Introduction

Reviser's Preface 1999

The work is part of a revision of the Mammalia section of the Zoological Catalogue of Australia (Walton 1988). The intention was to include all new species described since 1986, to add the mammals of Australia’s External Territories and to take account of changes in the nomenclature resulting from taxonomic revisions during the intervening period. This revision, which includes the Prototheria and Metatheria, covers 368 mammalian species plus one recently extinct species.

The familial classification used in this work follows that of Walton & Richardson (1989). All species known to be present in Australia at the time of European settlement, plus any introduced species established as self-perpetuating feral populations in Australia, are included.

Out of respect for the original authors, I have made changes only where clear new evidence was available, otherwise the original authors' opinions have been retained. As part of the process, the ecological and distributional data were updated.

The bibliographies have also been updated to provide entry to the literature for the reader. The coverage, as with the previous edition, is not intended to be exhaustive in any sense and I have deliberately concentrated on references of relevance to those interested in the general biology of these species. The highly specialised literature, for example in genetics, microanatomy, physiology, has not been included.

The bulk of the literature on Australian mammals can be found in less than a dozen journals and the excellent series of symposia organised by the Australian Mammal Society and the Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales. Extending the coverage beyond these sources is difficult and in doing so one cannot fail to be impressed with the quality and thoroughness of the bibliographic work of John Calaby whose lists of current literature, published by the Australian Mammal Society from 1958 to 1998, is close to exhaustive. These can be found in the publications of the Australian Mammal Society, particularly Australian Mammalogy.

John’s death during 1998 was a great loss to Australian mammalogy, and to his friends and admirers. As the first edition of the mammal volume of the Zoological Catalogue was dedicated to Jack Mahoney, it is proper, and my privilege, to respectfully dedicate this revision to that master of the literature, John Calaby.

Then we knew the man before us was a Master of our callin';
One of those great lords of language gone for ever from Outback;
Heroes of an ancient order.
'An Old Master' C.J. Dennis

Acknowledgements

The task of transferring the Mammalia to Platypus, a relational database package for taxonomists and which was used to compile the Catalogue and prepare this Internet report; entering new data; and editing the entire volume are the result of the work of many hands. I would like to acknowledge the skill and hard work of Sheryn Phillips, the library staff at UWS Hawkesbury, the staff of the Zoological Catalogue Unit of the Australian Biological Resources Study, and, particularly, Christine Richardson in this task.

Database Notes

The information on the Australian Faunal Directory site for the Eutheria is derived from the Zoological Catalogue of Australia database compiled on the Platypus software program. It incorporates changes made to the work published on 13 April 1988 as (Walton, D.W. & Richardson, B.J. (eds), 1989)

The database was updated by B.J. Richardson in 1999, incorporating subspecies names, common names and the CAVS biocode derived from the ABRS Census of Australian Vertebrate Species (CAVS). Some additional distribution data has also been included.

The database was revised following designation of CAVS numbers to subspecies by Clayton et al. (2006).

Limital Area

Distribution data in the Directory is by political and geographic region descriptors and serves as a guide to the distribution of a taxon. For details of a taxon's distribution, the reader should consult the cited references (if any) at genus and species levels.

Australia is defined as including Lord Howe Is., Norfolk Is., Cocos (Keeling) Ils, Christmas Is., Ashmore and Cartier Ils, Macquarie Is., Australian Antarctic Territory, Heard and McDonald Ils, and the waters associated with these land areas of Australian political responsibility. Political areas include the adjacent waters.

Terrestrial geographical terms are based on the drainage systems of continental Australia, while marine terms are self explanatory except as follows: the boundary between the coastal and oceanic zones is the 200 m contour; the Arafura Sea extends from Cape York to 124 DEG E; and the boundary between the Tasman and Coral Seas is considered to be the latitude of Fraser Island, also regarded as the southern terminus of the Great Barrier Reef.

Distribution records, if any, outside of these areas are listed as extralimital. The distribution descriptors for each species are collated to genus level. Users are advised that extralimital distribution for some taxa may not be complete.

General References

Nowak, R.M. & Paradiso, J.L. 1983. Walker's Mammals of the World. Baltimore : Johns Hopkins University Press Vol. 1.

Walton, D.W. (ed.) 1988. Zoological Catalogue of Australia Volume 5. Mammalia. Canberra : Australian Government Publishing Service x 274 pp. [Date published 13 April 1988: publication date established from Iredale, T. & Troughton, E. le G. 1934. A check-list of the mammals recorded from Australia. Mem. Aust. Mus. 6: i–xii 1–122]

Walton, D.W. & Richardson, B.J. (eds) 1989. Fauna of Australia. Mammalia. Canberra : Australian Government Publishing Service Vol. 1B 827 pp.

History of changes

History of changes

History of changes

Introduction

The family Suidae, order Artiodactyla, contains the swine. The group is not native to Australia though one species has been introduced, Sus scrofa.

The dental formula is 1-3/3, 1/1, 2-4/2-4, 3/3 = 34-44. The upper canines grow continuously, curving outwards to form tusks. A postorbital bar is not present as the processes of the frontals and jugals do not meet. The metapodials are unfused and four digits are found on each foot. Horns are not present on animals of either sex.

Most species are omnivorous and a two-chambered stomach is present. The group was found originally in the Palaearctic, Oriental and Ethiopian faunal Regions, though the domestic pig has been distributed widely throughout the warmer parts of the world. Most species prefer forest or thick brush habitats.

General References

Groves, C.P. & Giles, J. 1989. Suidae. pp. 1044-1049 in Walton, D.W. & Richardson, B.J. (eds). Fauna of Australia. Mammalia. Canberra : Australian Government Publishing Service Vol. 1B 827 pp.

History of changes

• Sus Linnaeus, C. 1758. Systema naturae per regna tria naturae, secundem classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentis, synonymis, locis. Editio decima, reformata. Holmiae : Laurentii Salvii Vol. 1 10 Edn., 824 pp. [49].

  Type species:

   Sus scrofa Linnaeus, 1758 by Linnaean tautonymy, see ICZN 1958. Official List of Generic Names in Zoology. London : International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature xxxvii 200 pp. [23].

Taxonomic Decision for Synonymy

• Hickman, G.C. 1981. National mammal guides: a review of references to Recent faunas. Mammal Review 11: 53-85 (for works giving taxonomic arrangements and synonomy)

Distribution

States

Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, Northern Territory, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria, Western Australia

Extra Distribution Information

Worldwide in the domesticated or introduced state, but native range probably restricted to N Africa, Europe, Asia, SE Asian islands and Philippine Ils.

IBRA

ACT, NSW, NT, Qld, SA, Tas, Vic, WA: Australian Alps (AA), Arnhem Coast (ARC), Arnhem Plateau (ARP), Avon Wheatbelt (AW), Brigalow Belt North (BBN), Brigalow Belt South (BBS), Broken Hill Complex (BHC), Central Arnhem (CA), Carnarvon (CAR), Channel Country (CHC), Central Kimberley (CK), Central Mackay Coast (CMC), Cobar Peneplain (CP), Cape York Peninsula (CYP), Daly Basin (DAB), Darwin Coastal (DAC), Desert Uplands (DEU), Dampierland (DL), Darling Riverine Plains (DRP), Einasleigh Uplands (EIU), Esperance Plains (ESP), Flinders Lofty Block (FLB), Gawler (GAW), Gulf Fall and Uplands (GFU), Geraldton Sandplains (GS), Gulf Coastal (GUC), Gulf Plains (GUP), Jarrah Forest (JF), Kanmantoo (KAN), Mallee (MAL), Murray Darling Depression (MDD), Mitchell Grass Downs (MGD), Mount Isa Inlier (MII), Mulga Lands (ML), Nandewar (NAN), Naracoorte Coastal Plain (NCP), New England Tablelands (NET), Northern Kimberley (NK), NSW North Coast (NNC), NSW South Western Slopes (NSS), Ord Victoria Plain (OVP), Pine Creek (PCK), Pilbara (PIL), Riverina (RIV), Sydney Basin (SB), South East Coastal Plain (SCP), South East Corner (SEC), South Eastern Highlands (SEH), South Eastern Queensland (SEQ), Simpson Strzelecki Dunefields (SSD), Swan Coastal Plain (SWA), Victoria Bonaparte (VB), Victorian Midlands (VM), Victorian Volcanic Plain (VVP), Warren (WAR), Wet Tropics (WT), Yalgoo (YAL)

Original AFD Distribution Data

Australian Region

• Australia
  • Australian Capital Territory
  • New South Wales
  • Northern Territory: N Gulf, N coastal
  • Queensland
  • South Australia: Murray-Darling basin, S Gulfs, SE coastal
  • Tasmania
  • Victoria
  • Western Australia: N coastal, NW coastal, SW coastal

Distribution References

History of changes

• Sus scrofa Linnaeus, C. 1758. Systema naturae per regna tria naturae, secundem classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentis, synonymis, locis. Editio decima, reformata. Holmiae : Laurentii Salvii Vol. 1 10 Edn., 824 pp. [49].

  Type data:

   Syntype(s) whereabouts unknown (not found in ZIUU or in NHRM), 'Europa australiore'.

  Type locality references:

  Thomas, O. 1911. The mammals of the tenth edition of Linnaeus; an attempt to fix the types of the genera and the exact bases and localities of the species. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 1911: 120-158 [140] (identified the type locality as 'Germany').

Taxonomic Decision for Synonymy

• Hickman, G.C. 1981. National mammal guides: a review of references to Recent faunas. Mammal Review 11: 53-85 (for works giving taxonomic arrangements and synonyms)

Distribution

States

Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, Northern Territory, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria, Western Australia

Extra Distribution Information

Also on Kangaroo Is.

Introduced from Europe.

IBRA

ACT, NSW, NT, Qld, SA, Tas, Vic, WA: Australian Alps (AA), Arnhem Coast (ARC), Arnhem Plateau (ARP), Avon Wheatbelt (AW), Brigalow Belt North (BBN), Brigalow Belt South (BBS), Broken Hill Complex (BHC), Central Arnhem (CA), Carnarvon (CAR), Channel Country (CHC), Central Kimberley (CK), Central Mackay Coast (CMC), Cobar Peneplain (CP), Cape York Peninsula (CYP), Daly Basin (DAB), Darwin Coastal (DAC), Desert Uplands (DEU), Dampierland (DL), Darling Riverine Plains (DRP), Einasleigh Uplands (EIU), Esperance Plains (ESP), Flinders Lofty Block (FLB), Gawler (GAW), Gulf Fall and Uplands (GFU), Geraldton Sandplains (GS), Gulf Coastal (GUC), Gulf Plains (GUP), Jarrah Forest (JF), Kanmantoo (KAN), Mallee (MAL), Murray Darling Depression (MDD), Mitchell Grass Downs (MGD), Mount Isa Inlier (MII), Mulga Lands (ML), Nandewar (NAN), Naracoorte Coastal Plain (NCP), New England Tablelands (NET), Northern Kimberley (NK), NSW North Coast (NNC), NSW South Western Slopes (NSS), Ord Victoria Plain (OVP), Pine Creek (PCK), Pilbara (PIL), Riverina (RIV), Sydney Basin (SB), South East Coastal Plain (SCP), South East Corner (SEC), South Eastern Highlands (SEH), South Eastern Queensland (SEQ), Simpson Strzelecki Dunefields (SSD), Swan Coastal Plain (SWA), Victoria Bonaparte (VB), Victorian Midlands (VM), Victorian Volcanic Plain (VVP), Warren (WAR), Wet Tropics (WT), Yalgoo (YAL)

Ecological Descriptors

Crop, gregarious, necrophagous, noctidiurnal, omnivore, predator, subtropical, terrestrial.

Extra Ecological Information

Feral.

General References

Bowman, D.M.J.S. & McDonough, L. 1993. Feral pig (Sus scrofa) rooting in a monsoon forest - wetland transition, northern Australia. Wildlife Research 18: 761-765

Caley, P. 1993. Population dynamics of feral pigs (Sus scrofa) in a tropical riverine habitat complex. Wildlife Research 20: 625-636

Caley, P. 1994. Factors affecting the success rate of traps for catching feral pigs in a tropical habitat. Wildlife Research 21: 287-292

Caley, P. 1997. Movements, activity patterns and habitat use of feral pigs (Sus scrofa) in a tropical habitat. Wildlife Research 24: 77-88

Choquenet, D., McIlroy, J. & Korn, T. 1996. Managing Vertebrate Pests: Feral Pigs. Canberra : Bureau of Resource Sciences, Australian Government Publishing Service.

Choquenot, D. 1995. Assessing visibility bias associated with helocopter counts of feral pigs in Australia's semi-arid rangelands. Wildlife Research 22: 569-578

Choquenot, D. 1998. Testing the relative influence of intrinsic and extrinsic variation in food availability on feral pig populations in Australia's rangelands. Journal of Animal Ecology 67: 887-907

Choquenot, D. & Saunders, G. 1993. A comparison of three aging techniques for feral pigs from subalpine and semi-arid habitats. Wildlife Research 20: 163-171

Claridge, A.W. & May, T.W. 1994. Mycophagy among Australian mammals. Australian Journal of Ecology 19: 251-275

Clutton-Brock, J. 1981. Domesticated Animals from Early Times. London : British Museum 208 pp.

Corbett, L. 1995. Does dingo predation or buffalo competition regulate feral pig populations in the Australian wet-dry tropics? An experimental study. Wildlife Research 22: 65-74

Dexter, N. 1996. The effect of an intensive shooting exercise from a helicopter on the behaviour of surviving pigs. Wildlife Research 23: 435-442

Fensham, R.J. 1993. The impact of pig rooting on populations of Burmania sp., a rare rainforest herb on Bathurst Island. Proceedings of the Royal Society of Queensland 103: 5-12

Groves, C. 1981. Ancestors for the pigs: taxonomy and phylogeny of the genus Sus. Department of Prehistory Research School of Pacific Studies Australian National University Technical Bulletin 3: i-viii 1-96

Hafez, E.S.E., Sumption, L.J. & Jakway, J.S. 1962. The behaviour of swine. pp. 334-369 in Hafez, E.S.E. (ed.). The Behaviour of Domestic Animals. London : Baillière, Tindall & Cox.

Haltenorth, T. 1963. Klassifikation der Säugetiere: Artiodactyla. Handbuch der Zoologie Berlin 8(teil 1, lfg. 32): 1-167 pls 1-16

Heise-Pavlov, P.M. & Heise-Pavlov, S.R. 2003. Feral pigs in tropical lowland rainforest of north-eastern Australia: ecology, zoonoses and management. Wildlife Biology 9(Suppl. 1): 21-27

Hone, J. 1995. Spatial and temporal aspects of vertebrate pest damage with emphasis on feral pigs. Journal of Applied Ecology 32: 311-319

Hone, J. 2002. Feral pigs in Namadgi National Park, Australia: dynamics, impacts and management. Biological Conservation 105: 231-242

Hone, L.J. & Martin, W. 1998. A study of dung and plot size for surveying feral pigs using dung counts. Wildlife Research 25: 255-260

Laurance, W.F. & Harrington, G.N. 1997. Ecological associations of feeding sites of feral pigs in the Queensland wet tropics. Wildlife Research 24: 579-590

Letts, G.A., Bassingthwaighte, A. & de Vos, W.E.L. 1979. Feral Animals in the Northern Territory. Report of the Board of Inquiry 1979. N.T. : Govt. Printer xvi 234 pp.

Long, J.L. 1972. Introduced birds and mammals in Western Australia. Agricultural Protection Board Western Australia Technical Service 1: 1-30

McIlroy, J.C. & Gifford, E.J. 1997. The 'Judas' pig technique: a method that could enhance control programmes against feral pigs, Sus scrofa. Wildlife Research 24: 483-491

McKnight, T. 1976. Friendly vermin. A survey of feral livestock in Australia. University of California Publications in Geography 21: i-viii 1-104

Pavlov, P.M. 1995. Pig Sus scrofa. pp. 715-717 in Strahan, R. (ed.). The Mammals of Australia: The National Photographic Index of Australian Wildlife. Sydney : Reed New Holland 756 pp.

Pond, W.G. & Houpt, K.A. 1978. The Biology of the Pig. Ithaca : Cornell Univ. Press 371 pp.

Saunders, G. 1993. The demography of feral pigs (Sus scrofa) in Kosciusko National Park, New South Wales. Wildlife Research 20: 559-569

Saunders, G., & Kay, B. 1996. Movements and home ranges of feral pigs (Sus scrofa) in Kosciusko National Park, New South Wales. Wildlife Research 23: 711-720

Tisdall, C.A. 1982. Wild Pigs: environmental pest or economic resource? Sydney : Pergamon Press viii 445 pp.

Common Name References

ABRS 2001. Census of Australian Vertebrates. Australian Biological Resources Study. (Pig)

History of changes

History of changes

Introduction

This family of the Artiodactyla includes the camels and llamas. Though none are native to Australia, one species, the dromedary camel, Camelus dromedarius has been introduced.

The dental formula is 1/3, 1/1, 2-3/1-2, 3/3 = 30-34. A postorbital bar, formed by the frontal and jugal, is present. There are two digits on each foot and the metapodial bones are partly fused. Horns are not found on animals of either sex.

All species are herbivorous ruminants. Recent species were found originally in the Palaearctic and Neotropical regions though the range of the camel has been extended now to include Africa.

General References

Siebert, B.D. & Newman, D.M.R. 1989. Camelidae. pp. 1050-1053 in Walton, D.W. & Richardson, B.J. (eds). Fauna of Australia. Mammalia. Canberra : Australian Government Publishing Service Vol. 1B 827 pp.

History of changes

• Camelus Linnaeus, C. 1758. Systema naturae per regna tria naturae, secundem classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentis, synonymis, locis. Editio decima, reformata. Holmiae : Laurentii Salvii Vol. 1 10 Edn., 824 pp. [65].

  Type species:

   Camelus dromedarius Linneaus, 1758 by subsequent designation, see Hay, O.P. 1902. Bibliography and catalogue of the fossil Vertebrata of North America. Bulletin of the United States Geological Survey 179: 1-868 [680]; Allen, G.M. 1939. A checklist of African mammals. Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard 83: 1-763 [465]; International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature 1947. Opinion 16. The status, under rule (d) in Article 30, of a pre-binomial specific name, published prior to 1758, in relation to a generic name published on, or before, 31st December 1930. Opinions and Declarations rendered by the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature 1: 255-302 [279-280-282-283] (but the type is not fixed by Opinion 16).

Taxonomic Decision for Synonymy

• Hickman, G.C. 1981. National mammal guides: a review of references to Recent faunas. Mammal Review 11: 53-85

Distribution

States

Northern Territory, Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia

Extra Distribution Information

The Palaearctic, Ethiopian and Oriental Regions largely by introduction as a domesticated species, probably native only to SW Asia.

IBRA

NT, Qld, SA, WA: Burt Plain (BRT), Channel Country (CHC), Coolgardie (COO), Central Ranges (CR), Dampierland (DL), Davenport Murchison Ranges (DMR), Einasleigh Uplands (EIU), Finke (FIN), Gascoyne (GAS), Gawler (GAW), Gibson Desert (GD), Great Sandy Desert (GSD), Great Victoria Desert (GVD), Hampton (HAM), Little Sandy Desert (LSD), MacDonnell Ranges (MAC), Mitchell Grass Downs (MGD), Mount Isa Inlier (MII), Murchison (MUR), Nullarbor (NUL), Pilbara (PIL), Simpson Strzelecki Dunefields (SSD), Stony Plains (STP), Sturt Plateau (STU), Tanami (TAN)

Original AFD Distribution Data

Afrotropical Region

• Ethiopia

Australian Region

• Australia
  • Northern Territory: Lake Eyre basin, N Gulf, W plateau
  • Queensland: Lake Eyre basin, N Gulf
  • South Australia: Lake Eyre basin, W plateau
  • Western Australia: W plateau

Oriental Region

Palaearctic Region

Distribution References

History of changes