Role: Predator
The Red-tailed
Phascogale is a generalist small predator that will help regulate
mice numbers in place of cats and foxes. This species exhibits an
annual male die-off, where, after the winter mating period, all males
die within one month of mating.
DESCRIPTION
Small,
carnivorous marsupial with ash-grey fur above and cream fur below
with large, thin, reddish ears. Its distinctive tail grows up to 14.5
cm long, is reddish-brown on the base and ends in a brush of long
black hair.
HABITAT
Live largely in
trees, particularly sheoak woodlands with hollow-containing eucalypt,
but will also occur in roadside vegetation, small remnants and
paddock trees in broadacre farming environments.
DIET
Forage in the
canopy and on the ground and feed on a wide range of invertebrates,
particularly cockroaches and beetles, but will also consume small
birds and mammals, such as feral house mice.
THREATS
Habitat loss and
fragmentation through land clearance, predation by foxes and cats.
BEHAVIOUR
Nocturnal and
arboreal (living in the tree canopy). Territorial and the females
will come back to the same nesting sites year after year.
