Spot-lighting is fun for the whole family. The other night at Tarraleah the family bundled itself into our Hireundi and set off, in our pyjamas, to see some wildlife. We were immediately rewarded with numerous macropods bounding left and right, in and out of our field of view. We saw Bennett's Wallaby, Tasmanian Pademelon and I was blown clean into next week when I spyed a Spotted Quoll. It was standing up proud on it's hind quarters peering out of the grass by the roadside. This was the faunal equivalent of pulling three matching cherries on the poky machines at your local RSL.
I thought we had done very well on our little nocturnal foray. But that paled in comparison to the plethora of new species we were to discover the very next day in the short, 35 km drive from Tarraleah to the Derwent Bridge. We discovered four new mammal species not previously described by science.
The first and most significant by far was a species I shall name the Tasmangled Devil. I suspect this species is closely related to the Tasmanian Devil (Endangered under the EPBC Act (1999)), however this new species must be far more common as we saw three in under one hour. The two appear quite discernible, as the Tasmangled Devil has blood red fur and it's intestines are typically located externally to and distal from the rectum. Both species have large flashes of bright white on the dorsal fore-quarter and both have large eyes that glow bright red when the animal looks directly into your high beam. It is surprising this species has remained undiscovered when it appears so obvious in the headlights of anyone travelling at night.
The taxon most commonly encountered was the Splattymelon, with the holotype encountered within two minutes of leaving Tarraleah, and dozens more paratypes observed at 100 m intervals along the road for most of the journey. In a cold, lifeless bundle by the roadside and missing half of it's hair having usually been dragged under a moving vehicle, this species is difficult to discern from the newly described Bennett's Whallopy (Ladyman c2015). A determination is most easily made by the length of the hind limbs when the animal is fully bloated and they are at their most distended.
One particularly interesting new discovery was the species I shall name the Wombsplat. What is most interesting is not only the commonality of this species, but the shear size. Measuring nearly one metre and length with a shoulder hieght of nearly 40cm it must be nearly impossible NOT to see this slow moving creature as it ambles across the road. It's presence is especially obvious when it is taking refuge under a small vehicle such a Suzuki Swift or Kia Rio, the front end of which has been shattered by the impact and the vehicle, like the Wombsplat, sits motionless by the roadside.
Finally, we have the species I shall name the Crumbled Mushtail Possum. The closely related congener, the Common Brushtail, sometimes occurs in plague proportions in areas of agriculture and forestry and they are shot or trapped in their thousands as part of an annual and highly regulated commercial harvest in Tasmania. However, it is very apparent to me, from the number of individuals of the Mushtail that I observed, that this species would be far better suited to commercial harvest as they don't need to be shot or trapped. It would appear that the Crumbled Mushtail employs a defensive strategy that sees individuals immediately feign death when they encounter bitumen. Therefore harvest simply requires a shovel and a plastic bag.
Please, when you are touring Tasmania, slow down and enjoy the fauna alive. Do not drive on autopilot like every other tourist seems to do. We don't need to create any more new species.
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