Ningaui ride, : Archer, 1975, 1975

Russell A. Mittermeier & Don E. Wilson, 2015, Dasyuridae, Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 5 Monotremes and Marsupials, Barcelona: Lynx Edicions, pp. 232-348 : 330-331

52.

Wongai Ningaui

Ningawi rider

French: Ningaui wongai / German: Rides Ningaui / Spanish: Ningaui de Ride

Other common names: Inland Ningaui

Taxonomy. Ningaui ride: Archer, 1975 ,

38- 6 km ENE Laverton (28° 30° S, 122° 47 E), Western Australia, Australia.

M. Archer described the genus Ningauwi in 1975, and he simultaneously described two species: N. timealey: from the Pilbara region in Western Australia and N. ride : from central Western Australia. The genus Ningaw: has greatest similarity morphologically and genetically with dunnarts (genus Sminthopsis ), differing from them in structure oflateral wall ofskull, structure and width of hindfoot ( Ningaui have broader feet than Sminthopsis but narrower than Planigale ), more reduced cusps on upper molar teeth, and body size. N. ridei was described in 1975 from two subadults collected in spinifex (7riodia spp., Poaceae ) on red sand plains near Laverton, Western Australia. In a subsequent (1983) genetic study of the genus, allozyme electrophoresis of 28 loci characterized 30 specimens of Ningaui from four Australian states. Ningauis fell into three genetic groups, with large differences between groups (21-32% fixed differences) and homogeneity within groups. One group from the Pilbara of Western Australia was identified as N. timealeyi ; a second group, extending from the Kalgoorlie area of Western Australia to the far west of South Australia and north to the Tanami Desert of the Northern Territory, was identified as N. rides; a third group, extending from the Kalgoorlie area of Western Australia (where it was sympatric with N. ridei ) across southern South Australia and into north-western Victoria was identified as N. yvonneae, a species that had only been formally described that very year on the basis of skull morphology. Recent genetic (mtDNA and nDNA) studies have consistently resolved monophyly for Ningaui , but the genus Sminthopsis was not resolved as monophyletic with respect to Ningaw: (or, for that matter, Antechinomys ). In the combined DNA phylogeny, Ningaui was poorly resolved as sister to the “ Macroura ” group of Sminthopsis (five species) and this combined clade was a poorly resolved sister to the remainder of Sminthopsis (13 species), with the exception of S. longicaudata , which was strongly supported as sister to the Kultarr ( Antechinomys laniger ). Within Ningawi, N. ridei was consistently resolved as the well-supported sister of N. yvonneae, these two taxa were, in turn, well resolved as sister to N. timealeyi . Monotypic.

Distribution. Australia, throughout the arid regions of Western Australia, Northern Territory, Queensland, and South Australia.

Descriptive notes. Head-body 5.7-7.5 cm, tail 5.9-7.1 cm; weight 6-5-10-5 g (individuals from Western Australia, Northern Territory, and Queensland). There is mild sexual dimorphism for size. The Wongai Ningaui has smaller (less than I mm long), oval-shaped pads on rear of hindfeet than those of the Pilbara Ningaui ( N. timealeyi ), which has pads that are longer than wide (more than 1 mm long). These species also evidently have different numbers of nipples: seven in the Wongai Ningaui and six in the Pilbara Ningaui. The Wongai Ningauiis not found in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, unlike the Pilbara Ningaui. The Wongai Ningaui and the Southern Ningaui (N. yvonneae) are apparently sisters, based on genetic phylogenies. They are very similar morphologically; only skull characters can separate them: the Wongai Ningaui has relatively larger auditory bullae (ear bones) than the Southern Ningaui.

Habitat. Inland deserts of sandy habitat (dunes, sand plains, and buckshot plains) supporting spinifex hummock grasslands; shrubs such as Thryptomene maisonneuvei ( Myrtaceae ), Acacia ligulata ( Fabaceae ), or Grevillea eriostachya ( Proteaceae ); mallee such as Eucalyptus youngiana ( Myrtaceae ); and trees such as desert oak ( Allocasuarina decaisneana , Casuarinaceae ), gidgee ( Acacia cambagei , Fabaceae ), corkwood ( Hakea lorea, Proteaceae ), cypress pine ( Cupressaceae ), mulga (A. aneura), or bara gum. Although the Wongai Ningaui favors sandy surfaces in eastern goldfields of Western Australia and channel country of Queensland, subadults have been recorded on gibbers (desert pavements) and heavy alluvial earth during late summer; these soils support floral communities dominated by trees, mallee, or shrubs over tussock-spinifex hummock grasses. Distribution of the Wongai Ningaui extends eastward to the 500mm isohyet in Queensland; elsewhere,it is confined to areas receiving less than an average of 350 mm of rain/year. The Wongai Ningaui is not known from areas subjectto tropical monsoons, such as Pilbara and northern parts of the Great Sandy Desert.

Food and Feeding. There is no information available for this species.

Breeding. Females have 6-8 teats and producelitters of 5-8 young; they usually rear only onelitter in their lives. Births occur in October—January in eastern goldfields of Western Australia and the Simpson Desert of Queensland. One female from South Australia was captured with pouch young 6 mm long; just three weeks later these young were no longer attached to teats and either remained in a nest or clung to their mother’s back as she foraged. Seven weeks after this female had been captured, young fed independently. In one ten-year study of dasyurids in Simpson Desert, reproduction of the Wongai Ningaui suggested a short, synchronized breeding season. In years for which data were available, all females showed pouch development in late September and October and carried pouch young in November-December. Body weights of females captured in October were 5-5-8 g (mean 7 g). Newborn young with a crownrump length of c¢.4 mm were found only in November; larger young with crown-rump lengths of 6-7-6 mm were captured in early December. This suggests that all births occurred in November. Furthermore, newly weanedjuveniles (2-5-4 g) were recorded only late February and March, and no (second year) parous females were captured after June. Litters contained similar numbers of sons and daughters. Thirteen young were toe-clipped while in the pouch, but none of them was recaptured. Male Wongai Ningauis captured in October-November had heavily stained fur over sternal glands. Mean scrotal width of males increased during winter from 6-8 mm in June to 8-3 mm in August, peaking at 9-3 mm in September and then declining to 7-2 mm in December. Data from this study suggested that no individuals bred in the season of their birth and that neither sex entered reproductive condition before c.10 months of age. There was no evidence that any individuals survived to breed in a second season. Another study of museum specimens documented stages in the spermatogenic cycle of the Wongai Ningaui, the Southern Ningaui (N. yvonneae), and the Pilbara Ningaui. In male Wongai Ningauis, sexual maturity was reached in the first year, and after the end ofJuly each year, almost all males were reproductively mature. Male Wongai Ningauis in the active spermatogenic phase were found in August—January.

Activity patterns. Wongai Ningauis are nocturnal, sheltering during the day in a low bush, hollow log, or short burrow. They seldom,if ever, dig their own burrows, apparently preferring to use those abandoned by lizards or spiders. The Wongai Ningaui often climbs among spinifex leaves, using its tail in a semi-prehensile manner.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. A radio-tracking study in the Simpson Desert suggested that Wongai Ningauis do not have fixed home ranges and are capable of moving at least 1-5 km from points of capture within three days. One ten-year study examined ecology of Wongai Ningauis (among other dasyurids) in the Simpson Desert; Wongai Ningauis were present in low numbers throughout most of the study, with an overall capture rate of 0-21 ind/100 trap nights. A total of 128 individuals (59 female, 61 male, eight unsexed) was captured, with only six being recaptured. Mean capture rates were less than 1 ind/100 trap nights at all times except in September 1999 and showed no consistent fluctuations within or between years. Interestingly, this study used pitfall traps, having been completely unsuccessful (after 2700 trap nights) in trapping any dasyurids using metal box (Elliott) traps. Other studies have noted that ningauis (and often dunnarts, Sminthopsis ) cannot be effectively studied without pitfall traps because very low and inconsistent captures are prohibitive.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List. The Wongai Ningaui has a wide distribution and presumably a large overall population, and it does not face any major conservation threats. Wongai Ningauis occur in protected areas, including Wanjarri and Gibson Desert Nature Reserve (Western Australia), Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park (Northern Territory), and Munga-Thirri National Park (= Simpson Desert National Park) in Queensland. They are also found in several nature reserves in Western Australia.

Bibliography. Archer (1975), Baverstock et al. (1983), Dickman & Read (1992), Dickman et al. (2001), Johnson & Roff (1980), Kitchener, Cooper & Bradley (1986), Kitchener, Stoddart & Henry (1983), Krajewski et al. (2012), McKenzie & Dickman (2008c), McKenzie & Hall (1992), Woinarski, van Weenen & Burbidge (2008).

Figures

On following pages: 41. Short-furred Dasyure (Murexia longicaudata); 42. Broad-striped Dasyure (Murexia rothschildi); 43. Long-nosed Dasyure (Murexia naso); 44. Red-tailed Phascogale (Phascogale calura); 45. Northern Brush-tailed Phascogale (Phascogale pirata); 46. Common Brush-tailed Phascogale (Phascogale tapoatafa); 47. Giles's Planigale (Planigale giles); 48. Long-tailed Planigale (Planigale ingrami); 49. Common Planigale (Planigale maculata); 50. Papuan Planigale (Planigale novaeguineae); 51. Narrow-nosed Planigale (Planigale tenuirostris); 52. Wongai Ningaui (Ningauiride); 53. Pilbara Ningaui (Ningaui timealeyi); 54. Southern Ningaui (Ningaui yvonneae); 55. Kultarr (Antechinomys laniger).

Distribution. Australia, throughout the arid regions of Western Australia, Northern Territory, Queensland, and South Australia.