Wongai Ningaui
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| Ningaui ridei Archer, 1975 |
The Wongai Ningaui (Ningaui ridei) is a small carnivorous marsupial native to Australia. They live mostly in the interior of Australia, in deserts that have spinifex, or grasslands and trees such as desert oak, Mulga, Australian Cypress Pine and dry heath
Wongai Ningaui has a head and body length of 64 mm, tail length of 65 mm and weight of 9.75g. Even smaller than a house mouse, the Wongai Ningaui is grayish above and lighter below. It has a semi-prehensile tail, needle sharp teeth and a long snout. The name derives from an Aboriginal word for tiny mythological beings that are hairy, have short feet and only come out at night.
Ningauis use their sharp teeth to kill their insect prey by swiftly biting them around the head. They hunt by night and rest among the spinnifex hummocks by day. The females have as many as five to seven young, the breeding season beginning in October.
[edit] References
- ^ Groves, Colin (16 November 2005). in Wilson, D. E., and Reeder, D. M. (eds): Mammal Species of the World, 3rd edition, Johns Hopkins University Press, 32. ISBN 0-801-88221-4.
- ^ Australasian Marsupial & Monotreme Specialist Group (1996). Ningaui ridei. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 12 May 2006.
