Endemic Animals of Northern Territory








Golden Bandicoot
The golden bandicoot (Isoodon auratus ) is a short-nosed bandicoot found in northern Australia. It is the smallest of its genus.The golden bandicoot is now a threatened species. It was once found throughout much of northwestern Australia, with even a patch on the New South Wales/South Australia border, but it is now restricted to the Kimberley region of Western Australia, and to Augustus, Barrow and Middle Islands off of Western Australia (I. ...
auratus barrowensis ) and Marchinbar Island of Northern Territory. It is distinguished from the brown bandicoots by its golden colouring and much smaller size.It averages about 35 cm (or 14 in.) in length from head to tail and weighs between 260-655g (or 9–23 oz) with an average of 310 g (11 oz). It is the smallest of the short-nosed bandicoots with a golden colour back, hence the name, finely streaked with black fur. The sides and face are a faded light rust colour, and the underbelly is pale amber. The feet are the same colour as the underbelly and have sharp claws. The species was first described in 1897 from a specimen collected near Derby, Western Australia. As with most bandicoots, the golden bandicoot has a rather long, flat, pointy nose. It is an omnivore, consuming succulents, insects, plant bulbs, and small reptiles. The golden bandicoot is nocturnal, foraging at night by digging small holes in the ground to find food.The largest golden bandicoot population lives on Barrow Island because no cats or foxes have been introduced to the island, and other populations exist on Middle, Marchinbar, Augustus Islands. Small populations on mainland Australia are located in the Northern Territory and Western Australia. The golden bandicoot once lived all throughout Central Australia, but by 1992 it had been reduced to a small area in northwest Kimberly and Arnhem Land. In 2000, it was assumed that the species was extinct on the mainland. Birds are the main threat to the species, and bandicoots must compete with rabbits for resources.
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Golden Bandicoot
Black Wallaroo
The Black wallaroo (Osphranter bernardus) is a species of macropod that lives in a small mountainous area in Arnhem Land, Northern Territory, Australia. It is classified as near threatened, mostly due to its limited distribution. A large proportion of the range is protected by Kakadu National Park.
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Black Wallaroo
Bredl's Python
Bredl's python (Morelia bredli) is a species of non-venomous snake native to Australia. It is named in honor of Australian crocodile conservationist Josef "Joe" Bredl and is also known as the Centralian python, the Centralian carpet python, the central Australian carpet python, Bredl's carpet python, the Central Australian Bredl's carpet python, and the Central Bredl's carpet python.
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Bredl's Python
Central rock rat
The central rock rat (Zyzomys pedunculatus ), also known as the central thick-tailed rock-rat, Macdonnell Range rock-rat, Australian native mouse, rat à grosse queue (French), or rata coligorda (Spanish), is a species of rodent in the family Muridae that is found only in Australia. The rats have been found in rocky outcrops and on mountainsides with loose stones, as well as hilly grasslands and low open shrubland or woodland. Historically, Z. ...
pedunculatus is only known to be found in a 77 km length of the West MacDonnell Ranges, Northern Territory. The species has previously been recorded from living animals or cave deposits in Northern Territory at Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park, Illamurta (James Range), Haast's Bluff (West MacDonnell Ranges), Mount Liebig, Napperby Station, Devils Marbles, The Granites (Tanami Desert), and the Davenport Range. It is known from cave deposits in the Cape Range, Western Australia.The species was believed to have been extinct in both 1990 and 1994 due to population decline. In 2001 individuals were trapped from fourteen locations, but in 2002 drought and wildfire struck the area and the species was not recorded after that. It has been classed as Critically Endangered by the IUCN Red List. In 2013 they were also discovered by motion-sensor cameras on the Haasts Bluff Aboriginal Land Trust, west of Alice Springs.The central rock-rat Zyzomys pedunculatus is one of five rock-rat species native to Australia. It is a nocturnal species that specifically forages for food in the nighttime. They can range from 10.6 to 14.9 cm long for the head and body, and around 30 cm from head to tail. They weigh between 50 and 120 g. Their fur is a light mustard above with a pale underbelly. The lightly furred tail is the most noticeable feature of the central rock-rat. The tail base is thick and bulky. The thickness of the tail has been reported to be a fat storage adaptation. This is an effect of scarce food distribution. Rock-rats are known to lose their tails, fur and skin very easily and are, therefore, known to be difficult to handle. As for their birthrate, captive animals have bred and have had litters of various sizes, such as 3, 2, 2, 2, 1, 1 and 4 young.The Z. pedunculatus diet consists of four major food groups that can be found across all seasons. Seed makes up 72% of the species food intake. The rest of its diet consist of plant leaves (21%), plant stems (3%), and insects (4%). They can be found near rocky habitats for burrow sites and local seed availability. This helps to explain why the Z. pedunculatus is found in such scarce numbers, they rely on constant food supply and a steady and supportive habitat. This makes locating the Z. pedunculatus difficult to find in the Central Australian range. They play an essential role in seed dispersal as well as food resource for other animals in the wild. The species likely has a pattern of recovery and expansion during wet periods, probably due to increased food supply.Habitat degradation is an obstacle to Central rock rat conservation. Fires limit the available habitat, and the spread of Buffalo grass kills off native grasses that Z. pedunculatus feeds on and helps contribute to the spread of fire. They face predators such as dingos, and grazing from feral herbivores hurts their food supply. Despite all this, the species is believed to be making strides, which is supported by the sightings near the Haasts Bluff Aboriginal land trust west of Alice Springs, in Australia. The rat's predators can also give insight on how the species is recovering. The excrement of feral cats near the location site often includes the fur and bone skeletons of the Z. pedunculatus. Until the 1996 capture, the central rock-rat had not been seen since 1960. Between 1970 and 1995, there were no recorded sightings of the species and it was declared that this species was indeed extinct. It wasn't until it was rediscovered in 1996 in the MacDonnell Ranges that this was proven false. On September 3, 1996, the Australian Trust for Conservation Volunteers trapped an animal which was later identified from photographs as the central rock-rat. Since that time sub-populations have been found at 15 other sites over a small area of the West MacDonnell Ranges. The full range of the current distribution of the species is unknown.The Central rock rat has a national recovery plan through the Australian government, its overall objective being to stabilize the species and prevent population decreases. Specific objectives include: clarifying distribution, population size, and habitat; to create and employ management strategies of the sub-populations; maintaining captive populations; investigating the biology of captive individuals; and to increase awareness in the community. Recovery actions include establishing the sizes of sub-populations and monitoring changes in them, creating a fire strategy for known population locations, and capturing animals to add to the captive breeding program. The recovery plan also has a provision for habitat protection which would help other native species such as the common brushtail possum and the black-footed rock wallaby. Beginning in 1996, after the re-discovery of the central rock-rat, a captive breeding program was set up at Alice Springs Desert Park and at the Perth Zoo. After initially introducing 14 individuals from the wild, the first generation bred successfully but the subsequent one had significant trouble, eventually leading to the death of the last male in 2011. The National Recovery Plan for the Central Rock-rat in 2017 suggested to attempt another breeding program during a natural irruption phase of the wild population, for example after the heavy rainfall in the winter of 2016, so as to limit the effects on the wild numbers of the species.
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Central rock rat
Black-spotted ridge-tailed monitor
The black-spotted ridge-tailed monitor (Varanus baritji), also called commonly the black-spotted spiny-tailed monitor, the lemon-throated monitor, the northern ridge-tailed monitor, Whites monitor, and the yellow-throated monitor, is a species of lizard in the family Varanidae. The species is native to Australia's tropical Northern Territory. It is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List as it is considered common and not threatened. It was ...
first described in 1987. It is also known as White's dwarf goanna.
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Black-spotted ridge-tailed monitor
Lerista frosti
Lerista frosti is a smaller lizard species found in highlands of central Australia. The common name for the species is centralian slider.
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Lerista frosti
Fawn antechinus
The fawn antechinus (Antechinus bellus ) is a species of small carnivorous marsupial found in northern Australia. It is the only Antechinus to be found in the Northern Territory and has a patchy, restricted range.
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Fawn antechinus
Kakadu dunnart
The Kakadu dunnart (Sminthopsis bindi ) is a dunnart first described in 1994 and whose closest relative is the Carpentarian dunnart. It typically has a body length of 50-85mm with a tail 60-105mm long, for a total length between 110-190mm. It weighs between 10-25g, placing it in the mid-range of dunnarts. Its colour is grey, gingery on the upper body and underbelly, with white feet.The Kakadu dunnart lives near the Top End of the Northern ...
Territory of Australia around the Kakadu National Park. It prefers a habitat of stony woodlands on a hilly geography.Little is known about the social organisation or breeding habits of this species, as it is not well studied, but it probably breeds in the dry season and may burrow.Its diet may include arthropods and other insects.
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Kakadu dunnart
Northern hopping mouse
The northern hopping mouse (Notomys aquilo ) is a species of rodent in the family Muridae. It is found only in coastal northern Australia, from Arnhem Land to the Cobourg Peninsula.This mouse weighs 25 to 30 grams and is brown above and white below. Its long tail measures 150% of its body length and it has long hind feet up to 4 centimeters long.This species lives in sandy soils on heathlands and grasslands. It is nocturnal. It consumes seeds ...
and sometimes other plant material and invertebrates. The mouse hops, leaving bipedal tracks. Several individuals live communally in burrows.Threats to this species include habitat alteration, such as changes in the fire regime and the effects of livestock. Feral cats watch the burrows and may consume several individuals in a night.
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Northern hopping mouse
Northern brush-tailed phascogale
The northern brush-tailed phascogale (Phascogale pirata ), also known as the northern brush-tailed wambenger or northern brush-tailed mousesack is a species of marsupial in the family Dasyuridae. It is endemic to northern Australia.
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Northern brush-tailed phascogale
Arnhem Land rock rat
The Arnhem Land rock rat (Zyzomys maini ) also known as the Arnhem rock-rat and by the Indigenous Australian name of kodjperr is a species of rodent in the family Muridae.It is found only in the Top End Region of the Northern Territory in Australia.
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Arnhem Land rock rat
Carpentarian rock rat
The Carpentarian rock rat (Zyzomys palatalis ) is a species of rodent in the family Muridae.It is found only in Australia.
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Carpentarian rock rat
Sandstone false antechinus
The sandstone false antechinus, Pseudantechinus bilarni, also known as the sandstone pseudantechinus, the sandstone antechinus, the sandstone dibbler, Harney's antechinus and the Northern dibbler, is a species of small carnivorous marsupial, which has a patchy distribution in Australia's Northern Territory.
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Sandstone false antechinus
Kakadu pebble-mound mouse
The Kakadu pebble-mound mouse (Pseudomys calabyi ) is a rodent native to Australia. It is one of the pebble-mound mice.
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Kakadu pebble-mound mouse
Sepiella mangkangunga
Sepiella mangkangunga is a species of cuttlefish native to the Indo-Pacific, specifically off the Northern Territory in Australia (12°48′S 130°21′E / 12.800°S 130.350°E / -12.800; 130.350 to 13°14′S 130°57′E / 13.233°S 130.950°E / -13.233; 130.950). It lives at depths from 1.1 to 3.3 m.Females are on average slightly larger than males. They grow to 59 and 58 mm in mantle length, respectively.The type specimen was collected off Stingray Head in the Northern Territo ...
ry (12°48′S 130°21′E / 12.800°S 130.350°E / -12.800; 130.350). It is deposited at the Museum and Art Gallery in Darwin.
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Sepiella mangkangunga