cm long.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Julien Louys, Griffith University and Robin Beck, University of Salford</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>A mammoth find</h2>
<p>One of the most remarkable things about this marsupial is its large size, which we estimate was between 143-171kg, more than four times larger than any living wombat. </p>
<p>Its size inspired the scientific name <em>Mukupirna</em>, from the words <em>muku</em>, meaning “bones” and <em>pirna</em>, meaning “big”, in the Malyangapa and Dieri languages of Aboriginal people from central Australia. </p>
<p>We worked out the earliest vombatiform marsupials probably weighed about 5kg or less (about the size of a modern koala). That said, body weights of about 100kg, such as that of <em>Mukupirna</em>, then evolved independently at least six times in different branches of the family tree.</p>
<p>The biggest of these would be <em><a href="https://australian.museum/learn/australia-over-time/extinct-animals/diprotodon-optatum/">Diprotodon</a></em> at about three tonnes, the world’s largest marsupial.</p>
<h2>Behaviour up to scratch</h2>
<p><em>Mukupirna</em>‘s forearms were powerfully muscled and its hands may have worked like shovels, an attribute shared with modern wombats. Also like wombats, it was probably a good scratch-digger. But unlike today’s wombats, it probably couldn’t burrow. </p>
<p>Although <em>Mukupirna</em> was clearly herbivorous, unlike wombats its cheek teeth were low-crowned with well-developed roots. This indicates it couldn’t have survived on abrasive plant materials such as grasses, which today’s wombats consume without problems. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/343950/original/file-20200625-33563-19b66g6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/343950/original/file-20200625-33563-19b66g6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/343950/original/file-20200625-33563-19b66g6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=429&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/343950/original/file-20200625-33563-19b66g6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=429&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/343950/original/file-20200625-33563-19b66g6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=429&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/343950/original/file-20200625-33563-19b66g6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=539&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/343950/original/file-20200625-33563-19b66g6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=539&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/343950/original/file-20200625-33563-19b66g6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=539&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Australia has three endemic species of wombat: the common wombat <em>Vombatus ursinus</em> (pictured), the northern hairy-nosed wombat (<em>Lasiorhinus krefftii</em>) and the southern hairy-nosed wombat (<em>Lasiorhinus latifrons</em>).</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Pollens in the fossil deposit indicate that, unlike today, there were no grasslands in this area of central Australia back then. Instead, it was dominated by scrubby rainforest that was also home to possums, koalas and galloping kangaroos. </p>
<p>But alongside them were much stranger, more primitive animals that have left no living descendants. These included <em><a href="https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/tetrapod-zoology/vombatiforms-part-ii/">Ilaria</a></em>, which was a bit like a gigantic koala, <a href="https://museumsvictoria.com.au/collections-research/journals/memoirs-of-museum-victoria/volume-74-2016/pages-173-187/"><em>Ektopodon</em></a>, an arboreal marsupial with teeth like a cheese-grater and <a href="https://australian.museum/learn/australia-over-time/extinct-animals/wakaleo-vanderleuri/"><em>Wakaleo</em></a>, a leopard-sized marsupial lion with some of the most ferocious butchering teeth ever evolved by a mammal.</p>
<p>These forests were also punctuated by huge inland lakes that were home to lungfish, turtles, crocodiles, flamingos, ducks, stone curlews and even freshwater dolphins.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/a-new-species-of-marsupial-lion-tells-us-about-australias-past-88633">A new species of marsupial lion tells us about Australia's past</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>A lost land</h2>
<p>By comparing different features of <em>Mukupirna’s</em> teeth and skeleton, we discovered it to be the closest known relative of modern wombats. Yet, it was as different from wombats as wombats are from koalas, which is why it has been placed in a new family of its own: the Mukupirnidae.</p>
<p>Formal recognition of <em>Mukupirna</em> fills yet another fascinating gap in our knowledge of the weird and wonderful evolutionary history of mammals on this continent. </p>
<p>Sadly, it’s likely all mukupirnids vanished when a shift in global climate triggered an environmental change from scrubby rainforests 25 million years ago, to far lusher and more biodiverse rainforests 23 million years ago. </p>
<p>This would have resulted in more intense greenhouse conditions and an environment presumably not suited to mukupirnids.</p>
<p>Hopefully this rings a warning bell about the state of Earth’s climate now. If we can’t slow the global heating we’ve triggered, how many more of Australia’s uniquely endemic living creatures will soon join <em>Mukupirna</em> in the increasingly crowded abyss of extinction?</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/141296/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Robin Beck has received funding from the Australian Research Council. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Julien Louys receives funding from the Australian Research Council. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Mike Archer receives funding from the Australian Research Council and the Phil Creaser CREATE Fund in UNSW. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Philippa Brewer works for the Natural History Museum, London</span></em></p>The extinct Mukupirna - which translates to ‘big bones’ - is estimated to have been more than four times larger than any living wombat.Robin Beck, Lecturer in Biology, University of SalfordJulien Louys, ARC Future Fellow, Griffith UniversityMike Archer, Professor, Pangea Research Centre, UNSW SydneyPhilippa Brewer, Senior Curator, Natural History MuseumLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/794892017-07-05T20:09:07Z2017-07-05T20:09:07ZThe Australian palaeodiet: which native animals should we eat?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/175616/original/file-20170626-6636-1bfz0bn.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Should we add emus to our diet?</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Jillian Garvey</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>This story contains imagery of butchered animals. All shown samples were collected as road-kill and used for research with the relevant permissions.</em></p>
<p>If Australians are to eat healthy, unprocessed meats while making sustainable choices, native animals would be an obvious choice. But which animals should we be considering?</p>
<p>The diets of Indigenous Australians prior to 1770 is a useful starting point for this discussion. The <a href="http://palaios.geoscienceworld.org/content/22/6/583">zooarchaeological record</a> offers a glimpse into which fauna people hunted and how they were butchered and cooked. </p>
<p>Unfortunately, old animal bones are uncommon in Australia due to its open and dry landscape. The remains of some past meals dating back to <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277379117302640">almost 50,000 years ago</a> have been found in archaeological assemblages, mostly in karst systems such as those in the Flinders Rangers, southwest Tasmania and southwest Western Australia. </p>
<p>To compensate for the lack of archaeological material, I am studying the economic utility of several Australian animals. In other words, how much meat, fat and marrow different body parts provide. This, coupled with an analysis of the nutritional quality of the meat, will help us understand why they were selected or ignored.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/mLrGjpBCRb8?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">The Australian palaeodiet: Which native animals should we eat?</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>My “<a href="https://www.thinkable.org/submission_entries/y3OAP69m">Native Bush Tucker</a>” project focuses primarily on marsupial animals. When completed, it will be an online database to aid the study of what people ate in the past with the goal of including these meats on our modern menu. </p>
<h2>What did people eat prior to 1770?</h2>
<p>The archaeological record suggests Aboriginal Australians had varied diets prior to colonisation, with specific prey and butchery patterns in different parts of the country. </p>
<p>For example, in <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0278416516300745">Ice Age southwest Tasmania</a> (between approximately 40,000 and 12,000 years ago) people hunted the medium-sized Bennett’s wallaby, focusing on its larger and “meatier” hindlimbs. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/176870/original/file-20170705-30015-3daw1d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/176870/original/file-20170705-30015-3daw1d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=215&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/176870/original/file-20170705-30015-3daw1d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=215&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/176870/original/file-20170705-30015-3daw1d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=215&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/176870/original/file-20170705-30015-3daw1d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=271&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/176870/original/file-20170705-30015-3daw1d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=271&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/176870/original/file-20170705-30015-3daw1d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=271&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Bennett’s wallaby marrow.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Jillian Garvey</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Since wallabies, like kangaroos and other macropods, are very lean, it was thought people regularly split open the long bones to access the nutritious marrow. This is one way they could avoid potentially fatal “<a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0305440310003833">protein poisoning</a>” – a rare type of malnutrition caused by an absence of fat in the diet. </p>
<p>According to the archaeological record, wombats were the <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0305440308000757">second most common prey animal</a> in Ice Age Tasmania, with people focusing on their skull, shoulder girdle and forelimbs. The “meaty” wombat pelvic region and bone marrow were largely ignored. </p>
<p>Alternatively, animals such as <a href="https://www.questia.com/library/journal/1G1-152994503/preliminary-zooarchaeological-interpretations-from">emu, possums, platypus and echidna are rare</a> in Ice Age Tasmanian archaeology.</p>
<h2>Just how good are kangaroos and wombats to eat?</h2>
<p>To undertake my study, animals were collected as fresh road-kill (with the relevant permits). </p>
<p>Carcasses were carefully butchered, each body part fully dissected and the different components weighed and nutritionally analysed. </p>
<p>I found kangaroos and wallabies to be <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1040618209002328">very lean</a> with little detectable fat. On average, macropod carcasses provide between 25% to 50% of their body weight in meat.</p>
<p>My analysis of macropod (kangaroo and wallaby) bone marrow indicates it’s <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0305440310003833">highly nutritious</a>, especially in polyunsaturated fats such as oleic acid. This <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1040618209002328">helps to explain patterns in the archaeological record</a>, as macropod long bones, in particular the lower leg (shin or tibia) bone, are commonly found split open.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/176838/original/file-20170704-15991-16zcbil.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/176838/original/file-20170704-15991-16zcbil.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=233&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/176838/original/file-20170704-15991-16zcbil.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=233&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/176838/original/file-20170704-15991-16zcbil.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=233&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/176838/original/file-20170704-15991-16zcbil.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=293&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/176838/original/file-20170704-15991-16zcbil.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=293&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/176838/original/file-20170704-15991-16zcbil.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=293&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Wombat carcass.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Jillian Garvey.</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Alternatively, I found <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352409X1530167X">wombats to be fatty animals</a>, with a large amount of fat located along their backs and across their shoulders. This could explain why the heads and shoulders of wombats are common in Tasmanian Ice Age assemblages, as fat could be easily obtained without having to access the marrow cavity. </p>
<p>However, while I found that a wombat consists of 25% to 40% of meat and fat, these were not as healthy as kangaroos and wallabies as they contained a higher amount of saturated fat. </p>
<h2>What about emus and shellfish?</h2>
<p>There has been some debate as to why emu bones are rare in Australian archaeological assemblages, while their eggshells are more common. </p>
<p><a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1179/174963111X13110803260840">Modern emu butchery and nutritional analyses</a> indicate there is lots of nutritious fat associated with the meat, with up to 50% of the total weight of the animal consisting of edible muscle, mostly located around the birds’ pelvis. Hence people were able to access a large amount of meat and fat from the carcass without moving or damaging the bones. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/176689/original/file-20170704-13632-s3rfwk.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/176689/original/file-20170704-13632-s3rfwk.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/176689/original/file-20170704-13632-s3rfwk.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/176689/original/file-20170704-13632-s3rfwk.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/176689/original/file-20170704-13632-s3rfwk.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/176689/original/file-20170704-13632-s3rfwk.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/176689/original/file-20170704-13632-s3rfwk.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The author dissecting an echidna.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Jillian Garvey.</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The large number of freshwater shellfish middens scattered along Australia’s inland lakes, rivers and creeks indicates that freshwater molluscs were an important food resource for Indigenous Australians. <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S104061821501191X">Recent analysis of middens</a> along the Murray River in northwest Victoria indicates that both the river mussel and the smaller river snail were prey. </p>
<p>While these molluscs are very low in fat, they contain high amounts of <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S104061821501191X">several important trace elements such as magnesium, iron, sodium and zinc</a>. Such elements and minerals are essential for ensuring healthy cellular function. </p>
<h2>What about the modern Australian diet?</h2>
<p>If Australians are to start reducing our dependence on introduced animals, then we need to ensure that our choices are ethical, humane and environmental.</p>
<p>Incorporating more macropods into our diets is the obvious choice, as these animals are lean and what fats they do contain are healthy. Emus and wombats are other possibilities, as they contain readily accessible meat and associated fat. </p>
<p>Freshwater shellfish are another alternative, although salinity and the introduction of locks and weirs along our major rivers has altered the <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Keith_Walker11/publication/282506728_An_endangered_pest_--_the_river_snail_Notopala_hanleyi/links/56144a5d08aec622441023cf.pdf">distribution of many of these molluscs</a>. </p>
<p>I plan to extend the number of animals being researched to include things such as echidna, possums, small birds, reptiles, and other shellfish and fish. This will broaden our understanding of the possible native fauna we could be eating.</p>
<p>Ultimately, there are many obstacles to overcome in adding these foods to our diet, not least convincing the broader population they’re acceptable to serve and can taste good. There’s also the difficulty of sustainably rearing and slaughtering native animals in sufficient quantities. </p>
<p>Perhaps we can take a lesson from Australia’s “first farmers” and how they managed the landscape and used native fauna.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/79489/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jillian Garvey recieves funding from the Australian Research Council (DECRA Fellowship and Discovery Grant) and La Trobe University. She is a member of the Australian Archaeological Association and the Royal Society of Victoria.
</span></em></p>If Australians are to eat healthy, unprocessed meats while making sustainable choices, native animals would be an obvious choice.Jillian Garvey, ARC DECRA Fellow in Archaeology, La Trobe UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/721832017-03-09T04:16:25Z2017-03-09T04:16:25ZWhat our backyards can tell us about the world<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/159870/original/image-20170308-14932-4etsx7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Citizen science projects are a way to contribute to science from your own backyard.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/family-garden-201323285?src=HlrFkV3rVFQDxvbXxDkd_w-1-31">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Our backyards are home to many scuttling, slithering and scampering creatures, which are often the subject of fascination. But they can also play a key role in tracking the changes in the world around us – for science.</p>
<p>Science is a vital tool to monitor the world, but scientists can’t do it all alone. Ordinary citizens can help by getting involved in a citizen science project. </p>
<p>People are spending weekends with their friends and families learning more about their backyards and gathering data that would otherwise be inaccessible to scientists. </p>
<p>They’re helping to manage invasive species, tree death, diseases and animal health. And it’s a way to take responsibility for the environment, urban areas, farmland and the creatures that visit our gardens. </p>
<p>Here are just a few ways you can get involved too. </p>
<h2>Birds in backyards</h2>
<p>Bird feeders and water dispensers are a great way to monitor human interactions with wildlife. If you have them, you can see the effect they have on your garden. You may even get a visit from a threatened species. </p>
<p><a href="https://csdb.org.au/feedingbirds/home.aspx">This project</a>, created by researchers at Deakin and Griffith universities, aims to find out how people influence bird numbers and species diversity, and to measure the impact of food and water provisions. The organisers are looking for <a href="https://csdb.org.au/Account/Sign-Up.aspx">volunteers</a>.</p>
<p>Additionally, <a href="http://www.birdsinbackyards.net/">BirdLife Australia’s Birds in Backyards</a> is a project that collects reports of backyard bird sightings for analysis through the data-collection site <a href="https://birdata.birdlife.org.au/">Birdata</a>. The site also contains resources on bird-friendly gardening, a bird finder tool (for identifying that pesky bird), forums and events.</p>
<h2>Aggressive birds?</h2>
<p>You may have heard the story of <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-we-hate-certain-birds-and-why-their-behaviour-might-be-our-fault-54404">the bell miner</a> (<em>Manorina melanophrys</em>), its feeding habits, aggressive behaviour and its association with a plant sickness known as eucalypt dieback. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/160121/original/image-20170309-21026-m4qpqb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/160121/original/image-20170309-21026-m4qpqb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/160121/original/image-20170309-21026-m4qpqb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/160121/original/image-20170309-21026-m4qpqb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/160121/original/image-20170309-21026-m4qpqb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/160121/original/image-20170309-21026-m4qpqb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/160121/original/image-20170309-21026-m4qpqb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/160121/original/image-20170309-21026-m4qpqb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A bell miner hangs from the trees.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/kookr/10036437475/in/photolist-ghTncr-5gDN1U-7WLHXJ-mvsf51-dZAhud-iyucDc-fUeute-phL2Ai-fUeBqG-oTtadz-88u7N7-oBfwZu-7FZt7-fKeWnd-bzvRPz-fnnsnv-p1xWwY-pi1aR9-jBQSYN-pg182Y-p1wZyT-p1y2cZ-nmhmye-p1xWqA-phL4Gn-pi1aCy-phL3AV-p1xe63-pi3dtx-pg18qU-p1wXM6-p1xWyG-pg19oW-jYQKna-phL2CH-pi1bEd-nCM3TM-6N7e46-AUnNnx-fpahac-oRcDhF-7b7RHG-nCM3we-BsTBQz-nCuioD-nCycNJ-nmhJat-nCM5mB-bWS5qT-9c9Phh">David Cook/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><a href="http://www.bmcp.org.au/">The Bell Miner Colony Project</a>, which I run, looks at the bell miners’ habitat choice and movements, and investigates whether they really cause dieback. The project, developed two years ago, looks to answer questions about bell miner distribution across the east coast of Australia, and helps with managing forests and gardens. </p>
<p>Most people either love or hate bell miners. I personally love them, so I want to find out what they are really doing on a species scale. </p>
<p>One colony lives in the Melbourne Botanic Gardens and another in the Melbourne Zoo, so they are easy to see and visit. They make a distinctive “tink” call throughout the day, which can be used to monitor density. If you have seen any, <a href="http://www.bmcp.org.au/bmreport/">please report them</a>.</p>
<h2>Tracking ferals</h2>
<p>If your area seems to be riddled with pests, <a href="https://www.feralscan.org.au/">Feral Scan</a> is a website for surveying and identifying them. The data is compiled and plotted on a map to create a scanner for previous sightings. </p>
<p>Another website for reporting biodiversity sightings is the <a href="http://www.ala.org.au/">Atlas of Living Australia</a>. Any species seen in your backyard or during your travels can be added to the searchable database of sightings from across the nation.</p>
<h2>Helping wombats</h2>
<p><a href="http://biocollect.ala.org.au/project/index/8225d5c0-7b2e-4981-a672-b112da4e4376">WomSAT</a> maps and record wombats and wombat burrow locations. So if you’ve seen wombats running around, let them know. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/159873/original/image-20170308-14969-17p0wzs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/159873/original/image-20170308-14969-17p0wzs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/159873/original/image-20170308-14969-17p0wzs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/159873/original/image-20170308-14969-17p0wzs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/159873/original/image-20170308-14969-17p0wzs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/159873/original/image-20170308-14969-17p0wzs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/159873/original/image-20170308-14969-17p0wzs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/159873/original/image-20170308-14969-17p0wzs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A wombat infected with mange.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/upsticksngo/27319502041">Upsticksngo/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>There is also a call for <a href="http://actwildlife.net/">volunteers</a> in the ACT to help treat <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-02-15/call-for-canberra-volunteers-to-treat-wombat-mange/8273562">wombats with mange infections</a>. Mange is a skin disease caused by mites, which leaves wombats itching until they scab. Volunteers help by applying treatments outside wombat burrows and monitoring the burrows with cameras. </p>
<h2>Weed spotting</h2>
<p>For those of you who are not into animals, there is a project for detecting new and emerging weeds in Queensland. </p>
<p><a href="http://biocollect.ala.org.au/project/index/aa827ec6-22cc-4e90-97b2-297778ec0900">Queensland Herbarium</a> teaches weed identification and mapping skills so that you can send your weed specimens and accompanying data to them.</p>
<p>This helps scientists determine where weeds are, how they spread and the best process for large-scale management.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/72183/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kathryn Teare Ada Lambert founded The Bell-Miner-Colony Project and is always on the lookout for interesting citizen science projects to get involved in.</span></em></p>From birds to bees, the wildlife in your backyard can tell us important things about the health of our environment.Kathryn Teare Ada Lambert, Ecologist, University of New EnglandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/559752016-03-14T08:21:27Z2016-03-14T08:21:27ZWhy do wombats do cube-shaped poo?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/114299/original/image-20160308-22123-14alc8i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Wombat: something of an enigma.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Poo comes in many different sizes, from the microscopic poo of the smallest invertebrates, to the largest poo of the African elephants who can each produce over 50kg per day. It also comes in many shapes, such as tubes (dogs), pellets (rabbits) or splats (cows), but the wombat is unique in the animal kingdom in that it produces cubic poo, and lots of it – around 80 to 100 cubes per night.</p>
<p>The <a href="http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/wombat/">wombat</a> is a large relative of the koala, native to Australia. It is solitary and nocturnal, living in underground burrows during the day but coming out at night to forage on grasses and other vegetation. It also sleeps a lot; an average of 16 hours per day. As it is nocturnal, the wombat has very poor eyesight, so it relies on its sense of smell to navigate and find food. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/m52Rdp_b5dQ?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Recorded: wombat cubes.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>So, what is poo for?</h2>
<p>Poo is produced by all organisms – and species have adapted to utilise it in many different ways, such as a mechanism for seed dispersal, or a food source for animals including dung beetles. Poo can also provide information about the individual who produced it and their diet. The different textures, size, shape and smell can all help to identify the species that produced the poo – this information can be used to survey elusive animals such as the otter (which produces a distinctly fishy-smelling “<a href="http://www.arkive.org/common-otter/lutra-lutra/image-A22038.html">spraint”</a>“, and can also give an estimation of how long ago the poo was produced. Even dinosaurs have left fossilised poo behind, called <a href="http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/07/140729-dinosaur-coprolite-paleontology-dung-fossil-auction/">coprolites</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/114298/original/image-20160308-22129-jub9nq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/114298/original/image-20160308-22129-jub9nq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=783&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/114298/original/image-20160308-22129-jub9nq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=783&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/114298/original/image-20160308-22129-jub9nq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=783&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/114298/original/image-20160308-22129-jub9nq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=984&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/114298/original/image-20160308-22129-jub9nq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=984&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/114298/original/image-20160308-22129-jub9nq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=984&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Mind your step.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>However, poo is also very smelly, so it can be used by individuals to communicate their presence to others. Why is this needed? Although contests are frequent in the animal kingdom, they can be fatal – so are avoided if possible. One way of avoiding conflict is to mark your territory with a scent such as poo – this provides information on who you are and where you live.</p>
<p>The wombat is highly territorial so uses its cube-shaped poo to mark its territory, preventing conflict. Wombats have been found to differentiate between various poos and show avoidance behaviour when presented with poo produced by predators and other male wombats. The hormonal content of poo can also be examined, for example so that males can tell when females are most fertile. </p>
<p>Wombats deposit poo outside their burrows and on the tops of rocks and logs, where they are more easily found by other wombats. The distinctive shape is an advantage as the flat sides of the cubes ensure they do not roll off their precarious locations.</p>
<h2>But how is cubic poo produced?</h2>
<p>Wombat poo is cubic, not because the wombat has a square-shaped anus, but because it has a very long and slow digestive process, typically 14 to 18 days, which allows the digestive matter to become extremely dry and compacted. The wombat also has a very long digestive tract, allowing it to absorb the most nutrients and water from its food. The first part of their large intestine contains horizontal ridges that probably mould the poo into cubes, whereas the last part of the large intestine is relatively smooth, allowing the cubic shape to be maintained. The highly compacted nature of the poo means that the rectum is unable to contour the poo into the more <a href="http://io9.gizmodo.com/5872472/the-wombats-cubic-poop-is-one-of-natures-weirdest-superpowers">usual tubular shape</a>.</p>
<p>So, the wombat, with is nocturnal way of life, poor eyesight but excellent sense of smell, uses poo as its main way of telling who lives where and if there are any strangers in the area (thus avoiding conflict), and as a way of increasing its reproductive success. It produces cubic poo as a result of its diet and long digestion. And, the cubic poo is the perfect shape for sitting on top of rocks and logs as it doesn’t roll away. Poo can be clever, too.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/55975/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Louise Gentle works for Nottingham Trent University</span></em></p>Revealed: the secrets of one of nature’s great digestive mysteries.Louise Gentle, Senior Lecturer in Behavioural Ecology, Nottingham Trent UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/467552015-09-04T05:36:26Z2015-09-04T05:36:26ZMangy marsupials: wombats are catching a deadly disease, and we urgently need a plan to help them<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/93862/original/image-20150904-22470-1i2qlp2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Wombat mange is a debilitating disease that can lead to blindness and death.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Eden Hermsen</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>You may have seen recent media reports that wombats are <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/7.30/content/2015/s4300030.htm">under threat from a mysterious killer disease</a>. That disease is sarcoptic mange, and while it affects the two wombat species that are not in immediate danger of extinction, it threatens to wipe out local populations.</p>
<p>Of the three wombat species, the <a href="https://theconversation.com/australian-endangered-species-northern-hairy-nosed-wombat-13148">northern hairy-nosed wombat</a> is in the most precarious position overall – it is <a href="http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/11343/0">officially listed as critically endangered</a>, with only about 200 individuals left. The other two, the <a href="http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/40555/0">southern hairy-nosed wombat</a> and <a href="http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/40556/0">bare-nosed wombat</a>, are both listed as of “least concern”, although all wombats have been affected by threats associated with the advent of European settlement. </p>
<p>Although the southern hairy-nosed and bare-nosed wombats are not in danger of extinction, both are under threat from sarcoptic mange, and some local populations are at risk of dying out.</p>
<p>Mange is a severely debilitating disease that affects a range of different mammals. It is caused by an infestation of mites, which burrow into the skin, causing severe itching, abnormal thickening of the skin, and loss of fur. </p>
<p>Usually the first sign of wombat mange is hair loss and thickened skin on the head, then progression to thickened crusty skin on the shoulders, flanks and limbs. Often the wombat will become deaf and blind due to thickening of the skin in and around its ears and eyes. Over the following months, the disease progresses to the point where all of the wombat’s skin is severely thickened, and eventually death occurs.</p>
<h2>Tackling mange</h2>
<p>Some wildlife groups have begun treating wombats with anti-parasitic treatments, with varying success. This typically involves invasive techniques (physically capturing the wombats and administering an injection), or administering “pour-on” products using treatment flaps. Both these techniques are very labour-intensive, as wombats require several treatments over a period of weeks or even months. </p>
<p>In addition, wombats can use several different burrows in a night, and some burrows are used by different wombats at different times, which makes it difficult to ensure that only the affected wombat is treated. And of course, these treatments are only possible in areas where wombats can be accessed by humans – treatment in remote areas is virtually impossible. </p>
<p>In the longer term, some of these treatments are likely to lead to resistance in the mites, further endangering the wombat populations. Both techniques may also raise the wombats’ stress levels over time, which can hamper their ability to maintain immunity against other parasites and diseases. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/93854/original/image-20150904-16770-wzt9bt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/93854/original/image-20150904-16770-wzt9bt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/93854/original/image-20150904-16770-wzt9bt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/93854/original/image-20150904-16770-wzt9bt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/93854/original/image-20150904-16770-wzt9bt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/93854/original/image-20150904-16770-wzt9bt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/93854/original/image-20150904-16770-wzt9bt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/93854/original/image-20150904-16770-wzt9bt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Healthy wombats are the aim.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">JJ Harrison/Wikimedia Commons</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>A national wombat strategy</h2>
<p>We therefore need to develop a nationwide management strategy to ensure the long-term survival of wombats, an iconic Australian marsupial that through its burrowing activities also helps to create valuable habitat for a host of other animals.</p>
<p>To develop this strategy, we first need to understand how big the sarcoptic mange problem really is. Field research to assess the levels of mange in the populations is limited by the large distribution area of wombats throughout parts of southern and eastern Australia. However, in combination with data currently being collected from citizen-scientists using an online system called <a href="http://womsat.org.au/womsat/default.aspx">WomSAT</a>, much more information can be gained. </p>
<p>WomSAT allows anyone to log sightings of wombats (dead or alive, and if alive their level of mange) and wombat burrows. Together, field research and citizen-science information can be used to determine the distribution and severity of mange, and to identify other threats to wombats throughout Australia.</p>
<p>Second, we need to learn more about why wombats are so badly affected by mange, and why their immune system fails to fight the parasites. Unbelievably, little is currently known about the wombat immune system, most probably because of a lack of funding and research on wombats in general – especially when compared with other quintessentially Australian animals such as koalas and kangaroos. </p>
<p>It is clear that more is needed to ensure the survival of a truly unique Australian animal, as part of the wider effort to preserve Australia’s biodiversity. There has never been a better time to work towards a nationwide strategy to save the wombat, with recent genome technology coming to the forefront of marsupial immunology research and our ever-increasing need to preserve our unique wildlife. We need to act now.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/46755/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Julie Old received funding from Emirates Airlines and Emirates One and Only Wolgan Valley Resort to establish the WomSAT website.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Janine Deakin does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Wombats are suffering from mange, a deadly skin condition that threatens to wipe out some local populations. Frustratingly little is known about the problem, so we need a national plan to tackle it.Julie Old, Associate Professor, Animal Science and Zoology, Western Sydney UniversityJanine Deakin, Associate Professor in Genetics, Institute for Applied Ecology, University of CanberraLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/72342012-06-10T20:08:17Z2012-06-10T20:08:17ZWhat’s happening to the southern hairy nosed wombats?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/11049/original/mb6ws44j-1337907379.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A shortage of their usual food sources may be pushing wombats to eat toxic weeds.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Jenny Scott</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Over the past 18 months, increasing numbers of southern hairy nosed wombats in the <a href="http://www.murraylands.info/mapsandtowns/maps.aspx">Murraylands region</a> have been found in poor to emaciated condition with damage to their skin and other organs. The skin changes have included extensive hair-loss, changes to the coat’s colour and quality, bacterial dermatitis, and in severe cases haemorrhage and photosensitive dermatitis with a discharge. In the latter cases, these wombats have had severe liver lesions consistent with ingestion of a toxin.</p>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/11050/original/gfvpf3sq-1337907379.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/11050/original/gfvpf3sq-1337907379.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=886&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/11050/original/gfvpf3sq-1337907379.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=886&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/11050/original/gfvpf3sq-1337907379.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=886&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/11050/original/gfvpf3sq-1337907379.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1113&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/11050/original/gfvpf3sq-1337907379.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1113&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/11050/original/gfvpf3sq-1337907379.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1113&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Wombats are showing extensive hair loss.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Dr Lucy Woolford</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Disease in Murraylands southern hairy nosed wombats may be due to a lot of factors, but are likely to be due to severe chronic nutritional stress. In the areas where we’ve found affected wombats, very few native grasses and other regular feed sources (such as <a href="http://www.sciencephoto.com/media/411759/enlarge">thread iris</a>) remain. Instead, the habitat is dominated by <a href="http://www.ecolsoc.org.au/What%20we%20do/Prizes/documents/JuliaCookeESA2004.pdf">Carrichtera annua</a> (Ward’s weed), <a href="http://vro.dpi.vic.gov.au/dpi/vro/vrosite.nsf/pages/weeds_herbs_perennial_onion_weed">Asophodelus fistulosus</a> (onion weed), <a href="http://www.weeds.org.au/cgi-bin/weedident.cgi?tpl=plant.tpl&ibra=all&card=H15">Marrubium vulgare</a> (horehound), and <a href="http://www.weeds.org.au/cgi-bin/weedident.cgi?tpl=plant.tpl&state=&s=&ibra=all&card=H76">Heliotropium europaeum</a> (potato weed).</p>
<p>Liver lesions in the juvenile wombats we found with photosensitive dermatitis and liver disease suggested they had been poisoned by a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyrrolizidine_alkaloid">pyrrolizidine alkaloid</a> (PA) - a chemical substance plants produce to protect themselves from being eaten by insects. We looked for plants containing PA in the region where affected wombats have beDen found. Heliotropium europaeum - or potato weed - was the only one present. </p>
<p>We are now collaborating with toxicologists from the University of Queensland who are examining plant samples as well as wombat stomach, liver and faecal samples for toxic alkaloids. Investigations are ongoing.</p>
<p>Importantly, not all wombats with alopecia (hair loss) have been found to have liver lesions, and not all skin lesions are inflammatory. For many alopecic animals we’re either not finding much when we examine tissues under a microscope, or we are seeing changes more typical of metabolic or hormonal disruptions to hair growth cycles. Some of the causes we are considering include chronic nutritional stress, deficiencies (such as copper), other toxicities (perhaps from <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selenium#Toxicity">seleniferous</a> plants, or chemicals) and hormonal disturbances. Many animals are also anaemic, and have higher than normal numbers of parasites. But so far we haven’t found any animals with <a href="http://www.fourthcrossingwildlife.com/WombatSarcopticMange.htm">sarcoptic mange</a>, a scabies which affects wombats.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/11051/original/qx9v32d2-1337907595.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/11051/original/qx9v32d2-1337907595.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=591&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/11051/original/qx9v32d2-1337907595.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=591&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/11051/original/qx9v32d2-1337907595.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=591&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/11051/original/qx9v32d2-1337907595.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=743&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/11051/original/qx9v32d2-1337907595.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=743&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/11051/original/qx9v32d2-1337907595.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=743&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Clearing potato weed may help to address the disease, but more research is needed.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">.Bambo./Flickr</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>This research is still very much in the early stages. We think that wombats are turning to weeds such as potato weed because these species are taking over the usual grasses, such as Mitchell and spear grass. The spread of weeds may be because of overgrazing, or changes in weather patterns, but we just can’t be sure yet. We do know that wombats have not evolved to eat these weeds. </p>
<p>While we don’t know the causes we can’t be sure either how to counteract the disease. In the long term it may be possible to remediate the habitat by removing weeds and re-seeding with native grasses. Until we know more, we have to hope pockets of animals will survive where there is still good habitat.</p>
<p>_Research into the causes and management of this syndrome is currently being conducted by The University of Adelaide, Department of the Environment and Natural Resources of South Australia, the Wombat Awareness Organisation, ZoosSA, Brookfield Conservation Park and the Natural History Society of South Australia. This research is supported by a grant from the Nature Foundation of South Australia.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/7234/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Wayne Boardman receives funding from the Nature Foundation of SA.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lucy Woolford receives funding from Nature Foundation of South Australia</span></em></p>Over the past 18 months, increasing numbers of southern hairy nosed wombats in the Murraylands region have been found in poor to emaciated condition with damage to their skin and other organs. The skin…Wayne Boardman, Lecturer, University of AdelaideLucy Woolford, Lecturer in Veterinary Pathology, University of AdelaideLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.